Autodesk Inventor

[#1]

I am trying to modify a figure that was made in Inventor; I want to be able to move the limbs around and not end up with any un-natural looking poses.  I'm starting with the hand/fingers, and not having much luck.  It should be as simple as picking the axes of the different digits of the finger, and telling Inventor to use angular constraints, but I still keep getting painful-looking bends.  Sometimes it appears to work, but by dragging the digits too far on the screen, then blow past the defined constraints.

Is what I'm looking to do not really going to work here?  I can't do this with Bones in MAX; I need to be able to re-size this figure parametrically, and that can't be done in MAX where everything is a mesh.

[#2]

What version of Inventor are you using?

In later versions you can place constraint limits.

Not sure how much angle constraints I would use.

I would probably have some points and axis, planes  that I would hide visibility.

[#3]

Do a google search for iMan or iMike. I can't remember where I originally got him from but he's a fully parametric man with flexible joints. You may be able to learn something by analyzing his constraints. I believe there's even an iMandy around somewhere too!

[#4]

I don't think iMike is exaclty what the OP is trying to do.

I think the problem description is to limit lifelike motion on joints.

In any case - iMike and iJill live at this address http://www.cbliss.com