A IK Spline in Autodesk Maya lends itself well to being used as the underlying structure in character rigs for tails, spines or anything that has lots of small joints that need to move in the same direction.

I decided to focus on the common problems that arise when creating IK SplinesPat Imrie

Create an spine that will


  • work with a pre-made rig

  • have the shoulders rotating correctly

  • not “pop” when animating

Using the IK Spline Handle Tool in Maya is actually really simple. It may get a bit more complicated trying to set up a Spline IK into the spine of a character. As with anything in character rigging, much of the process is interdependent on other components or systems in the rig. This can make it difficult to troubleshoot problems at any one level.

Here, Pat Imrie makes note of some of the common stumbling blocks that may arise when creating a IK Spline system for a Spine in a character rig. Walking through each of the common issues using a pre made base rig, Pat touches on each of the issues and shows how to approach fixing them.

For more great tutorials in Maya and Zbrush, check out Pat Imrie’s site here.

1 comment

  1. Raymond

    Unfortunately, his method of rebuilding the curve introduces the exact same pop (joint angle change) as if you simplified the curve when making the IK Spline.

    -1

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