Pose Kit

The Pose Kit is a powerful tool that allows users to easily create and manage different poses for rigs and objects in a scene. With the Pose Kit, users can save the transformation and custom attributes of different objects as poses, which can be accessed later in the Pose Manager. By saving poses in the Pose Kit, users can quickly apply them to their character at any time, without having to manually adjust each joint and controller.

The Pose Kit has the ability to create multiple pose kits in a single scene. Each pose kit can contain as many poses as needed, and all of them can be easily accessed and managed in the Pose Manager. Users can also create and delete poses, change the names and their colors, and even update pose thumbnails to make them easier to recognize.

3ds max smartanim animation rig toolkit controller poses manager kit pose

Another advantage of the Pose Kit for character rigging is the ability to apply poses to mirrored nodes. This is particularly useful for symmetrical characters, such as humans or animals, where one side of the body mirrors the other. By applying poses to mirrored nodes, users can quickly pose both sides of the character simultaneously, saving time and effort. Additionally, the Pose Kit allows users to apply poses partially in different degrees, making it possible to create more nuanced and complex poses for their characters.

Creation Method

Create panel >

(Helpers) > Standard > Object Type rollout > Pose Kit button

After creating the Pose Kit helper, you can open it in the Pose manager by pressing the "Open Pose Kit" button in the Modify Panel.

3ds max smartanim animation rig toolkit controller pose kit helper

You can also access the Pose Manager by going to the "Graph Editors" 3ds Max Menu and selecting "Pose Manager...". You can create and open Pose Kits from the Pose Manager as well in the "Kit" Menu, or by right-click in the Tabs Toolbar right below the Pose Manager main menu.

Creating Pose

In order to create a pose, select the objects in the scene used for that specific pose and then click on the "Create Pose" button and the bottom of the Pose Manager. You can also do right-click > Create Pose, or go to Pose Menu > Create Pose. After the pose is created you can apply it by just clicking on it, or click and dragging to apply it partially. You can also modify the name, color and position of the pose in the toolbar at the bottom of the Pose Manager.

Pose Menu / Right Click Menu

3ds max smartanim animation rig toolkit controller pose kit context menu

Create

Creates a Pose with the selected nodes in the scene and their current transformation and custom parameters.

Apply

Applies the selected pose at the current time.

Apply To Selection

Applies the selected pose only to the selected objects

Apply To Mirror

Applies the selected pose to the mirror objects.

Delete

Deletes the selected pose from the Pose Kit.

Update Pose

Update the selected pose with the current transformation and custom parameters of the objects.

Update Thumbnail

Updates the thumbnail of the specified pose with a screenshot from current viewport.

Move Up / Down

Moves the selected pose up or down in the list of poses of the Pose Kit.

Select Nodes

Select the objects that belong to the selected pose.