This is a simple look at a powerful option that is available to you in LightWave® 7.5.

When you setup an animation rig, or a complex scene for someone else, you have 2 choices.

You know where the controls are. You should, you made them! But to tell someone else how to use your rig, or your scene, you can write an instruction paper or email, or you can use "Proxy Objects". It's proxy objects that we're going to explore now.

A proxy object allows you to create a handle, that is easily identified and selectable, that automatically selects something else. If this is confusing, I hope to clear that up quickly.

First off, we have a way to make a simple null object look different than just a simple 'cross' in our viewports. This is using the "Item Shape" custom object plugin. This goes hand in hand with proxy objects, so let's look at that first.

Click on the "Items" tab at the top of the interface, then choose "ADD" and add a null. It really doesn't matter at this point what you name it.

At the bottom of the interface, with the null still selected, click on "Item Properties". This will open a window to set the properties of this null. We want to go to the "Geometry" tab, and click and hold on the "Add Custom Object" popup menu. Select "Item Shape" and release.

Double click on the listing that says: "Item Shape: Standard".

This is where we can choose something different for how the null looks. Some suggestions, if your control that you are creating is for rotation only, say for the pivoting of a head, or hand, make the shape a "Ball" -- like wise, if it's a control for an IK handle, the standard (at least that I have seen) is a "Box".

The "Axis" control, determines what axis the shape will be drawn on. Now, some of the shapes, like the ball and the box, doesn't really change the look with different axis' chosen. But the "Ring" shape sure does.

Below that is the "Scale" setting. This is how large to make the new shape. This is personal preference, but note this: You can select the object by it's size, so larger Item Shapes are easier to select. For certain shapes, you can have it filled as well. That's the box below Scale labeled "Filled".

"Label" is if you want a name to hover around the new Item Shape. This is very handy, as it will always be right-reading to the camera or any viewport.

"Justification" determines where the name is drawn in relation to the center of the object, and "Draw Line To" is whether you wish a line to be drawn to a specific item or not.

Now, the last 3 items are used if you are just making an Item Shape that is going to be directly used. I feel that they are pretty self explanatory -- and the "Opacity" at the bottom is really great for making the object itself not so "obtrusive".

Now that we have the "Item Shape" under our belt -- let's look at the other part -- PROXY OBJECTS.

Ok -- so Proxy Objects are objects that if you select them, they select something else automatically. Ok -- so prove it already!

Clear your scene. Add a null again, doesn't matter about it's name.

Now, Click on the "Scene" tab at the top of the interface, and toward the bottom is a button labeled "Master Plug-ins". If you can't find it there, it might be hidden under a "More" drop down. You can also find it under the "Layout" drop down and under "Plugins" there.

Now, in this panel, click on "Add Layout or Scene Master" and add the plugin "ProxyPick"

Double click on "ProxyPick (none)" and you will see the controls. They are simple, but let's go through them.

Proxy Object is the Null, or whatever object you wish to be the selector.

Target Item is the selectee.

"Apply Label" will but the Name of the Target Item above the null and draw a line showing the link between the Proxy Object and it's target item.

So let's do something simple to see what this does.

For ProxyObject -- choose the null and for Target Item -- choose the Light. Then click on "Apply Label".

Now, see what has happened? We have a null, that has a hovering title "Light" over it, and a dashed line that connects it with the light. If you select the camera, then try to select the null -- you select the light. You cannot select the null separately. The only way right now is to use the "Objects" mode at the bottom of the interface, because there is only one object in the scene, you can select it.

Now, reopen the "Master Plugin" panel, and click on the check mark beside the plugin. This will temporarily deactivate it, but leave it all setup.

Now, click on the Null and choose "Item Properties" and go to the Geometry Tab and double click on the "Item Shape" plugin to pull up it's settings.

Now you see why we started here. These are the settings that ProxyPick will setup by default. If we want to make any changes, we can here. Like make it a different shape rather than "None". Or to take away that dotted line -- trust me, with many of these proxies in a scene, the lines can get old really quick.

Ok -- lets put this to use.

Load up the PrixyTute_LegIK.lws scene file.

Here you'll see a very simple IK leg, setup with the "reverse foot" IK setup for the foot.

So what we're gonna do is to make a couple of ProxyPick objects to choose the Heel Handle and the Ball of the Foot.

Add 2 nulls, and call one ProxyHeel and the other ProxyBall.

Open the Master Plugins, and add ProxyPick

Double click on "ProxyPick (none)" and set the "ProxyHeel" to ProxyObject and "Heel_Handle" to the Target. (note -- you'll see when you open the Target Item popdown, that all the bones are available too -- you can proxy select ANYTHING!) Then click on "Apply Label".

Now, add another instance of "ProxyPick" and do the same thing for "ProxyBall" and "Ball".

Now, before closing this panel, turn off the plugins by clicking on the check marks beside them. This is why. We want to give these proxies a different look, and one thing that is inherent in the way they work. Since you cannot select them directly, you might want to move them out of the way. So if we parent them to another Null, named "ProxyMaster" or something, we can have a way to move them out of our way.

So, add another null and call it "ProxyMaster".

Select your two proxy nulls and parent them to the "ProxyMaster". You might also at this point, move the two nulls apart from one another.

You'll also note that I made the ProxyMaster null hidden. No sense in clutter.

Now, select the ProxyHeel object, and open it's Item Properties.

Go to the Geometry Tab, and double click on the "ItemShape" plugin.

Choose the "Box" Shape, and you'll see that the box is way to big. So scale it down to something like, 220mm.

Also, in the sense of no clutter, turn off the "Draw Line To".

Now, select the ProxyBall object, and open it's Item Properties.
Go to the Geometry Tab, and double click on the "ItemShape" plugin.

For this one, we only want to rotate it on it's pitch, so we can remind our users of that by choosing the "ring" shape. So, choose the ring shape, and pick "X" for the axis. This lines up with the pitch of the ball control. It's a little big, so make it 220mm as well, and get rid of that darn line. You might like it, and if you do feel free to leave it, but it get's in my way.

One last step -- we need to turn the proxypick plugin back on.

Go to the MasterPlugins panel and click where the check mark was to turn it back on.

One last step -- we need to turn the proxypick plugin back on.

Go to the MasterPlugins panel and click where the check mark was to turn it back on.

Now if you click on the Proxy Objects, you'll select the controls.

I hope this has been helpful, and you now understand how to use these simple little controls. You might find that you create them for yourself for a scene that you use over and over again.

Thanks for your attention.