How do you add FK controls to an IK spine?

[TamboFirstBlood]

Hi Delano/ DT members,

I've completed the "Rigging Game Characters in Maya" course and currently using this rig to animate characters in
a fighting game.

I love the rig - it's very clean and easy to use
But after using it extensively I've come across a little issue.
I'm finding that when I'm trying to pose my characters in some more extreme poses, I can't quite get enough bend in the lower back region. Is there any way to add some extra FK controls to the IK spine just to push it that little bit further?

Many thanks,
Thomas

[delano]

Hey Thomas! Sure! Just add how ever many spine controls you'd like, making sure their pivots are aligned to their respective spine joints, and at that point, you can freeze the object(s), parent the controls for FK behavior (i.e., chest control would be parented the extra spine control which would be parented to the COG), and you're good to go.

Note that you may want to first unlock the scale attributes of the chest control before parenting it to your new spine control object, just in case there is a different in scale between the two controls.

Also, keep in mind that if you want the spine to twist as you twist these spine controls, you'd need to either update your expression or work with more nodes in order for the control's twist axis to speak to the spine chain's twist axis. Essentially, the process would involve the same steps taught in the course to set up the spine rig.

Hope this helps!

[delano]

Hello Thomas! Here’s a quick video that explains the entire process on how to add an FK control to an IK Spine in Maya:

Here's a link to the IK Spine video that was referenced in the video, as well as the Rigging Sea Creatures in Maya course that was referenced in the video.

[TamboFirstBlood]

Hey Delano!

Thanks so much for your quick response and even more so for the awesome video explaining it step by step - I never expected this
I've now successfully added the FK control into my own rig and it works perfectly.
I did a quick test and I can now get a really nice curve in his lower back.
Thanks again, looking forward to your future tutorials

[delano]

No worries! Glad to help