Parenting an object to both hands, or something similar...?
feldarzt
Posts: 179
in The Commons
Hey guys,
I have a character holding a custom-made greatsword (AKA 2-handed sword). It's parented to the first bone of the index finger of the right hand. But I'd like to connect the left hand to that sword too so that when I move the right hand + the sword, the left hand would also move in a more or less correct anatomical way. Is it at all possible?
Daz 3D is part of 
Connect
DAZ Productions, Inc.
7533 S Center View Ct #4664
West Jordan, UT 84084
Licensing Agreement | Terms of Service | Privacy Policy | EULA
© 2025 Daz Productions Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Comments
Not directly, since an object can have only one parent (othrwise things could potentially be parented in a circle). But you could use an IK chain and parent the target for the other hand to the sword to have it follow, I think.
I haven't figured that one out either, I can have something parented to one item at a time. A workaround is mirroring the pose symmetry. It's really quick and easy, too. Here's a video:
This way you can move one arm, mirror the motion, and make the adjustments you need for the best result.
Thanks for the idea!
However, I think it won't really help me, as the moves/poses/animations I'm trying to make are not too symmetric. Working with a greatsword isn't. Here's a video with more complicated moves than those I'm making, but you can get the basic idea:
Interesting. I'm only learning the ActivePose tool, so I'm not sure how to create the IK chain you mentioned. Could you tell me how?
Ah, I see what you mean. This can work-you want to go to Create and select new IK Chain. Select the hand that isn't actively holding the weapon when doing this. Set that one's parent to the weapon. Try moving-you can manually adjust what you want to do in the ActivePose mode. This is best done after you've manually set your pose, so going forward they will move together. The Universal Tool is great for moving nodes indepednently until you reach a stuation where other parts move. Might take some tweaking but this should be a good solution for you.
Edit: Even though this will probably do close to what you want to do, I myself like going the route of dragging the other arm with the Universal tool, methodically, to get it where I want it. It's a bit old school, but takes me less time and less tweaking than doing something like this. Because either way, adjustments will be needed so I just go through it from the start.
pointing at a null parented to the weapon may or may not work
while not as good as tracking which I do in iClone and Carrara, I have used the point at to help hands and feet follow stirrups, reins etc, the null is needed as the pivot point may not be where you wish (handle,)
not bought Limbstick but that might work
https://www.daz3d.com/limbstick-for-genesis-9
https://www.daz3d.com/limbstick-for-genesis-3-+-8
Ah, I think Limbstick is designed for this kind of thing and should work better than the IK chains. If it's in your budget, OP.
Oh, this is nice! Judging by its description, it is what I need.
Thank you, Wendy! You're pointing me to a cool thing again!
Well, it turned out LimbStick does a little bit different thing. It works the other way around, by moving the item held into the hands (or to feet), not the second hand to the item or sticking the hands to it. Not exactly what I'm looking for, although it could be useful too.
Well, it was a worth a try. You could always use a product that's designed for sword posing and adjust it yourself. Here's a good one that has some excellent two hand grasping poses that you might like-Close Quarters Katana Combat for Genesis 9.
As I understand it, you're wanting to use a broadsword, but see how it works and if needed, manually move the arm away.
Okay this would still be cumbersome, but what if you had a duplicate sword parented to the second hand? Move the first hand/sword, then drag the other sword to line up with the first sword, and it would take the arm with it to the correct position? You could then just make the second sword invisible.
sadly I didn't buy limbstick so had no idea how it actually works
Maybe you could have a look if https://www.daz3d.com/face-to-face-autopose-arms-for-genesis-9 could help you. It can work on a single frame or an animation, and the principle is that the figure arm is posed so that the selected face of your hands/fingers/wrist (depending on what you select) stay in contact with a target (or several targets if you have several arms to handle). Not sure I completely understand your requirement but it sounded pretty close. You have a version for G9 and one for G8/8.1. There is a support thread if you want to ask questions.
Heck, that's an awesome idea! At least in theory. I'll check it later tonight and tell here if it worked. Thanks!
Oh yeah, I read the G8 version's page about a year ago and thought I might need this in the future. So here's the future, and it looks like I do need it. Thanks for the reminder! Gonna try it later tonight.
Adding to that (I highly recommend Autopose and any of V3Digitimes utilities if you don't want to go mad posing figures), two-handed weapons don't keep your hand precisely at the same point of contact at all times, so you could tweak things by having the second hand staying in contact not with the facets of the handle, but with the facets of an invisible cylinder parented to the handle that you could slightly tweak up and down or tilt back and forth for certain angles.
I'm kinda surprised that limbstick didn't work, though. It shows use cases like parenting feet to bicycle pedals, and that's definitely not something where I would want the pedals following the feet.
That's a great thought. I'm going to browse V3D's catalog and probably find some useful stuff in it.
It is possible that I used it wrong, but I'd say the chance of that is close to slim. I did everything according to the manual, even though the app itself is easy to use. Maybe the object has to be prepared somehow or anything. But what I could get is feet attached to a ground plane, which is nice. The hands and the sword, though, I couldn't. As soon as I move the right hand where the sword is parented, the left hand stays where it was, like LimbStick isn't turned on.
What if you targeted the hand and moved that until the swords lined up?
In this case, it's easier to just move the second hand to the original sword. It doesn't really speed up or simplify the work.
I gotta say, this F2F Autopose saves a lot of time and effort once you understand that you need to parent the target to the target item. Thank you, V3D!
The only thing I'd really want to add to it is the ability to work with two points (faces) at the same time so that you could keep the hand not only in the general area of the target but also at a certain degree relative to the item. Basically, to be able to make it hold a long item that could change its positioning/angle.
Glad you found a solution!
Thank you, SilverGirl!