{"id":8596,"date":"2024-04-28T11:09:30","date_gmt":"2024-04-28T10:09:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.katsbits.com\/codex\/?p=8596"},"modified":"2024-07-22T09:49:21","modified_gmt":"2024-07-22T08:49:21","slug":"armature-bone","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.katsbits.com\/codex\/armature-bone\/","title":{"rendered":"Armature &#038; Bone Basics (Skeletons) in Blender"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_82_2 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-light-blue ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-69e598bd05bb5\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-69e598bd05bb5\"  aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.katsbits.com\/codex\/armature-bone\/#what-is-an-armature\" >What Is An Armature<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/www.katsbits.com\/codex\/armature-bone\/#what-are-bones\" >What are Bones<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/www.katsbits.com\/codex\/armature-bone\/#bone-relations\" >Bone Relations<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/www.katsbits.com\/codex\/armature-bone\/#editing-contexts\" >Editing Contexts<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-4' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-4'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/www.katsbits.com\/codex\/armature-bone\/#object-mode\" >Object Mode<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-4'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/www.katsbits.com\/codex\/armature-bone\/#edit-mode\" >Edit Mode<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-4'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/www.katsbits.com\/codex\/armature-bone\/#pose-mode\" >Pose Mode<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-8\" href=\"https:\/\/www.katsbits.com\/codex\/armature-bone\/#editing-an-armature\" >Editing An Armature<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-4' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-4'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-9\" href=\"https:\/\/www.katsbits.com\/codex\/armature-bone\/#extrude-bones\" >Extrude Bones<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-4'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-10\" href=\"https:\/\/www.katsbits.com\/codex\/armature-bone\/#add-bones\" >Add Bones<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-4'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-11\" href=\"https:\/\/www.katsbits.com\/codex\/armature-bone\/#duplicate-bones\" >Duplicate Bones<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-4'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-12\" href=\"https:\/\/www.katsbits.com\/codex\/armature-bone\/#bone-constraints\" >Bone Constraints<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<p>In Blender an <strong>Armature<\/strong> is a type of core object that can be used to control other objects using a skeleton structure. The following takes a look at the basics of what Armatures are and how they can be edited.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"what-is-an-armature\"><\/span>What Is An Armature<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>In Blender, an <strong>Armature<\/strong> is a type of editable object used to control other objects. This is typically done directly, by manipulating the Armature object itself, or indirectly using a bone or bones essentially contained within the Armature. In practice an <strong>Armature<\/strong> in Blender is functionally the same as the <strong>Skeleton<\/strong> object of other applications, the only difference being the label used to identify them.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong>Design note<\/strong>: although skeletal control systems are common between 3D applications, comparative functionality or compatibility will be subject to availability &#8211; <em>some features may not be available when <a href=\"https:\/\/www.katsbits.com\/codex\/tag\/import\/\">importing files<\/a> from other software<\/em>.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>To add an Armature to a scene, from the <strong>Add<\/strong> [1] menu of the main 3D Viewport or Layout workspace, click <strong>Armature<\/strong> [2] &#8211; <strong>Add \u00bb Armature<\/strong>. An object will appear at the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.katsbits.com\/codex\/snap\/\">3D Cursor<\/a> [3] ready to be edited. This is the Armature object that can be selected and manipulated the same way as other objects while in <strong>Object Mode<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong>Design note<\/strong>: while in <strong>Object Mode<\/strong>, Armatures can be moved, rotated and scaled using the normal &#8216;transform&#8217; tools (Move (<span class=\"shortcutkey\">G<\/span>), Rotate (<span class=\"shortcutkey\">R<\/span>) an Scale (<span class=\"shortcutkey\">S<\/span>)). In <strong>Edit Mode<\/strong>, the Object itself as indicated by the Origin, stays put while bones that may be included can be moved and manipulated.