Adding inverse kinematics
The word “kinematics” is defined as the mechanics behind the motion of an object, but without referencing the forces that cause this motion. So, every part of our daily motion can be described in terms of kinematics as the movement of our bones.
The two types of kinematics
The type of animation of our characters in the previous chapters is called forward kinematics. An example of forward kinematics is shown in Figure 12.6:
Figure 12.6: Raising the hand of the simple skeleton by using Forward Kinematics
The skeleton in Figure 12.6 raises its simplified hand by rotating at bone number one, the shoulder, and number two, the elbow.
During the movement or rotation of the skeletal bone, all the other nodes attached to it are also affected. Rotating the arm around the shoulder does not change the elbow or the forearm, as we only change one bone at a time. Next, the forearm is rotated around the elbow, bringing the hand to the...
