Introduction

This is the new version which is compatible with Genesis 3 !

Say you want to create a dance animation. You animate the hip sways.

Now comes the hard part where you must, for each frame of the animation,

carefully re-position the legs so the feet don't float above the floor or sink below the floor.

This takes a lot of time and you often end up with shaky trembling feet.

With mcjAutoLimb, you select the foot, and the script makes all the leg work for you -

you get super stable feet!

mcjAutoLimb can also help you for animations where you want a foot or a hand to follow something or grab something

Amother example, you create a null node and position it where you'd like the figure's left wrist to be

select that node, then select that hand, run the script

and presto, the hand moved precisely where you wanted

this works for animations too ! it saved me hours of work over the years.

The new version (2014/2015) adds "pole vectors" or "poles" for short.

There's an infinity of ways to position a leg so that a foot reaches it's target.

The poles help mcjAutoLimb decide how much "twist" to apply to a leg's thigh joint or an arm's shoulder joint.

In the case of arms, mcjAutoLimb will "point" the elbows according to the pole orientation.

Specifically it's the Y-Axis of the pole node that guides mcjAutoLimb.

If the pole node was a cylinder, the Y-Axis is simply the line going from the base of the cylinder to the top.

In the case of legs mcjAutoLimb will "point" the knees according to the pole vector's orientation.

If you don't specify a pole, the script will create one based on the current knee/elbow aim.

History

November 7th 2019 0:01 AM Added integrated mcjKeepOrient function and pole clean node unparenting

November ‎29, ‎2015 1h28 AM Release

The old version mcjAutoLimb is and will remain here : https://sites.google.com/site/mcasualsdazscripts/mcjautolimb

The newer but old version mcjAutoLimb2014 is and will remain here : https://sites.google.com/site/mcasualsdazscripts3/mcjautolimb2014

Those two old versions will not work for Genesis 3 figures but they did/do work for all older generation figures

Installing

The zip package is found at the bottom of this page

unzip it in your daz content folder, typically

C:\Program Files\DAZ\Studio\content\

or

C:\Program Files (x86)\DAZ\Studio\content\

or

C:\Users\USERNAME\Documents\DAZ 3D\Studio\My Library

once installed, it will appear in your content library, under

Studio / Scripts / mcasual

or

My Library / Scripts / mcasual

Starting with Windows 7 if you right click on the downloaded zip file

and select the [Extract All ....] pop-up menu item

you simply browse up to your Daz Studio Content Folder

and the files will fall in the proper folder

Use / Single node

This mode is used to keep a foot or an arm where it is, even if the rest of the body is moving

Select a hand or any node parented to a hand

this can be a finger or a sword, as long as it's parented to a hand

or select a foot or any node parented to it

this could be a toe or this cold be a null node positioned at the bottom of the shoe sole

run the script

Specify the range of frames to process and press the "do it" button

the selected foot or hand or finger .... should now stay put!

note how the script created a target node for you

it also created a pole vector ( a null node ) and parented it to the shoulder or thigh

or if a pole node was previously created for this figure and this leg/arm, then it will be found and re-used

you can optionally make the script delete them on exit

USE - Two nodes : a target and a Targeter

You have a "target" node and you want the left hand to follow the movements of this node

select the target node

press the CTRL key, and select the left hand ( which we will call the targeter )

node that the selection order is very important

if you select the hand, followed by the target ... it wont work

so, target first, hand second

launch the script

Specify the range of frames to process and press the "do it" button

if the target stays withing hand reach, everything should be fine

here again, the script took care of creating and parenting the Pole vector

you can have that node deleted upon exit

or if a pole node was previously created for this figure and this leg/arm, then it will be found and re-used

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Tips for problematic cases

Tip 1

The default limits for foreArm joints is sometimes -5 degrees to 135 degrees

this can cause mcjAutoLimb to hesitate between applying a "Bend" of 5 or -5 degrees

mcjAutoLimb is trying to make the arm a certain length and those two angles satisfy the condition

so you may want to go in the parameters tab of the foreArm and change the range of Bend to 5 to 135 degrees

Tip 2

sometimes setting "limits off" on the thighs/shins or the shoulder/foreArm is needed

Tip 3

make sure your target is reachable for the duration of the animation

Tip 4

Read the manual ( web page ) of the old version of mcjAutoLimb

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License

by mCasual/Jacques

You can use this script freely for personal or commercial use.

You may not sell, resell, sub-license or rent this script in any way.

you may credit this script to mCasual/Jacques

THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND,

EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES

OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND

NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT

HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER LIABILITY,

WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING

FROM, OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR

OTHER DEALINGS IN THE SOFTWARE.