How to Make Characters Grab Objects - Parenting Constraints

Today I'm showing you different methods of connecting objects to your characters, from the easiest to the most advanced and foolproof!
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This tutorial is longer than usual, but it's a full animation lesson about the different ways to connect objects to characters. I recommend watching the full video, but if you're just here to see the final solution, the timecode is 13:17
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In three years, I went from having absolutely no experience in 3D Animation to working at DreamWorks Animation Studios teaching just about all of the 3D software used to make movies! After 2 years there, I left to try freelance / independent content creation on KZbin for awhile, before I head back to Feature Film!
This is my journey- the entire process from when I decided I wanted to be an animator until I eventually get there, and everything along the way that will make it possible.
Whether you're chasing a similar dream, or just interested to see where mine takes me, subscribe to follow along with the incredible journey that it takes to become an animator!
You will not be disappointed.
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Thanks for watching!

[@SirWade]

What kinds of shots do you most want to see worked on? Physical, body mechanics actions? Acting moments and a thought process? Lip sync? Creatures, etc.?

[@killakaiju]

How about a quadruped shot?

[@FritzFD]

I had a random thought of someone doing a trick with a yoyo and failing. Could be a interesting idea.

[@47humza]

Acting moment and a lip sync.

[@Blacky3481]

I find that doing physical, body mechanics actions is easier for me than doing acting animation. I just don't know how to make it look believable, how to add that polishing that takes it to the next level and how to make the acting itself be interesting yet believable without repeating, or boring poses.

[@artistsukh1127]

Lip sync ....please please please please please please

[@alicesmith8134]

omg the rest position checkbox... if i knew about this i think i wouldn't have had a breakdown during one of my animation mentor terms where i had to use constraints! these videos are amazing, i'm learning so much. thank you.

[@juliancoronadol4062]

Parenting done right *badum tsss

[@mohawkdenhollander5963]

I have to say that this so far is the best way to teach a 3d software like maya. I love it in this video that you show what ou can do, but you schouldn't. There is a real learning process going on here and that is just great!

[@aqualust5016]

For anyone who is REALLY confused by this, do everything Sir Wade does step by step. It all clicks when you can replicate this for yourself; and you'll have your own project to review as notes!

[@user-tp4zt8nf6l]

i did the same, follow the every step but ball went down again aain i dnt know why. i unable the reset position . everytime i did the unable position , ball went down a bit. i try mulitple times but still same issue. although im following the video step by step.

[@kidscolortv-nurseryrhymesk7633]

wow and amazing tips. that constraint rest position tips is awesome. thankyou for sharing 👍

[@tnttiza4016]

Sir, let me say... you're wonderful. Letting your audience learn from this amazing content completely free is just something incredible. I can't describe with words how thankful I am. Keep it up!!

[@Jay-rr6me]

It took me years to finally be able to understand this constraint set up, never give up lads! Practice what sir wade has shown multiple times and you will finally understand it

[@hugobonte6710]

It's like being at a library, reading through tons of books that are all lacking something different to get you the correct answer. Then you find the book that, not only gives the complete solution but also explain why all the other books you went through were wrong. Thank you so much for your work

[@TopsonNoble]

my reaction was like "OMG!!! WHAT??" when you turned off the checkbox... I can't believe it's just a simple button solution! Thanks a bunch for these useful information

[@Blacky3481]

Oh my god you have no idea how much I needed this. THANK YOU SO MUCH YOU ARE AMAZING

[@stradagos1]

Making a shot for my demo where I have my character dribbling basketball, from one hand to the next. This is exactly the help I was looking for. Thank you!!!

[@jadejauquet5011]

Great break down of the different ways to work with constraints. Really glad you show the "could do this... but don't because" building up to the best options is... Visiting this before sharing it with a peer buddy. Knowing about the "enable rest position" is a game changer! wow, thanks for another great video!

[@hitmangamesyndicate5970]

just getting back into animation after several years... Im an environment artist for indie games... Decided I should get back into animation... low and behold here you are. I love your teaching style, your clear concise instruction, and your overall work. Thank you for this informative post.