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote style=\"background-color: #fc0; color: #000;\"><p><strong>Important<\/strong>: the object that appears is actually a bone that represents the &#8216;root&#8217; or &#8216;master&#8217; bone of a skeleton [i]. If this is deleted, what remains is the Armature object itself [ii], essentially an identifier or container of sorts that has an Origin so it can be selected [iii] (in the Outliner, unless <strong>Origins (All)<\/strong> is enabled in Viewport Overlays) and positioned.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.katsbits.com\/images\/tutorials\/armature\/armature-no-bone.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" style=\"width: 98.5%; height: auto;\" src=\"https:\/\/www.katsbits.com\/images\/tutorials\/armature\/armature-no-bone.jpg\" alt=\"[descriptive alt image text here]\" width=\"900px\" height=\"500px\" border=\"0\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<i>The initial object that appears [i] is actually a bone. If this is removed, what remains is the underlying object [ii], the &#8216;Armature&#8217; as a datablock, that can still be selected, albeit from the Outliner [iii], and positioned as normal.<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.katsbits.com\/images\/tutorials\/armature\/add-armature.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" style=\"width: 100%; height: auto;\" src=\"https:\/\/www.katsbits.com\/images\/tutorials\/armature\/add-armature.jpg\" alt=\"[descriptive alt image text here]\" width=\"900px\" height=\"500px\" border=\"0\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<i>Like most other objects in Blender, the <strong>Add<\/strong> menu [1] is where an <strong>Armature<\/strong> [2] can be dropped into a scene at the location of the 3D Cursor [3]. This initial placement includes a single &#8216;root&#8217; bone.<\/i><\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"what-are-bones\"><\/span>What are Bones<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>When an Armature is dropped into the scene a single <strong>Bone<\/strong> is shown by default. In <strong>Object Mode<\/strong> this &#8216;<em>root<\/em>&#8216; or &#8216;<em>master<\/em>&#8216; bone represents the Armature as a selectable object that, depending on the Interaction Mode &#8211; <strong>Object Mode<\/strong>, <strong>Edit Mode<\/strong> (<span class=\"shortcutkey\">Tab<\/span>) or <strong>Pose Mode<\/strong> (<span class=\"shortcutkey\">Ctrl<\/span> + <span class=\"shortcutkey\">Tab<\/span> | <span class=\"shortcutkey\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.katsbits.com\/codex\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/keyboard-symbol-control.png\" alt=\"Control icon (MacOS)\" width=\"12\" height=\"auto\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-7960\" \/><\/span> + <span class=\"shortcutkey\">Tab<\/span>) &#8211; can be manipulated using the Transform Tools &#8211; <strong>Move<\/strong>, <strong>Rotate<\/strong> and <strong>Scale<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong>Design note<\/strong>: when selecting an Armature in Object Mode, the Armature object itself is what&#8217;s selected; the bone that can be seen acts as a visual aid to facilitates this manipulation.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>In <strong>Edit Mode<\/strong> (<span class=\"shortcutkey\">Tab<\/span>) the initial bone can be used to form <em>bone chains<\/em> and eventually a <em>skeleton<\/em>. Bones in of themselves are initially shown as <strong>Octahedral<\/strong> shapes that have a <em>top<\/em>, <em>middle<\/em> and <em>bottom<\/em>. Standing up, the top is the thin end and referred to as the &#8220;<strong>Tail<\/strong>&#8221; [4], the bottom is the fat end and labelled &#8220;<strong>Head<\/strong>&#8221; [5] &#8211; this is also centred on the Armatures Origin &#8211; and finally the middle being the &#8220;<strong>Body<\/strong>&#8221; [6]. Selecting the <em>Tail<\/em> or <em>Head<\/em>, each can be manipulated independently of the other whereas selecting and manipulating <em>Body<\/em> moves the whole bone, Tail and Head included.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.katsbits.com\/images\/tutorials\/armature\/bone-parts.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" style=\"width: 100%; height: auto;\" src=\"https:\/\/www.katsbits.com\/images\/tutorials\/armature\/bone-parts.jpg\" alt=\"Parts of a Bone\" width=\"900px\" height=\"500px\" border=\"0\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<i>Bones comprise three independently selectable parts; the <strong>Tail<\/strong> [4], the <strong>Head<\/strong> [6] and the <strong>Body<\/strong> [6]. Each can be moved relative to what&#8217;s selected, and any relationships to other bones.