Is there an easy way to animate the IK-targets switching between locking to different bones in the same rig or other objects? This is something i would do often in an animation, but it doesn’t seem to be an easy way to do it?

Using link constraint on the hand IK target doesn’t seem to work. (error: Link constraint not completed)
So as i have learned, the way to do this is create a point helper, that you add a link constraint to. And then you add a position AND rotation constraint to the IK target, and then constraint these to the point helper.
This is a mess to keep control over, if you want to lock the target to different objects/bones, and also switch between IK and FK now and then. You have to animate this point helper around the scene (or create many helpers), and then keep track of the link targets frame # on/off.
And you also loose the ability to use the ‘move IKTarget to Palm’ and ‘Match IK and FK’.

Why couldn’t this be implemented under the IK target motion panel? Why isn’t there just a menu under the IK target where you can switch between lock on/off and choose the weight of the object you have chosen to lock on to? Then you just animate these weights. And then you can also animate the sub-object pivot of the IK target to get full control.

Correct me if i’m wrong here, and there is an easy way to do this. Or if there isn’t possible to do this in an easy way. But i think i have seen Maya do this in an easy way, where you just right-click or at least get some quick-menu on screen, and just choose lock-on-target or something and then just choose your target with one click.

Working in max 2010 x64.

I take it your using 2012. this sounds like another problem with the latest version. the link constraint is as simple as, turn it on, turn it off. and its under the motion panel. if you only have the latest version of cat to use. animating with it will probably be difficult. max 2012 is just a bad version the problems are not limited to cat

I doubt the problems with cat will be fixed. 2013 will be out soon if not already. 2012 may be abandoned at that point

Wingman3d 28 November 2011 07:03 AM

Working in max 2010 x64.

Is it in 2010 also? addin the constraint myself, i only get an error.
Maybe this is something added to 2011? Is it there by default, or do you have to add the constraint yourself to every layer?

Thanks for answering!

Edit: fyi CAT wasn’t included in 2010. i had to download it separatly from autodesk.

ok, so now i discovered that adding the link-constraint in the motionpanel works. Had to select the layer:CATDummyMatrix3 and change that to Link Constraint.
Selecting link constraint from the animation menu didn’t work.

I guess i haven’t understood everything regarding the layers and all.

But there seems to be a lot of bugs with CAT 2012. So maybe i should stay on 2010 until things get sorted out.

when you make a new absolute layer. if you turn the local weight down for the object with the link constraint on it. in the new layer, that will pass it down the stack.

but if you make a local layer and put the link constraint on it.  pushing the local layer down, so it is at the bottom of the stack. will cause it to play with the absolute layers