Doc:2.6/Manual/Constraints/Tracking/Spline IK

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Spline IK Constraint

The Spline IK constraint aligns a chain of bones along a curve. By leveraging the ease and flexibility of achieving aesthetically pleasing shapes offered by curves and the predictability and well-integrated control offered by bones, Spline IK is an invaluable tool in the riggers' toolbox. It is particularly well suited for rigging flexible body parts such as tails, tentacles, and spines, as well as inorganic items such as ropes.

To set up Spline IK, it is necessary to have a chain of connected bones and a curve to constrain these bones to.

1. With the last bone in the chain selected, add a Spline IK constraint from the Bone Constraints tab in the Properties Editor.
2. Set the 'Chain Length' setting to the number of bones in the chain (starting from and including the selected bone) that should be influenced by the curve.
3. Finally, set Target to the curve that should control the curve.

Options

Spline IK panel

Target

The target curve

Spline Fitting

Chain Length

How many bones are included in the chain

Even Division

Ignore the relative length of the bones when fitting to the curve

Chain Offset

Offset the entire chain relative to the root joint

Chain Scaling

Y stretch

Stretch the Y axis of the bones to fit the curve

XZ Scale Mode

None

Don't scale the X and X axes (default)

Bone Original

Use the original scaling of the bones

Volume Preservation

Scale of the X and Z axes is the inverse of the Y scale

Use Curve Radius

Average radius of the endpoints is used to tweak the X and Z scaling of the bones, on top of the X and Z scale mode

See also

This subject is seen in depth in the Rigging/Posing section.

• Blender.org 2.56 Release Log for Spline IK