How do I attach an armature?

Support Animation and Rigging
1

Hi all,

I am new to Blender, and am currently trying to create a skeleton for my first animated character. I have successfully created an armature, but I have no idea how to attach it to my mesh. Several references say to make the mesh a parent of the armature, or a child, I’m not really sure. However, tips on how this is done are scarce (at least I couldn’t find any). Please help! Thanks!

2

Both your mesh and bones should be in object mode (I call pinky). Click yr mesh then the bones and Ctrl-P to parent it then weight paint to assign vertice to bones structure.

3

You’ll be better off adding an Armature Modifier to your Mesh. An Object can have many Modifiers but only one Parent.

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4

Hi guys,

Thanks for the quick answer. I think I’ll go with the Modifier method, as it seems to be the newer way according to the sources I’ve read thus far. But how do I do it. I have created vertex groups, and I add the Modifier, I set the Ob: property to the name of my mesh and I get an error : Object must be an armature. OK, I set the name of the armature then. Now it accepts it, but the mesh is still not deformed. When I click the Apply button on the Armature Modifier Panel, the Modifier is erased and not applied! What am I doing wrong?

5

From here:
http://wiki.blender.org/index.php/BSoD/Introduction_to_Character_Animation
http://wiki.blender.org/index.php/BSoD/Introduction_to_Character_Animation/Upper_body_armature#Add_an_Armature_modifier_to_the_Mesh

Moving this to Animation.

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6

Hi again Fligh,
I tried out the steps in the links you provided me, but still, my armature moves on its own, not deforming the mesh. I don’t know what else to do. I’ve tried both ways, using parenting and using Modifiers, and nothing works. I don’t know if it’s something I’m doing wrong, or what, but isn’t a mesh supposed to move with its armature when it’s attached?

7

Yes, but each bone must be assigned some Vertices from the Mesh to deform or you’ll have scrambled eggs. If you look thru those links you’ll find how to do that with WeightPainting.

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8

Hi yet again Fligh,
I still seem to be having trouble with this. I try to apply weight painting, but it doesn’t work, either. Must I be in object mode or something? According to the tutorial in the link you provided, I first select Weight Painting mode, and then I right click on the bone I want to assign the vertices to. But when I right click on the bone, the entire armature object is selected, and I am taken out of Weight Painting mode. Blender is a lot harder to use than I thought.

9

Hi again

I finally managed to edit the wieghts of the vertices. Of course it looks horrible, but since this is my first time it’s understandable. I still, however, have difficulty getting to the Weight Paint Mode. What I do is, I first select the bone in Pose Mode, then select the mesh in object mode and then switch to weight paint. If I don’t do it this way, Weight Painting will not allow me to select any bones. Perhaps there is an alternative way to select bones in this mode?

10

first select the bone in Pose Mode, then select the mesh in object mode and then switch to weight paint

  • Exactly . But you do not have to switch into Object Mode to select your mesh . You can just select it in Pose Mode . Pose Mode is a type of Object Mode . And while in it you can add and select objects/meshes just like in Object Mode . In fact when you select a non-armature object in Pose Mode you automatically switch into Object Mode .