HumanIK™ Frequently Asked Questions

General Questions:

Q What is HumanIK?
A HumanIK is a sophisticated character animation tool that lets users quickly re-target full
body animation from one bipedal structure to any other bipedal structure of a different
size. It also allows users to create and edit motions and poses with the help of a powerful
and unique Inverse Kinematics system. The plug-in is composed of 2 separate tools
within 3ds max?

BodyGenerator is an automated Bipedal Bones Skeleton Structure tool to help you

create character rigs with just a few mouse-clicks.

HumanIK is the advanced character rigging and animation tool that assists you in
bringing your character to life.

Q What versions of 3ds max does HumanIK support?

A HumanIK’s minimum software requirement is 3ds max 4.2, HumanIK will also operate
correctly with 3ds max 4.2x, 3ds max 4.3 and 3ds max 5.X.

Q What is the pricing for HumanIK?

A HumanIK is scheduled to ship with a limited time, introductory price of US$995 - Call
Kaydara for all Educational pricing questions.

Q Is there a demo version of HumanIK available?

A Absolutely. HumanIK has a 15-day trial version that you can, either download from the
Kaydara website to evaluate or request through our reseller partner. Once the 15-day trial
mode has expired, you will need to contact Kaydara to purchase the software and get a
permanent license.

Q What type of documentation comes with HumanIK?

A HumanIK comes with full documentation in Adobe Acrobat format (.PDF) and online in
chm. It consists of an Introduction, complete Reference Guide and several detailed
tutorials designed to get new users up to speed including:
?? How to fit a BodyGenerator structure into your character mesh.
?? How to create a walk cycle using FilmBox’s FBX poses.
?? How to use the HumanIK re-targeting tools to transfer animations.
?? How to create procedural animation using max controllers.

Q What type of technical support is provided with HumanIK?

A Kaydara offers full technical support for registered users of its products, including
HumanIK, via our phone and email channels. This service is provided directly by
TURBOSQUID our exclusive distributor (www.turbosquid.com).

Q I already use character studio? . Why would I want to purchase HumanIK™?

A If you are looking to have a unified production pipeline, then HumanIK can quickly give
you access to Kaydara’s FBX file format compatibility and interchange features. It is also
a great complement to character studio by providing you with Kaydara’s renowned
character animation technology. Kaydara’s IK and FK systems are the most powerful
animation tools in the Industry and now you have access to them directly within your 3ds
max pipeline. HumanIK also provides you with direct support for multiple motion capture
formats, including FBX, .bvh, .htr, .Asf and .AMC. No other 3ds max plug-in offers this
functionality. But more than anything else, HumanIK allows you to retarget your
 animation, using a character studio biped as the source, provi ding CS users with a direct
pipeline with HIK.

Q Is HumanIK hardware locked using a dongle?

A No dongle is needed to run HumanIK™. Rather it is protected via a software encryption
scheme. It should be noted that a valid license of 3ds max 4.x or 3ds max 5.X is
required for the software to run.

Q Can I authorize HumanIK online?

A Yes. Once you have purchased and installed HumanIK, you can register your product
using the following form: http://www.kaydara.com/kaydarastore/authorize.htm and you
will receive your authorization code within 24 hours via email. In order to register your
product, you should be prepared to give the following information:
?? Name
?? Address
?? HumanIK Serial number
?? Hardware lock ID
?? Misc.

Q Does HumanIK offer network licensing?

A Currently, HumanIK v1.0 does not offer network licensing. However the topic of network
license technology is something our team is looking into providing for a future release.

3ds max Workflow Specifics:

Q Can I use my own bones structure with HumanIK?

A Yes. HumanIK does not restrict you to use BodyGenerator as the skeletal structure. You
can use your own bones setup, but you will need to define them manually within
HumanIK in order to activate the Bipedal Behavior of HumanIK™. This is done
automatically when you are using BodyGenerator. You can also use a character studio
rig with Humanik, once again providing you with a direct pipeline between both
applications.

Q Can I do facial animation with HumanIK?

A Currently, HumanIK does not offer any facial animation tools. However, HumanIK is fully
compatible with most facial animation methods including bones creation and morphing so
you can choose the workflow that best suits your needs.

Q Do I have to build my models in 3ds max for use with HumanIK?

A No. You can use Kaydara’s .FBX File Interchange Format, and easily transfer character
models from most 3D software applications. The free .FBX plug-ins for 3ds max can be
downloaded from the following webpage: www.kaydara.com/fbx

Q Does HumanIK have known issues with any of the skinning systems inside of 3ds max?
A No. Since HumanIK is strictly a character rigging system; it is fully compatible with the
built-in deformation tool (Skin), character studio’s Physique system as well as several
other 3rd party solutions.

Q Does HumanIK support MAXScript?

A Yes. Many of the parameters within HumanIK are available through MAXScript. The
syntax for these controls can be found within the online documentation.

Q Do I need to buy additional render licenses of HumanIK for my render farm?

A Like most plug-ins for 3ds max, network rendering for HumanIK is free. Simply install the
plug-in on your render machines and you can submit jobs to those network servers.
 One Important Note: Once you’ve installed HumanIK on the network machines, do NOT
start their trial periods, as this will cause your scenes to render incorrectly once the trial
period on those machines expires.

Kaydara Production Integration:

Q What benefits does HumanIK provide when used with other Kaydara tools?
A Beyond the integrated animation pipeline that exists between our tools, when HumanIK is
used in conjunction with MOTIONBUILDER™, it offers a suite of tools necessary to do
real-time motion blending.

Q Do I need MOTIONBUILDER™ to use HumanIK?

A No, HumanIK is totally independent of MOTIONBUILDER™, but its core technology is
based on MOTIONBUILDER’s advanced procedural HumanIK behavior, and as a result,
the two products compliment one another very well.

Q Can I use BodyGenerator without HumanIK?

A BodyGenerator is an automated Bipedal Bones Skeletal creation tool. It is optimized for
HumanIK, however you can still use BodyGenerator as part of your own character rigging
setup.