UPDATES VIDEO - https://youtu.be/fTET1v4EjBg

Original explanation video - https://youtu.be/YU-JWn-2jk0

Description - Tool that allows you to build a temporary IK/FK setup on top of your original controls, while preserving animation.

• Meant to work on any rig.
• You can apply the setup on a specific portion of the timeline.
• You can isolate the code from the UI and put it into a marking menu or on the shelf.

Documentation

How to install

Drag and drop the "ik_fk_switcher" file into the script editor in Maya. From there, you can save it to a shelf.

Workflow example

1. You select the controls for you arm FK chain (Shoulder, Elbow, Wrist) in order, and then click the "FK to IK" button to apply an IK setup on top of your original FK controls.
2. Your animation will still be the same but now you can make changes to your arm animation with the temp IK controls that were created.
3. When you’re done making your changes and you want to switch back to your original FK arm, you can select one of your temp IK controls and press “Delete Setup” on the UI. This is automatically going to revert back to the original state of your controls.

The approach is to animate in FK, and switch over to temp IK whenever you need that type of behavior, and then when you’re done making changes you switch back to the original.

Features

Influence specific time-range

Select your controls and the shift + drag select on your timeline to designate what portion you'd like to apply the setup on.

Bake interval

If you choose 3, the script will bake and add a key on every 3rd frame.

Remove same keys

This deletes frames that have repetitive values. It's most useful when working in stepped and you have your key poses. When baking across to a different setup, those key poses will be retained and anything keys in-between that don't add to the animation will be deleted.

Key reducer

Tries to reduce as many keys as possible while preserving the animation. The higher intensity you input, the less keys you'll end up with when baking across, but you risk losing animation data. This is good early when you're not trying to be too precious with your animation, but later on when polishing you might want to consider turning this off.

Generate code

This open up a menu where you can choose 1 of 3 options ("FK to IK", "IK to FK", "Delete Setup". When you click "Generate Code" it spits out the isolated code from whatever option you choose.

Example: If you selected the 3 FK controls, and then hit "Generate Code" with the "FK to IK" option, it'll generate a code where the selection of the 3 FK controls is stored. But if you hit "Generate Code" with no selection, you'll have to select the 3 FK controls every time you hit the button. So one is more specific, while the other is more generic.

Change parameters

When you generate a code, whatever parameters you've set get imprinted on the code. For example, if your bake interval is set to 3, when you generate the code, the script will write that down and when you run the code it will bake on 3s.

If you wish to change the parameters, they're written at the very top of the script, and you just have to enter the values you want, or you can generate a new code with your chosen values, up to you.

Things to look out for

• If you’re in IK, and your controls are stretched out, and then you choose to apply the temp FK setup on top of it, you may get inconsistent results.
• If any of the selected controls are part of an animation layer at the time you choose to apply a temp setup over them, this may give you inconsistent results when baking across. The script will give you a warning in this case but still allow you to proceed, although it’s preferable to remove your controls from any animation layers before applying a temp setup.
• When working with an FK control that’s in the middle of the chain, (for example the Elbow), normally you would rotate it on only 1 axis (similar to how your own arm moves). If you choose to break it and rotate it on other axis, and you apply the IK setup on a specific time range, you may get minor pops during the transition frames.
• This script is meant to work with any rig, but there's probably going to be a small number of rigs that this script won't be compatible with, due to the nature of how some rigs are structured, so keep that in mind.
  
  

To give any suggestions or feedback on how I can improve the script, feel free to reach out to me on my socials.

Twitter - https://twitter.com/PetarPehchevski

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/petarpehchevski3d/

Current Version - 2.0

Tested on Maya 2018, 2022, 2023.

You can use it for any commercial or non-commercial project. You're not allowed to sell the script itself.