Hello, I’m just getting started on my project, I have been watching tutorials for Unity to study it.
I have noticed that some people have their characters animated in such a way that the Pivot Point of the character is at the center of them, but others have it at the base.
Are there any advantages or disadvantages to either choice?
Put character and standing object
pivots at the base, not in the
centre. This makes it easy to put
characters and objects on the floor
precisely. It also makes it easier to
work with 3D as if it is 2D for game
logic, AI, and even physics when
appropriate.
The pivot for a character you’ll move in Unity or code will typically be the feet. There’s a few reasons why this is practical, for example, the same code can be more reliable and do less work if there’s a constant position to work from. Given that the feet on the ground is as constant as it gets, it’s just a practical decision in the end.
For rigs (animation in 3D packages), it’s a different story. The reason the pelvis is used as the ultimate parent, or origin in rigs is because it works much, much better for humanoids and IK. You can lower the pelvis, and the knees bend, it becomes much easier to perform run / walk cycles and so on.