Associate Professor
Pratt Institute
Department of Digital Arts
Using a Pole Vector Constrain: Simple Example
This is useful when, for example, a character's weight shifts from left to right during a
walk-cycleand the knee buckles a bit in response.
Using the Maya Joint Tool, create four joints (figure 1). Notice that this set-up does not
include an extra joint for the ball of the foot. While your character is likely to have a more
detailed foot-setup, we're just concerned with the Pole Vector constraint for the moment.
Create two IK handles: one from the hip to the heel; one from the heel to the toe.
In the main menu, go to Create, Locator. Move the Locator in front of the leg's knee.
With the Locator still selected, shift-select the IK handle on the heel. Go to the main
menu, Constrain, Pole Vector. Use the Locator to move the knee left and right.
Figure 1