<\/i><\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"bone-relations\"><\/span>Bone Relations<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>While an <em>Armature<\/em> is an editable <em>object<\/em>, <em>bones<\/em> the <em>components<\/em> within, a <em>skeleton<\/em> is the totality of the included bones, their relationships and the organisational hierarchy this forms. As an Armature includes one bone by default, &#8216;root&#8217;, this sits at the top of the hierarchy; add more bones and they&#8217;ll essentially sit below this forming a <strong>Child \u00bb Parent<\/strong> relationship or <strong>bone chain<\/strong>, which in turn is based on bones having a  <strong>Connected<\/strong> relationship, that is, bones are physically attached to one another such that the Head and Tail nodes become common shared pivots or points [7] around which bones articulate or can be manipulated; a characters arm for example, might including an <em>upper arm<\/em>, <em>lower arm<\/em> and <em>hand<\/em> bones that form a three-bone &#8216;chain&#8217; that articulates based on the order or <strong>Parent \u00bb Child<\/strong> hierarchy between them.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong>Design note<\/strong>: by default bones are physically linked together, facilitating the chain, so manipulating one bone will also alter bones above or below the selection in the chain. This can be modified in <strong>Bone Properties<\/strong> by clicking the <strong>Connected<\/strong> checkbox under <strong>Relations<\/strong> (<a href=\"#\">see below<\/a> for more information).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.katsbits.com\/images\/tutorials\/armature\/head-tail-pivot.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" style=\"width: 100%; height: auto;\" src=\"https:\/\/www.katsbits.com\/images\/tutorials\/armature\/head-tail-pivot.jpg\" alt=\"Bone Relations\" width=\"900px\" height=\"500px\" border=\"0\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<i>The relationship between bones depends on how they are arranged and\/or linked together. By default this means the Head and Tail nodes become common points [7] around which bones are manipulated as a group, one affecting others in a chain.<\/i><\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"editing-contexts\"><\/span>Editing Contexts<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Armatures can be modified or manipulated as intact Objects in their own right, or by altering the individual bones they contain. In other words, depending on the editing context, the active <strong>Interaction Mode<\/strong> set &#8211; <strong>Object Mode<\/strong>, <strong>Edit Mode<\/strong> or <strong>Pose Mode<\/strong> &#8211; different aspects of an Armature, and how they are used or behave, can be changed.<\/p>\n<h4><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"object-mode\"><\/span>Object Mode<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h4>\n<p>For example, in <strong>Object Mode<\/strong>, the default context objects are dropped into a scene, Armatures are generally limited to <em>Move<\/em> (G), <em>Scale<\/em> (S) and <em>Rotate<\/em> (R) using the objects <strong>Origin<\/strong> as a focal point &#8211; rescaling an Armature to make it twice as large increases its size relative to the <strong>Origin<\/strong> [8] as the focus of the operation.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong>Design note<\/strong>: as the <strong>Transform Pivot Point<\/strong> can be changed to use other focal points, the various transform operations &#8211; Move, Scale, Rotate &#8211; will behave relative to the point set. <strong>Median Point<\/strong> is the default.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote style=\"background-color: #ddecf3; color: #555;\"><p><strong>Highlight<\/strong>: in <strong>Object Mode<\/strong> selecting an Armature will highlight the object with an orange outline.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.katsbits.com\/images\/tutorials\/armature\/armature-object-mode.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" style=\"width: 100%; height: auto;\" src=\"https:\/\/www.katsbits.com\/images\/tutorials\/armature\/armature-object-mode.jpg\" alt=\"Manipulating an Armature\" width=\"900px\" height=\"500px\" border=\"0\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<i>In <strong>Object Mode<\/strong> editing or manipulating an Armature is limited to <strong>Move<\/strong>, <strong>Rotate<\/strong> and <strong>Scale<\/strong> transforms, for example rotating uses the current Pivot Point [8] as the focus of the transformation.