We will be switching viewports with the **space bar** to draw the skeleton. So, start with the Four Panes layout, either from a **Panels > Layouts > Four Panes** menu from the top of a viewport or the **Four Panes** icon in the Tool Bar on the left side of the interface. ![[Four Panes.png]] ## 1. Create Joints We draw joints so that they are oriented with the **X-axis** running down the bone and the **Y-axis** pointing to the acute (smaller) angle. This gives us the **X-axis** for scaling in a stretchy bone system. ![[drawJointOrientAxis.png]] In the **Rigging** menu set, go to **Skeleton > Create Joints \[]** and check the tool settings: ![[CreatJointsToolSettings.png]] The defaults should work fine in this case (which is not always true). If they do not match the suggested settings, you can hit **Reset Tool** to go back to the defaults. **Primary axis** should be X, the **secondary axis** is Y, and the you should **auto orient the secondary axis**. ## 2. Draw the Spine We start with the **pelvis** ***root joint*** and draw the spine straight up. This establishes the **spine** as the first child of the root joint and sets the **Y axis** as the forward and backward bend axis. For a ***biped*** character that is centered on the X-axis with its feet standing on on Y=0, we can use grid snap (the ***X key***) to place the **Pelvis** joint, then draw the joints up the spine. Two or three spine joints is good, with one at the shoulder level, then one for the neck, then the "**Atlas**" joint (where the skull sits on the spine), and a joint at the top of the head. ![[SpineJoints.png]] We will rename the joints after we finish drawing the skeleton. You can navigate the Outline hierarchy from a selected node by using the arrow keys. Up and and Down traverse the hierarchy as you might guess, up and down. Once we draw sibling joints, we can use the Left and Right arrows to move over to another chain in the hierarchy. In drawing joints you may have been left with the selection as the last joint drawn. You can hit the Up arrow until you are back on the root. We will draw the left leg from here. Remember that the character should be facing us (positive Z direction), so the character's left leg is on the right side of the screen. ## 3. Draw the Leg Joints If you have to again start the **Skeleton > Create Joints** tool, select the root (pelvis) joint in the hierarchy to start adding to the hierarchy. In the **front view**, with the root (top of the hierarchy) node selected, we will branch the hierarchy for the left leg. If your model is the right scale and placement, you may be able to grid snap the Left Hip. Place the Left Hip joint so that it is below the Pelvis and centered on the leg as it goes down. To draw the rest of the **left leg**, switch (using the **space**) to the **side view**. This will draw the leg in the same YZ plane as the left **hip joint**, but allow us to give a slight bend to the leg. Place the **knee joint** where the topology bends well, a bit forward of the hip. Place the **ankle joint** just above where the foot joins the leg, so that the shin is bent back from the knee, almost behind the hip. Place the **ball of the foot** about 2/3rds from the heel, just above the ground. Place the **"toe" (tip) joint** straight out from the ball. If you have individual toes, you would draw toes from this reference point, but we will not be wiggling toes. ![[Draw The Left Leg.png]] ## 4. Draw the Arm Joints You can use the **up arrow** to navigate to the **hip joint**, then the **left** or **right arrow** to switch to the **spine** branch, then the **down arrow** to navigate to the joint just below the neck (or in the chest). You may have to switch to the **perspective view** to see this. From this joint we will draw the left clavicle and then arm. ![[Select Left Clavicle.png]] ### Clavicle In the front view, place the clavicle to the right (character's left) and a bit lower than the first neck joint. This is where the collar bone (clavicle) meets the sternum (manubrium). To place bones down the arm, we can use a setting called **Projected Centering** in the **Create Joints** tool settings. Go to **Skeleton > Create Joints** and check on **Projected Centering** under **Joint Settings**. This will draw joints in the center of mesh mass. It works especially well with tubular parts of the mesh. (For a few years of Maya versions, Projected Centering did not work, so test this before you rely on it.) ![[ProjectedCentering.png]] ### Shoulder Still in the front view, place the shoulder joint centered just before the arm branches. Keep in mind we want to draw a nearly straight line down the arm, and the wrist is the thinnest part. ### Elbow Place the elbow joint under the center edgeloop for the elbow bend. ### Wrist Place the wrist joint at the center edgeloop for the wrist bend. This is just before the hand starts to spread out. ### Hand The hand joint will act to orient the hand. Place the hand joint in the center of the palm. We will draw the fingers starting from the wrist. This hand joint can also act as a contraint point for props held by the hand. ![[Drawing the Arm.png]]