# Crane Tutorial

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Crane Part 1 | Crane Part 2 | Crane Part 3

Stepping up in difficulty level from the Train section of the tutorial, Rich now begins the process of rigging the Crane. As is his method of working, he begins by organizing the model layers and then planning out the necessary controllers using his Rig Sketch technique. Over the courseof the three parts, Rich creates an interface to easily control the complex motions of the boom arm, the cables and the bucket itself. Once finished it is a work of (rigging) art to behold.

Users can jump ahead to a specific section by using the Chapter selection widget on the right side of the player or by directly clicking any of the Chapter Title links below.

Tab | Time | Chapter | Description
1 | 00:00:00 | Bucket Rig Sketch | Planning out the functions of the buckets animation.
2 | 00:06:45 | Bucket Rigging | Adding the two IK chains to the bucket to control its complex motion.
3 | 00:32:36 | Rigging Hierarchy | Setting up the hierarchy/parenting of the items for proper rigging.
4 | 00:38:39 | Cables | Setting up the cables that control the bucket opening and closing.
5 | 00:54:12 | Control Structure | Adding in the necessary animation controls.
6 | 01:13:04 | Bucket Controller | Rigging UI controls for the open and close action with a relationship.
5 | 01:32:46 | Vis Controls | Setting up the controls to turn visibility on and off for the various controls.
| 01:37:54 | Total Video Time |

Frequently Asked Questions--

Q.) He is using two IK chains and linking them together, is there ever an issue with modo and modifier evaluation?

> A.) Nope. Part of the reason that modo is so strict about dependency loops is to prevent there ever being an evaluation problems. This means that IK or other modifiers rarely (if ever) give an incorrect result.

Q.) He mentions something called "Recoil" what is that?

> A.) Recoil is a rigid body simulator plugin written for modo by a Rich's good buddy Eric Soulvie. It's a great tool for creating realistic simulations. Check out the recoil section on Luxology's website for more info.

Resources--

Links to the modo in-line help system
Docs: Inverse Kinematics
Docs: Work Plane
Docs: Mirror Items
Docs: Action Centers
Docs: Groups
Docs: Locator Commands Assembly Tab
Docs: Channel Relationships
Docs: Graph Editor

Links to other pages in this training
Training: Inverse Kinematics (IK)
Training: Align Set Drop Tools
Training: Duplicating and Instancing
Training: Action Centers
Training: Curves
Training: Locator Display
Training: Groups
Training: Assembly and RigUI
Training: Modifiers
Training: KeyFrames DopeSheet

File--

Links to the modo scenes used in the video
(click to open in modo)
File: Crane_09_Rig_06.lxo
File: Crane_10_Complete_01.lxo

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