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World Space Controls

Bakes and constrains your bone animation into new World Space controls, making them independent from any hierarchy (unless using a root control). This is primarily used for space-switching animation techniques, and for offsetting and refining animation curves. It can also be useful for modifying attributes in the original rig or adjusting root motion without affecting the animation.

When using the root control, you can work in different spaces - for example, camera space by selecting the camera as the root.

If the original bones are having a cyclic modifier, it will be recreated on the Temp Ctrls as well.


Type

There are two types of World Space Controls.

Copy Transforms

A basic standard world space control that copies all transforms (location, rotation, and scale) to the new World Space Control, matching their positions exactly. It constrains the original bones to the Temp controls using Transform constraints. It is usually used to drive the location of the bones

Example

Using World Space Ctrls to offset the bones location, together with the keyframe offset tool to create a quick overlap motion.

Connected Bones

Copy Transforms World Space Controls cannot affect the location of connected bones. In such cases, the dialouge box will give a notification and Track Target will load as the default option, since track target influences the rotations.

In Blender's bone properties it is possible to see if a bone is connected or not.

Using World Space to offset and give overlap to the cloth controls

Track Target

Creates a world space target for selected controls. The selected controls are tracked using a damped track constraint, always pointing toward the world space controls. This primarily affects only the rotation axis of the original bones.

Axis

Select on which axis the Track target control should use, X Y and Z or in Negative axes of -X, -Y and -Z

Offset

Sets the distance from the original bone. Value of 1 on the Y axis, would be normally created at the tail of the bone.

Tip

It is recommened to give enough offset from the original bone, so that it doesn't flip the bone when it's too close.

Twist

Adds a twist control to the Track target controls. The twist is being controlled using the Temp Control rotation of the twist axis, The rest is being controlled by the Track Target control position. Twist is using copy rotation constraints with helper bones to control the twist rotation on the original bone

Example

Track target control created on the Z axis, with twist included.
used for offseting the head motion to give it some overlap.


Shape

It is possible to easily control the shape of the controls before and also after they are created, from the addon panel. When creating them it will also display them live while changing the different options.

Temp ctrls visualization can be also changed after they are created from the addon panel.

Shape Size

The size of the control. When using Original, then value of 1 will be the same size of the original rig custom shape.

Shape Type

Either use the original shape from the original selected bone, or select a new shape. The shapes are similiar to all the shapes that are displayed by empty objects. It's also possible to disbale shape when selecting 'bone' option.

Use selection filter to affect the shape and display on all the temp ctrl chains, or only the selected, or relative ctrl rig.


Frame Range

The frame range of the animation you want to bake into the new controls. There are 3 types of frame ranges the user can select

Scene Range

Will Bake on every frame through the whole scene frame range.

Custom Range

The user can decide manually on which frames he wants to bake. When using Custom Frame range, there will be two keyframes automatically created on the On / Off Switch property of Temp Ctrls.

Keyframes Range

Bakes to the frame range of the original keyframes, it takes the frame range from each Fcurve. This is also part of smartbake.

Include All Layers

This option is relevant only for Keyframes range and smartbake. It takes all the keyframes from all the nla strips / anim layers of the original rig, if it's turned off it will use the keyframes only from your current action / layer.

Smartbake

Smartbake works only with Keyframe Range. It keeps the original keyframes count and position from the original bones, instead of baking and creating keyframes on every frame. Smartbake will also recalculate the handles between the keyframes, trying to match the values inbetween

Smart Bake in World Space

Since the new controls are in a world space they can behave different with the same keyframes positions. Depends on the animation, but in most cases it is recommended to keep this option turned off, and bake every frame for world space controls, use smart bake only when baking back into the original rig.

Rotation Mode

Select either to preserve your current rotation order, or to use a different one. You can always convert it later also using the convert rotation tool.

Constraint bones to Ctrls

contstrain the original selected bones back to the Temporary controls. Turned on by default

World Space Orientation

This creates a duplicate of the selected bone but in world space orientation. Z will always go up in world space in the graph editor. When Turned off than the ctrl bone will get the orientation of the original selected bone.

Filters

Filter specific attributes that you don't want the temp ctrls to control. The original bones will be constrained only with the axes that are not filtered.

Only Rotation channels available for Track Target

Track target controls are always influencing only the rotation channels. Therefore when using track target only rotation channels will be baked and available to filter.
When filtering the same axis that is being tracked, then the twist option will be cancelled.

Controlling only the Up and down

Filtering all the attributes except for the Z. Offseting The worldspace control will offset and control only the up and down movement of the head.

Add Extra Child Ctrls

adds an extra controller as a child of the Temporary controls. This gives an extra layered control over the temp controls baked animation. the original controls are eventually constrained to the child controls

Add Root Ctrl

Adding an extra root bone for all the controls so they are not really in world space anymore. It can be based on an object position or another bone. When using a bone the parent control will also bake the animation from the sampled bone. If no bone nor object is selected, then the parent will be added at the 3D cursor position. If a root bone was already created by other chains, and exist inside the temp rig, then it will use the existing one.

Root Ctrl can be used either as a temporary pivot, or for working in a different space then world space (for example camera space) or for changing root motion. It's also usefull when using temp ctrls on a cyclic animation, and the original root moves forward. Using the original root as a reference root. Will recreate the movement from the original root and use it's extrapolation, so the temp ctrls will move forward together with the root.