Forward Kinematics

Forward Kinematics translates the positional and rotational values of a selected point around an anchor point (pivot point). Any bones or objects attached to this bone also move. FK is a chain system whereby only bones following the selected bone are affected; preceding bones in the chain are unaffected by any value changes.

This gives animators a lot more manual control however, it will make the animation process take longer as each bone will need more manual adjustments as the bones carry minimal influence over the whole rig before the selection point.

Animators may choose to keep arms and hands in FK mode whilst keeping the rigs feet and body in IK mode as animators will want feet to remain planted and give a sense of weight and balance when moving which is harder to achieve through FK as its a slower process.