Adding Bones

The next (and somewhat long-winded) step in the construction process was to add the bones to both characters. This would, of course, allow greater control over movement and speed up the process rapidly. I decided it was most important to work out the bones first (Before the morpher), as problems here would require an overhaul of the mesh, which would obviously require all the morphers to be updated too.

This is the bone-mesh of Carl. The reason for the large bone in the centre (Acting as his body) is to help ensure that the envelopes do not interefere with his central frame too much. A central bone hosting the rest would also allow me to move them all in one. Thus, I could move Carl's body, and the rest would get taken with it. Due to the flexibility of the antennae, the number of bones is greater than elsewhere, to allow it to create a smoother curve.

Initially, there were problems with the enveloping, as I overlooked the influence of the central body-bone (Talk about irony). The envelopes on it were too great and would restrict the otherwise clean movement of the limbs. Fortunately, this was caught and reduced so that the envelopes fit snuggly around Carl's body (Good thing he's round!). The hands also required a lot of envelope alterations, as the bones for one finger would influence the mesh of the other. Fortunately, there wasn't the need for any drastic alterations to the envelopes. The only problem-area was the knee-joints, which required a careful balance when the leg was bent (Too much would create a gap in the knee, too little would cause a heavy overlap).

Kris' bone-structure holds several similarities to Carl's. In particular, the central bone and the arms follow an almost identical structure. The eye-stalks are very much like Carl's antennae, and are made up of several bones to allow them to snake and bend freely. I also decided that Kris' legs should have the same loose structure, and thus created them almost like a spine.

Again, there weren't any serious problems with the enveloping (As I know had the hind-sight of the influence of the central bone!). It wasn't long before Kris was moving freely.