Working with inverse kinematics

Inverse kinematics (IK) is a great technique for creating realistic motion.

IK lets you create coordinated movements within a chain of connected parts called an IK armature, so that the parts move together in a lifelike way. The parts of the armature are its bones and joints. Given the end point of the armature, IK calculates the angles for the joints that are required to reach that end point.

Calculating those angles manually yourself would be challenging. The beauty of this feature is that you can create armatures interactively using Adobe® Flash® CS4 Professional. Then animate them using ActionScript. The IK engine included with the Flash authoring tool performs the calculations to describe the movement of the armature. You can limit the movement to certain parameters in your ActionScript code.

To create inverse kinematics armatures, you must have a license for Adobe Flash CS4 Professional.

• Basics of Inverse Kinematics
• Animating IK Armatures Overview
• Getting information about an IK armature
• Instantiating an IK Mover and Limiting Its Movement
• Moving an IK Armature
• Using IK Events