Setup Overview

Before using Motion Studio to animate a character or object, the character must be set up with a skeleton. A skeleton is a structure of joints and connecting bones that forms a framework for controlling the character.

Some objects are already set up (rigged), and you can start animating those objects right away. Other times, a skeleton must be created.

To rig a character, select the Motion Studio Setup mode. In Setup mode, you create skeletons, position bones and joints in your scene, and attach objects to bones.

Use the New button in the Skeleton panel to create a new skeleton. A new skeleton starts with two joints and a connecting bone. By selecting and moving the joints, you can position the bone.

Remember, in Motion Studio, skeletons are controlled by moving joints. You never need to select bone objects by clicking on them. All direct manipulation is done with joints. In Setup mode, joints move freely, and the bones automatically adjust to fit them.

Add a new bone by clicking the New button in the Bone panel. New bones are created connected to the selected joint in the skeleton. Now you could click New again to create another bone in the chain, or you could select a new joint, and create a new bone extending from there.

Once the skeleton is built, objects must be attached to the bones. Objects attached to bones are controlled by the bones.