The Torso -- More Weight Maps

STEP 1: Load torso09.lwo into Modeler (if you did not follow the previous tutorial sections and just want to practice Weight Map editing, you may load torso09.lwo off the CD-ROM). Go to the layer that contains the left half of the torso.

STEP 2: Set the Perspective View's display type to Weight Shade.

STEP 3: Of the W, T, and M buttons in the lower-right hand corner of the screen, make sure that W is highlighted.

STEP 4: From the drop-down list next to the W, T, and M buttons, select "Hips" to make it the current weight map. As expected, the geometry extruded from the Hip section carried the weighting of the Hips map along with it.

STEP 5: No problem. In the Back View, lasso all of the points of the leg that lie below the crotch. Go to Map > General > More > Set Vertex Map Value. Choose 0.0% for Value 1 and click on OK. The red highlights of the "Hips" weight map should no longer cover the geometry of the leg.

As for the leg, we're going to divide it between two weight maps -- the "Left Leg" weight map and a new "Left Shin" weight map.

STEP 6: Make the "Left Leg" weight map the current weight map. Select all the polygons below the center points of the knee that do not share the center points of the knee. Use Set Vertex Map Value to set the value of the points that make up these polygons to 0.0%. (Figure 1)
 
Figure 1
Figure 1		 Figure 2
Figure 2

STEP 7: With these polygons still selected, select "(new)" from the drop-down list nex to the W, T, and M buttons to create a new weight map. Call the new map "Left Shin" and set the Initial Value of the selected geometry to 100.0%. (Figure 2)

Note: Unlike the shoulder joint, the weight maps near this joint do not overlap. This is intentional, as we will use a LightWave feature called "Joint Compensation for Parent" on the shin bone in Layout. This feature will be affected by the parent's weight map -- in this case, "Left Leg" -- not the child's weight map. We'll see what happens when the parent gets these points all to itself.

That's it for the leg weight maps at this time. Now we will split the arm between two weight maps as well.

STEP 8: Deselect everything. Make the "Left Arm" weight map the current weight map. In the Back View, select the three outermost rows of polygons. Use Set Vertex Map Value to assign values of 0.0% to this selected geometry. It should look like Figure 3.
 
Figure 3
Figure 3		 Figure 4
Figure 4

STEP 9: With these polygons still selected, create a new weight map called "Left Forearm" and set the Initial Value of the selected geometry to 100.0%. It should look like Figure 4.

STEP 10: Save this object as torso10.lwo.

Table of Contents