<\/i><\/p>\n<h4><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"edit-mode\"><\/span>Edit Mode<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h4>\n<p>To edit the structure of the Armature, the bones it contains, <strong>Edit Mode<\/strong> (<span class=\"shortcutkey\">Tab<\/span>) has to be used. Here, bones can be <em>edited<\/em>, <em>deleted<\/em> (<span class=\"shortcutkey\">X<\/span> or <span class=\"shortcutkey\">Delete<\/span>), <em>added<\/em> (<span class=\"shortcutkey\">Shift<\/span> + <span class=\"shortcutkey\">A<\/span>), <em>extruded<\/em> (<span class=\"shortcutkey\">E<\/span>), <em>duplicated<\/em> (<span class=\"shortcutkey\">Shift<\/span> + <span class=\"shortcutkey\">D<\/span>), <em>moved<\/em> (<span class=\"shortcutkey\">G<\/span>), <em>scaled<\/em> (<span class=\"shortcutkey\">S<\/span>), <em>rotated<\/em> (<span class=\"shortcutkey\">R<\/span>) or otherwise manipulated with or without affecting neighbouring bones. Here too the initial physical relationship between bones can be adjusted, disconnecting [9] them from one another [10] so they can moved freely when posed without directly affecting neighbouring bones.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong>Design note<\/strong>: changing bone relations in Edit Mode is generally limited to their being physically linked to each other. For complex relationships behaviour can be altered using various Modifiers and Bone Constraints (outside the scope of this tutorial).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote style=\"background-color: #ddecf3; color: #555;\"><p><strong>Highlight<\/strong>: in <strong>Edit Mode<\/strong> bone selections are outlined <em>yellow<\/em> when the bones <em>Body<\/em> is clicked, or orange for <em>Head<\/em> and <em>Tail<\/em> nodes. The Armature object cannot be selected in Edit Mode.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.katsbits.com\/images\/tutorials\/armature\/diconnected-bones.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" style=\"width: 100%; height: auto;\" src=\"https:\/\/www.katsbits.com\/images\/tutorials\/armature\/diconnected-bones.jpg\" alt=\"Editing Armature Bones\" width=\"900px\" height=\"500px\" border=\"0\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<i>Editing an Armature in Edit Mode allows bones to add, removed, repositioned or resized as part of a chain, or disconnected [9] so they can be manipulated independently [10] of other bones.<\/i><\/p>\n<h4><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"pose-mode\"><\/span>Pose Mode<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h4>\n<p>In <strong>Pose Mode<\/strong> (<span class=\"shortcutkey\">Ctrl<\/span> + <span class=\"shortcutkey\">Tab<\/span>) the Armatures behaviour changes to facilitate the manipulation of individual bones for the creation of animated sequences &#8211; the Armature has control over a mesh that it can deform as the bones moved. Similar to Edit Mode, in Pose Mode the Armature itself cannot be modified, only bones, and this is generally limited to <strong>Move<\/strong> (<span class=\"shortcutkey\">G<\/span>), <strong>Rotate<\/strong> (<span class=\"shortcutkey\">R<\/span>) or <strong>Scale<\/strong> (<span class=\"shortcutkey\">S<\/span>). In this context however, bones do behave in a slightly different way depending on the operation being performed, for example, scaling in Pose Mode changes the size of bones within a chain relative to the manipulated bone, which can change the apparent length of a bone chain [11], whereas scaling in Edit Mode resizes bones relative to the bone chain, maintaining its initial length [12]. In other words, modifying bones in Pose Mode can affect the bone chain itself, whereas as in Edit Mode only the bones are affected &#8211; bone Relations behave differently.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong>Design note<\/strong>: more complex articulation is possible using Modifiers that change the default, <strong>Connected<\/strong>, relationship between individuals bones, which can be reversed, targeted and otherwise controlled by other bones or objects that form part of a larger articulation &#8216;rig&#8217;.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote style=\"background-color: #ddecf3; color: #555;\"><p><strong>Highlight<\/strong>: in <strong>Pose Mode<\/strong> bones will highlight with a blue outline when selected.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.katsbits.com\/images\/tutorials\/armature\/armature-pose-mode-difference.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" style=\"width: 100%; height: auto;\" src=\"https:\/\/www.katsbits.com\/images\/tutorials\/armature\/armature-pose-mode-difference.jpg\" alt=\"Editing an Armature in Pose Mode\" width=\"900px\" height=\"500px\" border=\"0\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<i>In <strong>Pose Mode<\/strong> bones can be selected and moved based on their relationship with each other, however, some changes propagate to other bones which in turn effect the larger bone chain [11] they might belong to, unlike changes made in Edit Mode [12].