Character Rigging Question.

Hello, i have been using Blender for a while now to model, and me and a friend are planning on making a game. And i need to set up some models with rigging and animations, but im having trouble figuring this out.

See, the models im using are not like usual models, as in they are not one whole model, but instead are pieces (upper arm, lower arm, chest, pelvis, etc…) and im not really sure how to go about rigging it. I dont want the deforming like with a solid model. i just want each bone to have a part to move, but with all the bones being one object like when rigging a normal model.

How should i go about doin this?

Also, i want to have one bone as the Main Mover, where if i move it, everything moves, and an IK movers.

Well, the armature (skeleton) construction will go like all the tutorials show. The difference will be in how you attach your model to the armature.

Once you have your model pieces ready and your armature built, do the following:

  • Select your armature and use Ctrl-TAB to enter pose mode.
  • RMB select the bone you would like to use. It should turn light blue.
  • RMB select the body part object you would like to use.
  • Holding down SHIFT, RMB select that same bone again from step 2. Both the bone and the body part should be selected now.
  • Press Ctrl-P to Parent.
  • From the pop-up menu that appears, choose “Bone”

This will make the body part the child of that specific bone. Repeat for each body part. Good luck!

wow, thanks, so i can do as i normally do, just assign each bone a part in Pose mode instead of edit mode or object mode. THANK YOU!!!

Well, just try it and make sure it works to your satisfaction before proceeding with your whole project on the assumption it works like you expect. :slight_smile:

In my experience a straightforward way to do this is to simply animate the Armature as an Object – all the bones (except in some cases those linked to IK controllers – see below) will move with the Armature.

You can set up your IK system to have controller Bones (part of the Armature) or controller Objects (I often use Empties) or both (via a chain of Constraints). Just specify the desired Target in the IK Constraint. Which method you chose (Bone, Object or both) depends on how you use IK and to some degree how your rig is constructed. Bone IK controllers are included in the Action for that Armature, whereas Object controllers are not, though you can enable a separate Action for them. If you’re not familiar with how IK works and how it can be used in various rigging schemes, do some research for tutorials or examples, as it can be a little confusing at first.

One thing about using Object controllers is that the bones they control will not automatically move with the Armature (Bone controllers will), which is one reason to use them – for example the feet can stay pinned to a surface while the rest of the body moves, rotates, etc. But when you want the body to move as a whole you have to move both the Armature and the controllers, often at the same time depending on the action.