It's important to understand what is happening to your joints at all times, though. The problem
with IK is that it allows animators to become lazy. There, I said it.

You see it all the time in reels and "newbie" animation.

Heck, we all do it sometimes. When we let
the computer worry about where the elbow (or knee, or spine, or tentacle joint) is, we can easily
get lazy.

The important thing is arcs and force, not just in your end effector or hand, but also in the hinge
joint, or elbow. Do both express an arc that shows the mood and attitude that you want for this
particular movement?

Is it the rigging of your character, or the ik of real creatures?

The "IK Lock" that so many animators try to avoid is quite present in everyday motion. An
extreme example is a boxer throwing a punch: his arm (or her arm if you're in my family) snaps
to full extension and then jerks back to slightly bent. Yet this same thing occurs in less extreme
cases such as:

• Rasing your hand quickly to answer a question

• The extension of a leg just before contact while walking

• Running

• Jumping

• Any movement where you fully extend a limb!

I personally find IK is the best system for mimicking this type of motion. These days, I rarely use
FK limbs unless I am having real trouble with my arcs or poses.

I find IK allows me to pose faster and thus try out more poses. It also allows me to place the limb
exactly where I want it.

As long as I don't get lazy and just let the computer sort it out, I'm quite fine using pure IK limbs!

-DJ