<\/i><\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"editing-an-armature\"><\/span>Editing An Armature<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>As discussed above an Armature can be edited in a number of way to create a skeleton but how this is done depends on what&#8217;s selected, for example;<\/p>\n<h4><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"extrude-bones\"><\/span>Extrude Bones<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h4>\n<p>In <strong>Edit Mode<\/strong>, if the <em>Body<\/em> of a bone is select and <strong>Extrude<\/strong> used (<strong>Armature \u00bb Extrude<\/strong>, press <span class=\"shortcutkey\">E<\/span> or use Toolbar tool), two new bones are created at each end, Tail and Head, <strong><em>if<\/em><\/strong> the selected bone is <strong>Connected<\/strong> to other bones. If not, extrusion defaults to the Tail node and the creation of a single bone.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong>Design note<\/strong>: clicking the Body element selects the entire bone, Tail, Body and Head.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Similarly, to extrude a new bone from a specific end of an existing bone, select the Tail and\/or Head nodes then press <span class=\"shortcutkey\">E<\/span>. Here Extrude creates a new bone using the selection as the point of origin regardless of their being a connection between other bones.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong>Design note<\/strong>: if multiple bones are selected extrusion only works on the Tail and Head\/Tail connections; the bone at the start of a bone chain won&#8217;t receive a new bone unless the Head node is selected.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.katsbits.com\/images\/tutorials\/armature\/bone-extrusion.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" style=\"width: 100%; height: auto;\" src=\"https:\/\/www.katsbits.com\/images\/tutorials\/armature\/bone-extrusion.jpg\" alt=\"Extruding a bone\" width=\"900px\" height=\"500px\" border=\"0\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.katsbits.com\/images\/tutorials\/armature\/bone-extrusion-nodes.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" style=\"width: 100%; height: auto;\" src=\"https:\/\/www.katsbits.com\/images\/tutorials\/armature\/bone-extrusion-nodes.jpg\" alt=\"Extruding a bone node\" width=\"900px\" height=\"500px\" border=\"0\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<i>Extruding a bone can be done from the bone itself (image-top) which adds a bone at both ends, or from a single &#8216;node&#8217; (image-bottom) which uses the selected node as the point of origin.<\/i><\/p>\n<h4><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"add-bones\"><\/span>Add Bones<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h4>\n<p>Another way to add bones in <strong>Edit Mode<\/strong> is to use <strong>Add<\/strong>. Here, individual bones are dropped into place intact without it being necessary to make a bone or bone node selection. This also means new bones will appear at the location of the <strong>3D Cursor<\/strong>, and by default, are not connected to existing bones. <\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong>Design note<\/strong>: bones initially appear with the Head node centred on the 3D Cursor and upright, at 90&deg;&#8217;s, relative to the XY grid floor regardless of the viewports orientation.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>To drop in a new bone, whilst Armature is selected and in Edit Mode, from the <strong>Add<\/strong> menu click <strong>Single Bone<\/strong> [13] &#8211; <strong><em>Add \u00bb Single Bone<\/em><\/strong> &#8211; or use <span class=\"shortcutkey\">Shift<\/span> + <span class=\"shortcutkey\">A<\/span>. A new bone will appear at the 3D Cursor [14] that can then be manipulated [15] as normal.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong>Design note<\/strong>: when using <strong>Add<\/strong>, bones are not linked physically by default. To correct for this, select the new bone and in <strong>Bone Properties<\/strong> [i] set a <strong>Parent<\/strong> and then click <strong>Connected<\/strong> checkbox [ii] &#8211; enabling this may &#8216;deforms&#8217; the bone to make the connection between the <em>Head<\/em> node of the new &#8216;<em>Child<\/em>&#8216; bone to the <em>Tail<\/em> node of the old &#8216;<em>Parent<\/em>&#8216; bone [iii]. One individual bone is added per &#8216;Add&#8217;.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.katsbits.com\/images\/tutorials\/armature\/add-bone-connected.