Capsule Falloff Zones

Capsule falloff zones provide a great deal more flexibility in controlling the shape of the zones of influence. The green and red capsules work similarly to the spherical falloff zones mentioned in the previous section. The green capsule defines the area that is 100% affected by the transformation, and the red capsule defines the limit of the transformation’s effect. The area in between the capsules defines the blending area.

Capsule Falloff Zone with Verts turned on.

If you choose to create a capsule zone, there are six unique parameters in the Parameters Palette to change the shape and size of capsules and how they affect the current joint. You will also see the Translate, Rotate, and Scale parameters which work similar to those described for the Spherical falloff zones.

• Click the green capsule to edit the affected area. The Parameters/Properties palette displays its properties as the innerMatCapsule.
• Click the red capsule to edit the unaffected area. The Parameters/Properties palette displays its properties as the outerMatCapsule.

innerMatCapsule and outerMatCapsule parameters.

With the inner or outer MatCapsule selected, you will see the following parameters in the Parameters palette:

• Right Length: Sets the length of the right half of the cylinder portion of the capsule.
• Right Radius: Sets the radius of the right end of the cylinder portion of the capsule.
• Right Cap: Sets the length of the cap at the right end of the capsule. Increases or decreases the distance from the Right Length.
• Left Length: Sets the length of the left half of the cylinder portion of the capsule.
• Left Radius: Sets the radius of the left end of the cylinder portion of the capsule.
• Left Cap: Sets the length of the cap at the left end of the capsule. Increases or decreases the distance from the Left Length.

The following diagram shows the parts of the capsule:

A diagram of a capsule falloff zone.