is made up with

Remember:

A Stroke

Control Points or Vertices.

In Draw Mode, trace a Stroke around the part of the

character to be Animated ( right arm and hand - red Stroke).

In Object Mode add an Armature (single Bone) to the

Scene. G Key grab and position the single Bone on the

character. R Key and rotate into position.

With the Armature selected, change to Edit Mode.

Select the Tip of the Bone. Press E Key (extrude), drag to

form a second Bone and with the new Tip selected drag and

position to suit the Stroke.

Figure 13.9

Figure 13.8

Control Points will be linked or Parented to the Bones in the Armature.

There are several methods of Parenting (In Object Mode, Press Ctrl + P Key for options).

13.5 Parenting with Automatic Weights

Figure 13.10

With the Stroke Drawn and the Armature constructed and positioned in

Object Mode, select the Stroke then press the Shift Key and select the

Armature Bone. Press Ctrl + P Key and in the menu that displays select

With Automatics Weights.

Note: The Field of Influence shown

is diagrammatic only and not a true

representation.

Figure 13.11

When using this method Control Points falling within a field of influence (Automatic Weights) are

Parented to the Armature Bone, such that when the Bone is moved (rotated) the Control Points

follow the movement of the Bone. Control Points outside the field of influence remain in situ

and the Stroke is stretched. To test the Parenting select the Armature in Object Mode then

change to Pose Mode.

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