The Riggist

this is so nice, it reminds me of some gears that I give to my students when I teach classes, is the model yours or can it be found on the internet?

Freedom in Controls

It's important to lock & hide unused attributes to keep rigs clean, but remember: animators need as much freedom as possible! Allow controls to go beyond expected limits without breaking the deformations. Balance simplicity and flexibility

#rigging #3d #animation

Make Peace with Skin

A rig is only as good as its skinning. Even the most advanced setups can fail with poor skin weights. Remember: a good rig with bad skinning is still a bad rig. Prioritize clean deformations for the best results!

#rigging #3d #animation

Intuitive Controls for Animators

A great rig has controls that are easy to understand. Animators should instantly know what a control does when they select it. This boosts efficiency and keeps the animation process smooth and fun!

#rigging #animation #3d #rigtip

Pivoting Matters!

Even the best rig fails with wrong pivots. Accurate pivot placement ensures correct deformations. Small adjustments can make a huge difference! A good rig with wrong pivots will give you wrong deformations.

#rigging #3d #animation

Happy Maths!

Keep your controls clean. Instead of freezing transformations, use offset groups to maintain clarity and flexibility in your rig. A small step for cleaner math, a big leap for easier rigging!

#rigging #3d #animation

Avoid Duplicate Names
In Maya, you can have duplicate names as long as they are in different hierarchies, but it’s still an error. Duplicate names break scripts and tools that modify rigs or setups. Always check for unique names!

#maya #rigging #3danimation

There’s no single “correct” naming convention. Each studio or artist develops their own. The important part is staying consistent so everyone can understand and work with the rig.

Naming Matters
A good naming convention saves tons of time when debugging, fixing, or modifying rigs. Spend a few seconds renaming every object and node—your future self (and teammates) will thank you!

Hierarchy Matters
A well-structured hierarchy makes controlling, debugging, and modifying a rig faster and easier. On the other hand, a poorly planned hierarchy can lead to broken rigs and wasted time. Build smart from the start!

#rigging #3d #animation #rigtip

Analyze Before You Rig
Don’t overwork parts of a rig that won’t be animated. Focus on understanding what the project needs and prioritize accordingly. This saves time and ensures your energy goes into the most important elements, creating efficient and effective rigs.

#rigging #3d #animation

Think of it like a puppet: The model is the puppet itself, the wooden cross is the control system (what animators use), and the strings are the deformer system (modifying geometry). Animators don’t touch the strings, but they rely on them for realistic movement.

Deform System
Deformers determine how geometry behaves when posed. They handle skinning, muscles, corrective shapes, etc for natural or exaggerated motion. A strong deformer system ensures appealing shapes and smooth deformations.

The control system is the interface between animators and the rig. It includes controllers, sliders, and attributes to simplify posing. A good control system is intuitive and gives animators creative freedom without being overwhelming.

Control System vs Deform System
In rigging, two essential components drive character animation: control systems and deformer systems. Controls let animators pose characters intuitively, while deformers handle how the geometry reacts.

#rigging #animation #3d #rig

VFX Rigs
VFX rigs are designed for realism and seamless integration with live-action footage. They focus on natural movements and realistic deformations, often using muscle systems to achieve the most lifelike results.

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Videogame Rigs
Videogame rigs prioritize optimization and real-time performance. They are designed to run smoothly during gameplay with fewer controls than animation rigs. Game rigs need to support dynamic actions and focus on performance over detail for fluid interaction.

Animation Rigs
Animation rigs are designed for expressive control and natural deformations, focusing on storytelling. They feature detailed facial and body controls to convey emotions and exaggerated movements, sometimes even pushing anatomy to emphasize these expressions.

Different types of rigs
There are different kinds of rigs designed to meet the specific needs and limitations of various projects. Whether it's animation, video games, or VFX, each type of rig is tailored to its medium to ensure the best performance, control, and appeal.

This division isn’t always strict—it often depends on the artist or even the studio. But if we try to generalize, this is a good way to understand the roles.

In the end, the balance between artistic and technical skills ensures the project’s success.

#rigging #animation #rigtip #3d

Technical riggers are the problem-solvers of the team. They create efficient setups for bodies and props, often focusing on rigging systems and workflows rather than details like skin or shape. They also develop scripts and tools to streamline production, ensuring rigs are optimized for the pipeline

Artistic riggers prioritize character appeal, focusing on the skin and shapes of facial and body rigs to bring personality and emotion to life. They aim for natural and expressive movements, collaborating closely with animators to enhance storytelling.

Artistic vs Technical Riggers:

Rigging blends artistic vision and technical precision, with riggers often specializing in one of two areas. Artistic riggers focus on character appeal and expressive rigs, while technical riggers handle props, setups, and tools that bring everything together.

Each department relies on the work of the others. As riggers, we don’t just make rigs; we create tools for animators. Thinking about how your work will be used helps everyone—and the project—shine. Remember: the better we help each other, the better the final product.

#animation #rigging #pipeline

Let’s talk mindset:

In a studio, we’re all part of one big team working toward the same goal—a great project. It’s not just about completing your task and moving on; it’s about setting up the next department for success. Collaboration and forward thinking are key to great results.

What does appealing mean in rigging?

There’s no single definition, but to me, it’s about making the character convey something—be it attraction, repulsion, etc. Movements should feel expressive and enhance the character’s personality, making them resonate with the audience

#rigging #animation #3d

How does rigging communicate with texturing?

As riggers, we rarely need textures—default materials suffice. Only iconic marks, like scars or birthmarks, require our attention. While texturing comes later, we focus on creating appealing deformations that make characters come alive in motion.

Push joints are an alternative to corrective shapes, both have their own pros and cons, I personally prefer corrective shapes but I don't know much about how to do it on blender and I have seen more people using push joints there, so I thought it was easier than corrective shapes

many people call it in different way, that's how i know it, but basically is a joint that usually follows half the rotation for the joint (lets say its always in the middle of the elbow and the shoulder) and moves forward then the elbow bends, pushing that geo out and recovering the loost volumen

The right way to fix it: push joint

The easy way to fix it: modify the geometry of the cat to make it way thinner in the part that is covered by the clothes, it doesn't matter if it looks broken because the clothes covers it, that way you make sure this never happens