Question for riggers/animators

# 1 05-07-2009 , 11:59 AM

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Join Date: Jul 2008

Location: Chelmsford, Essex, UK

Posts: 1,162

I was wondering if anyone who rigs/animates characters had any advice about learning how to rig. I have been following a long rigging tutorial recently. I was just about to move on to creating blend shapes and finishing up the rig when something went wrong (I think while grouping some elements together) and when I opened the saved file I was working on, it was all messed up. It's not too important as it gives me the opportunity to go over it again.

But my question is, when creating a rig for a character, from start to finish, it is such a huge process. I get really overwhelmed, just how much goes into it, with Ik handles, sometimes with maintain offset on, sometimes off, the IK/FK blending, creating manipulators, knowing what gets parented to what, when to orient constrain this, and when to parent constrain that. Cluster points. e.t.c. It seems like so much I wonder how you ever get the whole lot to sink in. I wonder if anyone has any tips on learning this process, any good things to remember? Any golden rules?

Maybe someone can offer some advice on how they learned? I know theres no easy way, it's a case of getting on with it, knuckling down, and making sure you understand the underlying concepts of what, say, an orient constraint is and does, and what cluster points do, so you can then know how you can use them for your own means.

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# 2 05-07-2009 , 12:35 PM

Maniacal boy king of Babylon
Join Date: Aug 2005

Location: the netherlands

Posts: 1,605

Mainly by doing it, buy some books and/or tutorials and then at some point you see the logic behind every action(why to maintain the offset, why to use a reversed foot set up and so o)

My website;
https://www.eyellem.com

LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/pub/martin-van-stein/42/a81/b82

Yoda post;
https://forum.simplymaya.com/showthre...highlight=yoda

Indiana Jones Post;
https://srv01.simply3dworld.com/showt...threadid=29188

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# 3 06-07-2009 , 04:19 PM

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Location: Dhaka, Bangladesh

Posts: 168

https://forums.cgsociety.org/forumdisplay.php?f=7

use this link.There is loads of tutorials there.

These might be helpful user added image

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# 4 07-07-2009 , 09:37 AM

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Location: Chelmsford, Essex, UK

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Cheers creasy. But I think what I wanted really was to just set up a space so I could ask some questions or just talk about the concepts as I'm working through the tutorial. I know there are plenty of tutorials here at SM and I have a couple in different books I have. But due to the amount of stuff involved in a full rig, I thought maybe if I discussed what I was doing as I went along, it might help it 'click' a bit easier. There can be times when I'm following a tutorial where I find myself just following the steps without realising/understanding the hows and whys underneath what Im actually doing.

For example. The 'hips overide' joint. When I first went through the tutorial I am working from (and am making my way through again), I didn't get the concept of the hips overide joint. Something which now seems quite stupid as I was thinking about it at work yesterday and it suddenly seemed obvious and pretty simple. You have the left and right hip joints parented to the hips overide joint, and this joint is placed on top of and parented to, the hips joint. To the end that you can swivel/rotate the upper and lower halfs of the body independently.

Little things like that...

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# 5 09-07-2009 , 08:52 PM

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Location: Chelmsford, Essex, UK

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Am I right in thinking that you should never freeze transformations on joints? I get concerned as I set up the skeleton, about moving or rotating any joints, if say, I create the chain for a leg and need to adjust if after?

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# 6 10-07-2009 , 11:41 PM

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I have seen that freezing transformations on joints is fine. Im confused though why my joints have any translate values other than 0 at all. Im not moving the joints after I have created them?

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# 7 16-07-2009 , 07:13 AM

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I agree with ben hobden

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Last edited by ddddyyyy; 16-07-2009 at 07:36 AM.

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# 8 13-08-2009 , 08:48 AM

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Location: Kathmandu, Nepal

Posts: 108

the general concept that u have to keep in mind is the parent and child connection and also the influence of given joints. u have to think in terms of real human (if its a human) bones and its hierarchy. once u are comfortable with all of those, then there will be no problem to parentin and childing thing. also about skinnning process, if u know which muscle group is controlled/influenced by which joint, then it will be really really easy. and i know this is really a bewildering, but you have to do things systematically and not get lost in the process. finally, you should know the basic actions of the human/creature as to see if ur rig/skin is all right...

and as you say, there is no shortcuts no nothing. u have to go down same road as everyone...

good luck... hope to see ur rig asap....

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# 9 25-08-2009 , 06:13 PM

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Join Date: Feb 2006

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"Maybe someone can offer some advice on how they learned?"

I learned by watching many tutorials and then trying the methods by myself on simple geometry, nothing to hard to confuse the brain. And after i gained confidence, id slowly start learning/adding more advanced techniques. Always gotta crawl before you can walk,

Thats my two sense atleast...

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# 10 18-09-2009 , 11:08 AM

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absolutely!

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# 11 18-09-2009 , 12:15 PM

yes...you dont sound not non double negative
Join Date: Jun 2009

Location: Norfolk, VA

Posts: 91

learn basic rigging, then start with learning scripting, vectors, kinematics, automation tools.
then move on to intermediate/advanced rigging.
this way you know exactly what is happening in the back-end when you are rigging. thats my advice.
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level 3 luchador!

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