Workflow:

1. Characters MUST be bound to the rig in the standard T-pose in order for the animations to be compatible with other characters and vice-versa. If your character is modeled in a different position you will have to edit it to make it compliant. This means:

   1. The arms must be stretched out in a straight line along the X axis.

   2. The fingers must also be stretched straight out along the X axis.

   3. The thumb must be oriented with the thumbnail side facing forwards (towards the positive Y axis). It should preferably be extended at a downwards angle.

   4. The legs MUST be straight up-and-down. This means that the hip, knee, and ankle joints must be directly in line with each other from the front and side views. (The X position values should be identical).

   5. Your character should be standing on the XY grid plane. In other words, the bottoms of the feet should be at 0 on the Z (up) axis.

   6. The feet should be pointing straight forwards (along the positive Y axis).

   7. The character should be modeled with the spine in a relaxed, neutral pose.

2. Click Create Markers.

3. Position the markers where you want your character's joints to be. The bones will be created with the pivot points at the centers of the markers. Take your time and make sure they are placed just right. The marker dummies are set up with locks and links to help you keep them correctly aligned.
   
   
   1. Pay close attention especially to the placement of the heel, ball, and toe markers. The heel and toe markers should be at 0 on the z axis, meaning they should be touching the ground. This is because these will define the pivot points of your foot, and you will want your foot to rotate from the point at which it touches the ground. So, the heel marker should be at the point where the foot touches the ground at the farthest point back, and the toe where it touches at the farthest point forwards. The ball, however is the actual joint where the toes hinge off the foot, so it should be higher, and “inside” the character's foot.
   
   
   
   2. The head rotates from the point where the skull attaches to the spine. A good way to estimate this point is to look at the side view and put the joint in line with the base of the ear, or a little lower and a little farther back.
   
   
   
   3. Keep the limbs, including the fingers, in straight lines (the locks and links are there for a reason)! In MAX, the shoulder will be the parent of the rest of the arm bones, the Thigh will be the parent of the rest of the leg, and the Root will be the parent of the spine. In Maya, instead of parents there are groups (press the up arrow with one of the markers selected), which you will need to use to move the arm and spine as one. If your character is modeled with the arms, legs, feet, hands, or fingers at odd angles, you may need to edit your model to be in the correct pose. Another solution would be to create the rig with the markers in straight lines and then rotate the bones into place after you create the skeleton but before you bind the mesh to them. See the Additional Information below for more.
   
   
   
   4. The thumb is the only “limb” that is allowed to be at any angle you want. It must be aligned with the XZ plane, but it can be at any angle. Moving the middle joint marker (R_Thumb_B_Location) will force the end marker (.._C_..) to stay in line with the other two. Modifying the end joint's “Length” attribute will extend it to the desired length.
      
      

3. Click Save Marker Locations to save your locations... “just in case”.



4. Click Create Rig.



5. Click Delete Markers.



6. Select your character's mesh or meshes and apply a Skin modifier. Add the bones, weight the vertices and start animating.



7. Make sure you set keyframes for all your animatable attributes at frame 0 before starting to animate your movements. The easiest way to do this would be to use the “All Animatables” Selection Set that the script creates for you.