Set Preferred Angle is a tool in Maya that I find useful to make sure my IK handles bend in the right direction. This article is meant to be read after the guide to set up IK handles.
— Where is this tool
— How to Use
Official Documentation: Set preferred angles | Maya 2020 | Autodesk Knowledge Network
Where is this tool:
rigging menu→ Skeleton →Set Preferred Angle
How to use:
Example: Here the IK handle is set up, but it’s not bending(white arrow)in the direction I want it to(indicated by red arrow).
1.To fix the bend orientation, first remove the IK handle.
2. Rotate the bend joint in the direction you want it to bend. It is helpful to remember the original rotation of the joint(viewable in the attribute editor) before you modify it, so you can easily restore it later — though the xyz rotation should be (0, 0, 0) by default.
3. Select the joint where your IK handle begins(start joint), and click the “set preferred angle” tool.
Note: If you want an entire joint chain or skeleton to assume its preferred angles, select the parent joint of your joint chain or the root joint of your skeleton(Autodesk Maya).
4. Restore rotation on the bend joint back to what it was before you modified it. Now when you create the IK handle again, the joint will bend in the direction you just set it to.
Congratulations! You just fixed your weird bending joint(s)! Know that even if the IK is controlling multiple joints this method will still work :)
That’s it! Feel free to move onto the next article about Pole Vector Constraints, or how to control the orientation of the IK handle!
