PLANE ORIENT ( JOINTS & HIVE ) – OVERVIEW

The Plane Orient Tool easily aligns both Maya’s joint chains and Hive FK Guides using an adjustable Plane Control for perfect precision. This is a feature that is notably lacking in Maya.

Coplanar alignment allows for effortless alignment of arms, legs, fingers, pole-vectors and more.

The Plane Orient tool is compatible with both Hive “FK components” and Maya “Joints”.

Please also see our Joint Tool which also incorporates the Plane Orient feature.

Currently, the Joint Tool is only compatible with joints. However, we’re anticipating the integration of Hive Guide compatibility in future iterations.

The Plane Orient feature is also available in our Joint Tool window.

THE PROBLEM

Setting up the joint alignment for arms, legs, fingers, and other joint chains in Maya can be a complex task. It is common for individuals to make mistakes in accurately positioning the joints.

Maya’s is missing the Plane Orient feature, which is responsible for enabling coplanar alignment.

THE SOLUTION

Our Plane Orient feature simplifies the process of precisely aligning joint chains, including arms, legs, fingers, and more.

All you need to do is position your pivots, and the tool will take care of the rest of the alignment process for you.

HOW TO USE THE TOOL

To orient the joints/Hive FK Guides, input the start and end joints of a chain into the UI. This will automatically adjust the control plane to be in line with the joint chain.

If necessary, you can fine-tune the control-plane control by adjusting the aim and up axis in relation to the control plane’s up arrow.

Once you’re satisfied, click on the “Apply Plane Orient” button to align the joints/Hive FK Guides. This will cause the joints/guides to snap to the plane and their axes will be oriented accordingly.

For additional information, please hover the mouse over the tooltips on each UI element.