[@kishou5759]

Why havent I watched this video earlier before i waste two days struggling on how to do a grab & throw animation....Thank you Sir Wade Neistadt you saved my life.

[@MrShroombot]

A legend. I am doing this all while everything is/was attached to a curve. A hierarchical nightmare turned to joyfully giggling while floating on clouds. Suck it Maya. I'm in charge here.

[@elizabethgainford2081]

Wow, what a lifesaver. I tried and failed so many previous tutorials before coming across this one. Absolutely brilliant. Please make more!

[@SirWade]

I have a whole playlist called Maya Training videos that should help switch a ton more animation tips! :)

[@tabseeker]

Thank god I found this, that bloody checkbox is making me so much work

[@_snor_]

Man, the hours I spent fighting with jumping objects that could've been avoided if the Rest Position checkbox were auto-off. Thanks for this man!

[@jjones1032]

I'm equal parts infuriated and elated. I literally fought the parent constraint 'rest position' thing with locators for ten years! I'd subscribe again if I could. Thanks for all the great videos!

[@russelrealeza7142]

Thank you so much for this Sir Wade! Ever since college I love to be better at animation but parenting constraints, parents are one of the struggles that I had. You are really right about what you said on the video about different types of constraints, it sounds difficult but it's not. When I watched this video for the first time, I was so literally confused, like, what? I don't get anything from this video, but good thing I believe in your subscribers reviews and comments that you are a veteran when it comes to animation. I decided to watched this again 2nd time and I already got the point of using parents constraints in using it for character to pick objects and remove it once again. Thanks so much Sir Wade I am getting used to it time by time!

[@dylanlove8985]

Thanks Sir Wade. That Rest Position thing is gonna save so much time!

[@sarahdowner4806]

This was incredibly helpful. Thank you for explaining in detail why the other methods aren't the best way!

[@cjkjrdesign]

This is awesome. I literally have used the first 3 methods and had so many problems with them. My current 3D animation teacher teaches very similar to you and it's extremely helpful so I might shoot this video over to him to see his thoughts. Thanks for the the really awesome tutorial.

[@andreasgeorgiou1901]

I have been using Maya for over 11 years and thats the first time i've seen the rest position check box, total genius setup thanks man

[@KaustavMajumder]

12:17 - Brilliant! Literally a life saver.

[@jianliangliu8572]

Oh my god this really helped when I'm trying to make a sack pick up and drop a dumbell. I'll look into more of your tutorials.

[@jamesmcelroy414]

Man, I am a student who is trying to be a game developer on programming also making on my own games as an indie.Just wanted to say your videos are so educational and priceless .. Thank you

[@weavorjjohanna5619]

pls do not ever delete this video XD you just save my 4 year of learning 3d animation

[@plokix8319]

thanks a lot, i've been looking for something like this for many days, i will link your video to my classmates!!

[@tylerdaudt4272]

Thank you for this video! It helped a lot. It was really nice that you went over the incorrect ways, I had currently been using the second method of regular parenting that you used. I know it’ll take practice getting used to the new method but I think it’ll help a lot, thanks!

[@TheRoguePumpkin]

This is my first time commenting on your channel and i have to say that you have helped me a lot when it comes to using Maya. I started using it last year around Fall and currently taking classes for it since my major is animation,. Every time i need help on something and my professor is not responding to my emails, i usually go to your channel and look for the video i need that will help me. Like Parenting Constraints, thanks for these videos. it really helps. I hope to be a great animator just like you man.

[@doppiak2227]

I literally thought about these techniques by myself but the last one is the solution that I was searching, thx!!!

[@delagejulien6902]

Very cool video! It's very good and works well with a sword and a sheath in one hand and another

[@Gravios74]

YOU. ARE. A. LIFE. SAVER.

[@EronAce09]

Great tutorial! Easy to understand and not confusing at all. Will try this method soon, looking forward to more

[@ai_zj]

I am amazed by your excellent explanation. This was such a complex topic for a beginner such as myself, and I am surprised by how easily I absorbed all that info. Many thanks!