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" style=\"width: 98.5%; height: auto;\" src=\"https:\/\/www.katsbits.com\/images\/tutorials\/armature\/add-bone-connected.jpg\" alt=\"Connect new bones\" width=\"900px\" height=\"500px\" border=\"0\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<i>New bones are not connected by default. In <strong>Bone Properties<\/strong> [i] this can be fixed by setting a <strong>Parent<\/strong> then enabling <strong>Connected<\/strong> [ii], which will deform the bone [iii] to physically link them together.<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.katsbits.com\/images\/tutorials\/armature\/add-bones.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" style=\"width: 100%; height: auto;\" src=\"https:\/\/www.katsbits.com\/images\/tutorials\/armature\/add-bones.jpg\" alt=\"Adding Bones\" width=\"900px\" height=\"500px\" border=\"0\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<i>Individual bones can be added to an existing Armature using the Add option [13]. New bones then appear at the 3D Cursor [14] ready for further editing [15].<\/i><\/p>\n<h4><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"duplicate-bones\"><\/span>Duplicate Bones<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h4>\n<p>An alternative to using Add to place new bones is to <strong>Duplicate<\/strong>. Here, bones are selected, individually or as part of a larger group, and then simply duplicated in-situ.<\/p>\n<blockquote style=\"background-color: #fc0; color: #000;\"><p><strong>Important<\/strong>: Copy\/Paste doesn&#8217;t work on bones, doing so will copy\/paste the last active object, typically the Armature, or paste whatever is in the buffer\/memory.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote><p><strong>Design note<\/strong>: Duplicate differs from Add largely by also coping across any attributes the parent bones might have had; relationships, position, rotation, roll, etc.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>To duplicate bones, make a selection in Edit Mode [16] and from the <strong>Armature<\/strong> menu click <strong>Duplicate<\/strong> &#8211; <strong><em>Armature \u00bb Duplicate<\/em><\/strong> (or <span class=\"shortcutkey\">Shift<\/span> + <span class=\"shortcutkey\">D<\/span>) [17]. Similar to duplication generally, this makes a copy of the initial selection that&#8217;s locked to, and that moves freely with, the mouse cursor. To release for editing click where the bone should be dropped [18], or press <span class=\"shortcutkey\">Esc<\/span> to reset back to the same location as the original bone selection ready for further editing.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.katsbits.com\/images\/tutorials\/armature\/duplicate-bones.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" style=\"width: 100%; height: auto;\" src=\"https:\/\/www.katsbits.com\/images\/tutorials\/armature\/duplicate-bones.jpg\" alt=\"Duplicate Bones\" width=\"900px\" height=\"500px\" border=\"0\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<i>Duplicate is a way to copy existing bones including any attributes or properties. Make a bone selection [16] and then click <strong>Duplicate<\/strong> [17] in the <strong>Armature<\/strong> menu. A new bone(s) will appear [18], moving with the mouse cursor.<\/i><\/p>\n<h4><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"bone-constraints\"><\/span>Bone Constraints<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h4>\n<p>Where <a href=\"https:\/\/www.katsbits.com\/codex\/armature-bone-skeletons\/#add-bones\">Add<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.katsbits.com\/codex\/armature-bone-skeletons\/#duplicate-bones\">Duplicate<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.katsbits.com\/codex\/armature-bone-skeletons\/#extrude-bones\">Extrude<\/a> are used to edit bones and their basic relationships from <em>within<\/em> an Armature (in Edit Mode), <strong>Bone Constraints<\/strong> (bone modifiers) change behaviours externally, that is, in Pose Mode they can be used to modify how bones behave in relation to themselves, the Armature they belong to, and even other objects, all without editing the underlying structure of a bone. <\/p>\n<blockquote style=\"background-color: #fc0; color: #000;\"><p><strong>Important<\/strong>: whilst not specifically the subject of this tutorial, there are dozens of &#8216;<em>constraints<\/em>&#8216;, each bringing a particular property or behaviour to bear. However, in this context they are generally categorised as; <strong>Constraints<\/strong>, which change <em>Armature<\/em> behaviour, and <strong>Bone Constraints<\/strong> that modify <em>Bone<\/em> behaviour. In other words; a <strong>Constraint<\/strong> is assigned to and affects an <em>Armature<\/em>; a <strong>Bone Constraint<\/strong> is assigned to and (generally) affects <em>Bones<\/em>. This difference essentially allows an Armature, as an Object, to control something else, versus an individual bone or bones within the same Armature acting as a control for other objects, elements or items.