Is there a work around for being able to have target bones with actions in the same rig?

[dragonmaya]

If I'm understanding this post https://www.lostmarble.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=33537, target bones won't work if you add actions to bones such as to correct an elbow that becomes deformed when the arm bones bend. It'd be nice to have both. Sorry if there's something obvious that I'm missing; this is my first post. The only solution I can think of is having separate versions of a character, one with actions and one with target bones

[synthsin75]

You can use smart bones that are targeting other bones to correct joints, etc.. As long as it's the smart bone itself that is being moved by following it's target. What you can't do is have another bone that is being controlled by a smart bone also follow a target. The smart bone tells that bone what to do, overriding the targeting. So an arm bone can both correct the elbow deformation and follow an object it's hand is targeting.

If you want a smart bone to handle something like a walk cycle, for example, you'd want to animate the target bones in your smart action, instead of the limb bones that are targeting them. In most cases, there's a way to make sure smart bones and targets do not interfere with each other.

[dragonmaya]

Thanks, I think that makes sense. I'll have to try that next time I'm rigging a character and see if I truly get it.