[@jameslim7751]

I didnt realize that the orientation of the locator was gonna affect the orientation of the child object, so i struggled with a long time tryna figure out why the object would change orientation whenever it was parented, and why it wouldnt snap back to the position i wanted it to be in. Took me a while of messing with different attributes and settings, until i eventually got it working the way i wanted. Definitely requires a lot of messing around to get the hang of

[@karolledzinski710]

This video saved me like 8 - 10 hours of work, done with just one click. Thanks :-)

[@marcosmeneghetti3261]

Thank you so much for this amazing tutorial. It is the best I have seen about parent constraints.

[@baarg8672]

12:11 - be aware disabling that option it could give you a glitches - it's time dependent! it could release child object in random positions. the best approach is to key constrained child and use creaeted blendWeight attribute to blend between constraint and key values

[@ChaosProxyy]

!!! That checkbox !!! The hours it would have saved me! Loving the style of teaching. It's so much more beneficial to learn why things work the way they do instead of just getting a solution. I've been meaning to sign up to the Patreon. I'm going to do that now! As for shots, you could maybe do a quick one on holding pauses or good silhouette.

[@ChaosProxyy]

Ah, did the Patreon get dropped? I can't even find the video talking about it. Well, if you decide to open it up again sometime down the line, I'll definitely sign on.

[@SirWade]

That checkbox blew my mind too!!! I'm glad you like the idea that the WHY is just as important as the What/How. And the Patreon is still live! :) The link is in the description but you can find it here: www.patreon.com/SirWade Thank you :)

[@frederikzimmers]

I do everything as you did. I animate the constraint from 1 to 0 to "let go off the ball". I have the "enable rest position" checked off. Without even having the ball animated yet, after the constraint is at 0 the ball slowly wanders to the position where it was in the beginning, before the board moved.

[@znelson32]

Man this is some straight-forward amazing and useful stuff right here. I look forward to consuming all your content, thanks!

[@changtc8873]

11:54 OMG man~ always good solutions from you. Thank you😀

[@Dave-pn9rw]

It took me actually doing this tutorial twice to get this, jeeezzz is complex

[@CURSEDIMAGES]

i didnt even know i needed this, haven't finished it all but already great info, thanks alot

[@SirWade]

You got it! It's one of 3 videos on the topic but the 'All Constraints Guide' is the other one I'd recommend :)

[@nofilkhan3164]

You are blender guru of Maya, awesome place comprehensive stuff ,lots of 👊👊👊👊👊👊

[@flashguy23]

Thank god this video is here

[@SirWade]

😁

[@Itheo378]

This whole channel is amazing, extremely helpful! Thank you!

[@prasannabandara2293]

Thank you soooooooo much for your tutorial.

[@FritzFD]

Thank you so much for this, I was just using the 3rd one before. Really appreciate this video!

[@miaandrea1449]

Great video. Clear, concise and to the point. Thanks!

[@theoddcrow9382]

Thank you for these tutorials! They're saving my degree haha

[@user-vw1jc4lh5e]

Thank you 🔥🔥🔥 for your work 🌻🌻🌻 this is really helpfull 😊

[@chipmunk1313]

This is so helpful, thank you for all your effort!

[@nofilkhan3164]

Hi everyone , i tried this awesome method once and It didnt work!!!! Then again i del history of ball/sphere when under group and it worked ,so make sure you del history when grouped and there is no reason it wouldnt work ,,,Anyway great stuff Sir!!

[@shahsaraan1724]

Great explanation great work ❤

[@daniellomeli]

Thank you, man. Great content!

[@seohyeoh7800]

I needed this! Thank you for this great work.

[@muza.artkit3784]

thank you so much!!! it is very helpful

[@artby_r3n]

Thank you so much for this video, it helped me so much with my animation!

[@adhidana5262]

this is so helpful, thank a lot

[@SaChInRaJpUt-pc7wp]

thanks sir wade this video really hepled me

[@olamamdouh6380]

This was really very helpful, thank you so much

[@luciagonzalezmartijena2356]

OMGGGG I knew there might be a better way to do it thanks so much!

[@unexplainedoccurrences]

Thanks Wade, I'm actually working in Blender but the information you so generously gave us, like you say, is universal. You helped me massively, thank you. Hope you have a great day.

[@jasoncatlyn7331]

Thanks, was looking for Blender 2.8 but this helps!