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>For example, the default hieratical <strong><em>Parent \u00bb Child<\/em><\/strong> structure of a simple bone chain tends to be bottom up like so;<\/p>\n<blockquote style=\"background-color: #E7FAEA; color: #000; font-family:courier;\"><p><strong>Root<\/strong> \u00bb Bone 1 \u00bb Bone 2 \u00bb Bone 3<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>With the assignment of an <strong>Inverse Kinematic<\/strong> (IK) modifier the structure is essentially reversed or &#8216;inverted&#8217; like so;<\/p>\n<blockquote style=\"background-color: #E7FAEA; color: #000; font-family:courier;\"><p><strong>Bone 3<\/strong> \u00bb Bone 2 \u00bb Bone 1 \u00bb Root<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>In practice this then means, rather than <strong>Root<\/strong> controlling the movement of bones <em>above<\/em> it in the chain, with IK assigned to <strong>Bone 3<\/strong>, it now controls the chain, i.e. Bone 3 now moves\/articulates bones <em>below<\/em> it.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong>Design note<\/strong>: depending on the Constraint and changes it makes to bone and\/or Armature, the Head node of the Root bone tends to remain in place. In other words without constraint, if <em>Root<\/em> is manipulated, <em>Bone 3<\/em> tends to follow relative to Root and other bones back up the chain, whereas with IK assigned to Bone 3, it can move freely but Root will stay rooted to the Armatures Origin &#8211; the Origin or Pivot Point of the Armature is not being changed (in this case).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>To assign a <strong>Bone Constraint<\/strong>, with Armature in <strong>Pose Mode<\/strong> click a bone to select [19], then in <strong>Bone Constraints<\/strong> [20] click the <strong>Add Bone Constraints<\/strong> drop-down and select an option, e.g. <strong>Inverse Kinematics<\/strong>. A properties panel will typically appear where various options and setting can be changed that affect the selected bone or other objects.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong>Design note<\/strong>: some constraints may only be assignable to individual bones.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.katsbits.com\/images\/tutorials\/armature\/bone-constraints.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" style=\"width: 100%; height: auto;\" src=\"https:\/\/www.katsbits.com\/images\/tutorials\/armature\/bone-constraints.jpg\" alt=\"Bone Constraints\" width=\"900px\" height=\"500px\" border=\"0\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<i>Bone Constraints can be used to modify bone behaviour without physically altering the Armature in Edit Mode, adding an <strong>Inverse Kinematic<\/strong> [20] for example, allows a bone chain to be controlled from the &#8216;end&#8217; [19] rather than beginning.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8782,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34,230],"tags":[687,1087,726,714,346,868,50,312,423,536,412,744,869,791,724],"class_list":["post-8596","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blender","category-tutorials","tag-armatures","tag-bone-constraints","tag-bones","tag-duplicate","tag-edit-mode","tag-ik","tag-inverse-kinematics","tag-modifiers","tag-object-mode","tag-origin","tag-pivot-point","tag-pose-mode","tag-rig","tag-shortcut-keys","tag-skeleton"],"post_mailing_queue_ids":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.katsbits.com\/codex\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8596","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.katsbits.com\/codex\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.katsbits.com\/codex\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.katsbits.com\/codex\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.katsbits.com\/codex\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8596"}],"version-history":[{"count":74,"href":"https:\/\/www.katsbits.com\/codex\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8596\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9183,"href":"https:\/\/www.katsbits.com\/codex\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8596\/revisions\/9183"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.katsbits.com\/codex\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8782"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.katsbits.com\/codex\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8596"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.katsbits.com\/codex\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8596"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.katsbits.com\/codex\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8596"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}