Notch Notch Manual 0.9.23
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Bone

Bone

A bone for skeletal deformations.

Method #

This node is used for skeletal deformation of 3D Objects. Bones/skeletons apply transformations to vertices in a 3D object. Transforms are applied hierarchically and different bones in the skeleton may affect vertices by different amounts, which allows for complex structures such as humanoids to be animated.

Skeleton / bone rigs are typically authored in other 3D packages and imported into Notch as part of an Imported 3D Scene such as an FBX or LightWave LWS file, whereby Bone nodes are automatically generated as child nodes of the Imported 3D Scene node for each bone in the 3D scene. However Bone nodes may also be created manually. Bones must be parented directly or indirectly to a 3D Object node, and only affect the 3D Object node(s) they are parented to.

Each bone defines a Rest Pose transform. The Rest Pose is the transform of the bone in the initial default pose. This pose is usually based on the 3D object the bones are attached to - e.g. humanoid characters are typically initialised in a T pose. In the rest pose, no deformation takes place.

A bone generates a weighting per vertex which decides how much its transform is applied to that vertex. Bones are typically linked to Weight Maps - also known as Skin Weight Sets in some 3D packages. A weight map stores a value between 0 and 1 for each vertex in a 3D object which defines how much the bone should influence that vertex, and must be pre-authored in the 3D package and exported with the 3D object. The Weightmap to use for the bone is defined by the Weightmap Name property and is matched by name. Bones may also generate their weighting per vertex using a calculation based on the distance from the bone in its rest position to the vertex.

Parameters

These properties control the 3D transforms of the node. Transforms will generally be inherited by child nodes, although they can be ignored through the Inherit Transform Channels attributes.

ParameterDetails
Position XMove along the local x-axis.
Position YMove along the local y-axis.
Position ZMove along the local z-axis.
Rotation HeadingRotate around the local y-axis.
Rotation PitchRotate around the local x-axis.
Rotation BankRotate around the local z-axis.
Scale XScale along the local x-axis.
Scale YScale along the local y-axis.
Scale ZScale along the local z-axis.

Toggle which transform channels should be inherited from the parent node. By default, all transforms will be inherited.

ParameterDetails
Position XToggle inheritance of the X Position from the parent.
Position YToggle inheritance of the Y Position from the parent.
Position ZToggle inheritance of the Z Position from the parent.
Rotation HeadingToggle inheritance of the Rotation Heading from the parent.
Rotation PitchToggle inheritance of the Rotation Pitch from the parent.
Rotation BankToggle inheritance of the Rotation Bank from the parent.
Scale XToggle inheritance of the X Scale from the parent.
Scale YToggle inheritance of the Y Scale from the parent.
Scale ZToggle inheritance of the Z Scale from the parent.
World Position OnlyInherit the world position from the parent only, rotation and scale will be ignored. Overrides above properties.
Inherit TimeToggle inheritance of time from the parent.

These properties control the core behaviours of the node.

ParameterDetails
ActiveControl whether the bone is active or not.
Weightmap NameName of the skin weight map on the parent 3D object that is used to weight the effect of the bone’s deformation.
Weightmap OnlyWhen checked, the weight map weight will be used directly; when unchecked it will be multiplied with the calculated falloff weight.
Bone StrengthScales the falloff weight.
Rest Position XThe X component of the initial / rest position of the bone.
Rest Position YThe Y component of the initial / rest position of the bone.
Rest Position ZThe Z component of the initial / rest position of the bone.
Rest HeadingThe heading component of the initial / rest rotation of the bone.
Rest PitchThe pitch component of the initial / rest rotation of the bone.
Rest BankThe bank component of the initial / rest rotation of the bone.
Rest LengthThe length of the bone in its rest pose.

These properties limit the rotation of the bones on each rotation axis.

ParameterDetails
Heading LimitsLimit on the rotation heading when used as part of an IK rig.
Pitch LimitsLimit on the rotation pitch when used as part of an IK rig.
Bank LimitsLimit on the rotation bank when used as part of an IK rig.

Inputs

NameDescriptionTypical Input
World Rotation CenterUse another nodes rotation to control the bones rotation in place.Null
Transform ModifiersApply the transforms of another node to this node.Null
Target NodeModifiy the rotations of the node to always direct the z axis towards the input.Null
Local Transform OverrideApply the transforms of another node to this node, relative to its parent.Null