in a viewport’s title bar and choose Chains (this is on by default) to see chains in that viewport.
There are many ways in which you can control the display of chain elements. You can hide them, like any other object in Softimage or choose to display just certain parts of a chain.
Displaying or Hiding Chain Elements
There are a few ways of displaying chains in viewports.
To display or hide chain elements
Do any of the following:
• Click the eye icon in a viewport’s title bar and choose Chains (this is on by default) to see chains in that viewport.
or
• Choose Display > Chains from the main menu bar to toggle chain visibility in all viewports.
or
• Click the eye icon and choose Visibility Options in a viewport’s menu bar (or press Shift+s) to open the Camera Visibility Property editor. On the Objects page, toggle the Chain Roots, Bones, and Effectors options (these are on by default).
By default, the joints between the bones are not displayed as circles because they can clutter the limited space on a chain. However, if you need to display them, do any of the following.
To display the joint circles
1. Click the eye icon in a viewport’s title bar and choose Visibility Options in a viewport’s menu bar (or press Shift+s) to open the Camera Visibility Property editor.
2. On the Attributes page, select Chain Joint Rotation Limits.
Displaying Critical Zones for IK Chains
Around the root is an area called the critical zone, represented by a double-cone shaped icon. If the effector is translated into the critical zone, the general orientation of the chain will flip.
To display the critical zone
1. Click the eye icon in a viewport’s title bar and choose Visibility Options in a viewport’s menu bar (or press Shift+s) to open the Camera Visibility Property editor.
2. On the Attributes page, select Chain Critical Zone.
The critical zone is blue when the default preferred axis of rotation is used or when a preferred axis constraint is applied to the chain. The critical zone is green when an up-vector constraint is applied to the chain.
X-ray shading is a viewing option that lets you see through objects in Constant, Shaded, and Textured viewing modes. This is very useful when working with envelopes because you can see and select the underlying deformers while still seeing the shaded surface of the envelope.
To use x-ray shading
1. Open the Camera Display property editor using one of the following methods:
- To affect a single viewport, choose Display Options from the Display Type menu in the top right corner of the viewport.
or
- To affect all viewports, choose Display > Display Options (All Cameras) from the main menu.
2. On the Display Mode page, select the XRay Shading option and choose an XRay Display Type:
- Overlay draws the bones on top of the envelope.
- Screen draws a semi-transparent envelope so that you can see the bones inside.
Autodesk Softimage v.7.5