Chain Bone Property Editor

Adjusts a bone’s length, axis alignment, display type and size, including shadow icons.

To display: Select a chain bone and press Enter.

For information about bones/chains in general, see Building Skeletons [ Character Animation ].

General

Length

Sets the length of the bone (its X axis) in Softimage units.

Bone Axis Offset

Sets the bone’s X, Y, or Z axis to be aligned along the bone. When you create a chain, the bones’ X axes are aligned along the bone; that is, the axis points in the direction of the next joint.

You can offset the axis’ alignment by any value using the X/Y/Z sliders.

Set Axis

Click the appropriate X/Y/Z Axis button to quickly set the bone’s X/Y/Z axis alignment along the bone.

Bone Display

For more information, see Changing the Shape and Size of Chain Elements and Nulls [ Character Animation ].

Icon

Select from a list of shapes to use for the bone’s display: None, Standard (default Softimage style), SI|3D style (similar to Standard but a bit longer at the top), Pyramid, Wedge, Wedge II (similar to Wedge but a bit longer at the top), Box, Line, Cylinder, Cone, Ring (elongated spheres), Circle, or Square.

Size

Sets the size of the display icon for the bone on its Y and Z axes, but not its X axis (the bone’s length).

When you change this value, the bone’s accompanying shadow always scales proportionally with it, regardless of the state of the Lock Shadow Size When Scaling option.

Shadow Display

A shadow is a visual reference that makes it easier to see and select chain elements. When you select a shadow, its chain element is also selected.

For more information, see Creating Shadows and Changing the Chain Element Display [ Character Animation ].

Icon

Select from a list of shapes to use for the bone’s shadow. These shapes are the same as for the Bone Display Icon.

Color

Sets the color of the shadow. Select the Custom option to set a custom color using the color sliders. The resulting color appears in the color chip.

You cannot change the color of the shadow if Wireframe is selected: the standard display color is used.

Position

Offsets (translates) the shadow from the bone on the X/Y/Z axes.

Size

Specifies the scale of the shadow. The default value of 1 means a 1:1 ratio with the bone.

Lock Shadow Size When Scaling

Keeps the shadow at a constant size when the bone is scaled in Y or Z (using the Scale transform commands, not the Size parameter above).



Autodesk Softimage v.7.5