This is my first time rigging a character so I have been running into a lot of little problems here and there, but this is the first one that has stumped me so far.
The problem is with my IK Solver for the arm. It controls the arm just fine, but it does not obey any of the constraints I have placed on the chain.
Here is an example:
I want the lower arm to only be able to rotate around the x-axis, and I have the constraints set up to do just that. But…
As you can see when I move the arm after setting up the IK chain it ignores those constraints. On a related note, the entire shoulder deforms even though the socket is not part of the vertex groups associated with the shoulder bone. That one is baffling me too.
Unfortunately, IK solver(s) override constraints, so therefore the Limit Rotation constraint will not work in this case. Therefore, you need to use the limit/lock rotation settings for each bone (in your first screenshot, that is in the panel beside the constraints panel).
Thanks! That was precisely what I needed. Now what about the deforming shoulder socket? The socket isn’t even part of any group, let alone one that moves with the arm, and yet the socket deforms with the arm movements. Does anyone have any clues on the cause of that?
Edited to add: Scratch that, I had accidentally left ‘Envelopes’ active. smacks forehead
hum, you probably have the Envelope button activated in your armature modifier ? if that’s the case you are deforming with vertex groups AND envelopes.
About you shoulder deformation … Do you have envelopes turned off ? And is your mesh one continuous linked mesh ? It is usually best to create robotic characters in discreet parts even if they are a part of the same object . It is easier to rig and create vertex groups (think hotkey L and the entire part will be selected and so easily assigned) … But since you have already finished just make sure you have the envelopes option turned off in the armature modifier for your mesh and if the problem persists try giving a lower weight to the vertices that come in contact with shoulder …
EDIT : I already typed this before you solved the problem … but the discreet parts thing is a time saver … it even works with skeletons …
