Bones Exercise

For the activity, you’ll rig the turtle model you created and animate the turtle in any way you want the turtle to move. But if don't have the model, you can download it by clicking on the link below.

http://www.mediafire.com/?d41gf85kyvydxrx

Try This!

1. Load the turtle.max and view the turtle from the Top viewport.

2. Add bones as shown in the figure below.

3. Go to the Front and Left viewports and make sure the bones fit in the fins, head and tail of the turtle.

4. Hide the mesh so that we can link all the bones together. But before that you must have renamed all the bones according to the body part they are in. This is for easy identification later on when we apply the Skin modifier. Link the main parts of the bone to the root bone which is the base of the neck.

5. Unhide the mesh and add a Skin modifier. Click on the ‘Add’ button just beside the ‘Bones:’ on the Parameters roll-out. On the ‘Select Bones’ dialog box, select all the bones and click on the ‘Select’ button. Just close the pop-up window.

6. Select the left-front fin tip bone and move the Time Slider on Track 25.

7. Hit on the ‘Auto Key’ button and move the left-front tip bone a little backwards. We’ll let our turtle swim for a short distance.

8. Do the same for the right-front tip bone.

9. This time do just the opposite to the left-back tip bone. Instead of moving backwards move the bone forward. Turtles swim this way.

10. Now move the right-back tip bone forward.

11. Move the time slider to Frame 50 and select the head tip bone.

12. Move the head tip bone upwards.

13. Move the front fins forward and the back fins backwards.

14. Then, move the Time Slider to Frame 75 and move the front fins backwards and the back fins forward.

15. Move the Time Slider to Frame 100 and make the final animation of the fins.

16. Maximize the Perspective viewport and hit on the play button. See how your turtle swims.