Setting Up the Character to Use IK

The first time you display the character's skeleton, you will notice a series of bones on the extremities which are out of place, and there may also be some elements that you would like to exclude from the Inverse Kinematics chain.

It is highly recommended to set up the skeleton before starting your animation.

Before fixing any bones, or excluding layers from the IK, it is important that you make sure all the elements you want to be parented in a chain are set up.

You do not need to have hierarchy chains all over the body. They could exist only on the legs and arms. If the body is not completely rigged in hierarchy, the skeleton will look a bit more messy, but the IK tool will still work properly.

When working with the IK tool, you will probably want to move the main parts around, but not necessarily the small ones such as the nose or ears. To do this, you can select some elements on your character and exclude them from the skeleton.

Once you remove the extra elements from your skeleton, you will want to set the bone orientation for the extremity parts. By default, they are oriented horizontally towards the right. This orientation often works for the feet but not necessarily for the hair or hands.