Craig Campbell’s School of Flash

From what I’ve heard, Adobe has a lot of exciting things in store for the next version of Flash. One of the most exciting new features (especially for designers and animators) is the Inverse Kinematics engine, as demonstrated on Lee Brimelow’s blog. Flash animators have been screaming for IK for years, and Adobe has finally obliged.

So, what exactly is Inverse Kinematics?

Well, let’s put it this way. If I walk up you to and shake your hand, if everything is put together properly, then your forearm will likely move up and down along with it. And if I have a firm handshake, then your upper arm may also end up moving back and forth. And if I’m a complete jerk, I might just yank your whole body to the ground.

Well, that’s about how Inverse Kinematics work. Separate objects are joined together by a basic bone structure, and when you move one object, the objects it is attached to will be forced to move along with it. As you can imagine, this kind of functionality will make it infinitely easier to animate walking characters, among other things.

3D animators have been able to use IK for a while with programs like 3DS Max. And pretty soon, Flash users will have access to the same tools–and without having to type a single line of ActionScript code.

Here’s a quick YouTube video showing IK in action in Flash:

I don’t know about you, but I can’t wait!!

Tags: flash cs4, inverse kinematics, preview

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