CompuServe Messages

I have an I problem that is driving me nuts. The scene is simple: A man walks into a room, picks up a box and puts it up on a shelf. The box that is carried linked to the left hand — hidden and then unhidden when the box is picked up (the old trick). I have a dummy object linked to the box and another linked to the right hand. These align perfectly when the chracter is bent over to pick up the box. I use the left arm/hand to move the box around and want the right to follow, staying on the box. Using "follow object" in IK, the motion looks good until there is any lateral motion, at which point the shoulder seems to "snap" from one angle limit to the other (on the Y axis, as if you were turning a screw) — it looks like the snap that occurs with a camera when it goes directly over the top of a scene. The box is clearly within reach but the motion is wrong despite all of the motion limits being set for the objects in the chain. I've tried different joint precedences and damping but have not found any good combinations. Do you have any suggestions? Is there a better approach to this? Any advice would be very helpful. (BTW congrats with MAX — I look forward to playing with it). John Mateer PolyMedia