So here’s a relatively simple workflow tip I picked up at work. It’s probably something that’s totally obvious to a lot of people out there, but I actually never thought of working this way. Ready? OK here it is: If you’re blocking out your animation in step mode, try using IK arms. Then when you’re ready to spline, just snap the FK arms to the IK arms and switch back to using FK (more on switching in a second).

Why do it this way, especially if you prefer to work with FK arms in the first place? Am I trying to say using IK is better than FK? No, not at all. Both have their uses and everyone has their own preferences for using what they choose. But in simple practical terms, it can be faster to manipulate one controller on an IK arm than three on an FK arm. This can simplify things when you get feedback changes you need to turnaround fast. It also goes well with working in step mode since the focus is usually more on poses and timing and not so much on the inbetweens at this point.

There are obviously some caveats in order to benefit from using this approach. First, you need a way to snap FK to IK (and vice versa) to accurately match what’s been blocked out. Some rigs have this built in or you can check HighEnd3D.com which has some free downloadable tools to do this. The other thing is I’ve primarily used this approach when I’m blocking out the main key poses and breakdowns (not the inbetweens). I like to refine and polish the arms when they’re in FK so I can take advantage of the natural arc abilities that FK affords.

I realize people have different ways of working so animating this way may or may not appeal to everyone. I’m still trying it out myself, but it’s definitely come in handy when dealing with blocking revisions that have to be turned around quickly.