[@NoeliaEncarnacion]

extremely helpful thanks Wade

[@SirWade]

You're welcome, thanks for watching :)

[@jessica178744]

Bless you for making this video! Super Useful!

[@CableB]

your way of teaching is awesome dud

[@borgXmeister]

Bumped to your channel a few days ago, and I was amazed by your tuts, I learned AE from andrew kramer, and I hope I will learn animation technics from you channel!!! Keep it up! Mabuhay!

[@dannyhill2325]

Thank you so much for this :)

[@kudoom444]

Awesome tutorial and thank u so much for making this video!

[@Stewel]

Hey, man I`ve just start to learn maya, and your video are so usefull!Thanks man for doing that)

[@kaloskwwcc]

Thanks! This helped!

[@AfzalAliism]

Thanku very much.. i really need this technique for my project.. one thing i want to learn from you is phonemes blend shapes for character..

[@zwcty2007]

this is sooo cool that i was yelling all the time while i m watching the video.great solution！thanks for sharing this~

[@eliudokwomi2438]

Thank you very much

[@zelstivel]

THANK YOU

[@MichaelHurdleStudio]

Well done.

[@dshaynietheawesome]

Thanks for all this info and has really helped me

[@graysonducker6023]

I keep getting an issue. When I key all constraints to be off and key the object going freely through the air, the object's group still moves to some constraint and messes up the movement. I check and all constraints are off with no extra keys hiding. Does anyone else have this problem with un-constrained movement? The only fix I've found is to make another locator to control "free movement" and animate that through the air, but obviously this isn't the best fix or workflow. Help?

[@stefanmanev2061]

Make sure you're selecting the groups when parenting, not the geometry. You can turn on hierarchy mode select if you don't want to go through the outliner all the time. Hope this helps, if you haven't figured it out by now.

[@MakkiLucky]

Спасибо!

[@kelly-celinabatres6581]

You should put these courses on skillshare! I was looking for this sorta thing over there and their isn't anything on there!

[@JustZino]

We wanna see some of your recently animations!

[@JUANSF95]

First of all Thank you!! One question. Sometimes my character jumps to weird positions I have never set. My character grab someting, then release it, then to grab it again with a new locator. Depending from where I whatch it in the time line, this poses changes. If I am before the new parent constrain "key", the pose is correct, but if I come from after that key, the arm is super bend it in a strange pose. Hope it makes sense. What is this? Could you do a quick video about it? Thank you

[@lightsilver6303]

thank you

[@SpasmAtaK]

6:45 Loved it ! :D

[@artistsukh1127]

Amazing, as always 😃

[@vickmure]

amazing...awesome...no words..now for the future video...could you include a character now please

[@hasanzig]

i'm like a soldier when i'm looking for your video "how to use locator sir"

[@frederikzimmers]

Instead of grouping the ball to itself, could I also use a locator and parent the ball to it? Because to my understanding a group is nothing else than a parent to its content. That way I would have a locator everywhere I want to "make stuff sticky", instead of sometimes a locator and sometimes a group.

[@maxfartuhov]

Thx, Sir. If I have, for example, a control on a wrist of a character(should be in IK mode) and I have a barbell, how can I constrain the control to the bar, so that when I position a character the wrists stay on the bar of the barbell, and when I lift the barbell the wrists go up with it too?

[@justnat_bros_2429]

Great video, thanks Sir!

[@opossumsarecooltm5423]

At 15:23 u set the child and parent thing but how did u do it

[@nekoangel8]

Thank you very much for this video ❤ this was veeeeeeeeeery useful to me T_T

[@annapetrovska1672]

This is a great tutorial, thank you for sharing this. Is there any workaround to use the most advanced version for the referenced objects which there's no way to group or parent?

[@SirWade]

I have an updated video with those answers :) kzbin.info/www/bejne/fJSTh5Wpod2qhac

[@palashghosh5374]

thank you .. this is very helpful

[@LouiseChib]

Can you do a tutorial for a character unsheathing their weapon from back to hands. Im trying to use this to help me figure out how to detach the parented weapon on my characters back to their hands so theyre holding it.