I see from the file link you provided that the skeleton comes as 2 separate meshes, 1 for the ribcage and pelvis and the other for all of the remaining bones. I think the simplest way to effectively position these bones in any pose, is to:
- Detach the individual bone elements of the mesh into separate bone objects. In some cases this means grouping several bones together like those of the lower leg (see image below) because these bones rotate together in humans. Fortunately, it is easy to select these bones by selecting the element sub-object mode in the editable Mesh rollout and then left clicking on it; Ctrl + Left click to add more bones.
- Position the pivot point for each bone at the joint where the bone rotates (e.g., the knee for the lower leg.) This is important to get right because Max uses the pivot point as the center of rotation. You place the pivot point by opening the Hierarchy Tab of the Command Panel and selecting “Affect Pivot Only”. First center the pivot to the detached bone by clicking on “Center to Object” under Alignment and then use the transform the drag the pivot into position. Click on “Affect Pivot Only” to disable it once you are done positioning it. (See image below)
- Once all bones have been detached into separate objects and their pivot points positioned correctly (i.e., the way human anatomy moves), you need to set up a bone hierarchy so that if for example, you rotate the upper leg bone, the lower leg and foot will follow along. Max has a command called “Select and Link” on the Main Toolbar which lets you do that. Click on Select and link and click on the child bone and drag to it’s parent. (See image below) You want the foot bone to be the child of lower leg bone and the lower leg bone to be the child of the Upper leg bone and the upper leg bone to be the child of the Pelvis. I have rotated the upper leg and the lower leg as an example of making a simple pose the image below. The Pelvis should be the overall parent for your hierarchy; to get an idea of what the rest of the hierarchy you should create a Biped (Command Panel>Systems>Biped) in Max and examine the hierarchy of the bones of the biped.
Anyway, you need to perform the above steps process on the rest of the anatomy as well. You didn’t say what pose you have to create, so I don’t know if you need to worry about individual fingers or toes or whether you can just make them part of the hands or feet. (It’ll save some work if you don’t need to individually create all the individual finger and toe joints).
If you get stuck along the way, post your questions.
Thanks for anwsering. I'm working on this project in stages.
I managed to detach individual bones 🥳, next is pivot point!
The end position of the skeleton would be in certain pose (see pocture).
(source https://www.bandhayoga.com/keys_psoas.html)
All the best 😊
Anže
"I belive, that the skeleton now has 5 separate bones for the pelvis (coccyx, Pelvis_L, Pelvis_R, sacrum02 and sympubis01). Would it be good to group these bones in one bone "Pelvis"?"
Yes, exactly. You should attach them together to be 1 object using "Attach" in Edit Mesh or Edit poly rollout.
"Also, each toe and finger is now 1 object which should be I think separated each into 3 separate bones (except big toe into 2). Is this ok?"
Yes, exactly.
"If I manage to do one side of whole skeleton correctly (detach the bones, place Pivot Points, separate toe and finger bones), could then I just do [select the side that is done] - [Tools] - [Mirror] - (Transform, Mirror Axis: x, Offset - place correctly, Clone Selection: Copy, Mirror IK Limits and press OK)?"
Yes, but you have to make sure that the currently active pivot is in the center of the body when you mirror the bones or the mirrored bones will not be in the correct place. I suggest you use the working pivot by first editing it to be in the center of the pelvis and then click the check mark and then "Use Working Pivot" as shown below.
After the mirror operation is complete, switch coordinate system back to Local for subsequent rotation of bones to create poses. Also keep in mind that you don't want to mirror all of the bones, for example the pelvis, the ribcage, the spine , neck and head don't need to be mirrored.
