Adding Constraints

You can define a posture by adding constraints to inverse kinematics handles.

With constraints, you can keep the position and orientation of joints when you manipulate a human (for example, changing the body proportions).

You can work with different types of constraints:

  • Soft or hard constraints
  • Constraints with a position only or constraints with a position and an orientation
  • Global or local constraints

Before you begin: From the Human section of the action bar, click Edit Human to open the panel.
  1. In the panel, click Posture.
  2. In the work area, select a cube-shaped node.
  3. In the panel, under Advanced Properties, click a constraint to add it to your human:
    OptionDescription
    Soft When you manipulate bones, a soft constraint is solved whenever it is possible.
    Hard When you manipulate bones, a hard constraint is always solved.
    Important: If the constraint cannot be solved, you cannot manipulate bones.
    Position Only the position is solved.
    Orientation The position and orientation are solved.
    Absolute The position and orientation are expressed as absolute coordinates compared to the reference frame origin (0, 0, 0).
    Local The position and orientation are defined relatively to the selected bone.

    This feature is useful when you need to link hands, feet, or sight position to a reference bone. The local offset and relative orientation are kept even if you move the reference bone.