Twist Links in Maya?

mishakrul

What is the Maya equivalent of 3D Studio Max's biped twist links? I asked my Maya instructor this question back in college and he looked at me like I had two heads.

I know there is a way to make twist-links using just bones, but I've long forgotten how to do this. I just relied on the biped to do the work for me, but now I'm using Maya and I'm not as privileged as I was in Max

Adam L. Gray

Well, it's been quite a while since I last used Maya now.. but I did create a rig in it, where you'd add this kind of thing for the forearm... unfortunately I can't remember precisely how to do so though.

But I'm pretty sure it was only a matter of locking all but the axis you wanted to use on your bone, ie. x-rotation.

Then there were a bunch of stuff about parenting groups and adding FK and/or IK, but that's all fuzzy! So, if you're looking to create a proper rig, then you should probably check out a tutorial for it. If you're just after the twist thing, then two bones where the axises are locked should suffice methinks.

Warheart

I wouldn't use a direct rotation channel connection type of setup for twist joints tbh. I'd use an aim constraint based rig because it gives a much more stable result (does not suffer from issues relating to how eular rotation channels work).

Have a look at this tutorial to get an idea of how the aim constraint type twist rig works.

Upper arm twist tends to require a little bit extra to do it nicely. I use something along the lines of this.