Rigging help for my character (blend file attached)

Support Animation and Rigging
#1

Hey there,
well guys iam a begginer and have been trying real hard to be a good animation artist… i have done a lot of experimenting with modelling and learnt alot too … thanks to all the help here… now animations is somehtng i wana learn better, i have made this character but unable to rig it properly… i mean the deformation is just aweful … please somebody help me witha proper rig and what modifications shall i make to it to make it look good if i animate a walk or something… some explanation with practical help will mean alot … if some one can do that with my blend file and give some brief explanations too… would mean the world to me!!! well also i wanned to know that suppose i animate this guy and make it walk and do some hand moments as if talkin to someone… how to do that with some slow process i mean i tried different characters before but it seemed to qucik how to make it look real and slow , like they show in cartoon movies!! well pleaseeeeeeeeee do help me as soon as possioble … thanks a ton in advance and this forum rocks coz. it has never let me down!!! here is the link to my blend file!!

http://rapidshare.com/files/72151216/jungleboyAnime.blend.html

PS- Pheonix … you have always replied to my quries … if you can please help this time too… infact any ehlp from anyone is welcomed… we all are here to help each other and thats what makes this place ROCK!!! thanks alot all!!!

#2

To start with, bump the Armature modifier up on the modifier stack so that it comes before the Subsurf modifier. This will help the deformations a lot.

#3

i just downloaded the .blend and played with the rig you made…

I agree with bugman, the armature modifier should be the first on the stack.

i had a look at the mesh of your character. You are using a lot of tris there. Tris don’t work very well with the subsurface modifier, so try to get rid of them and use quads instead.

it seems, that the lengths of the IK-chains aren’t properly set. E.g. moving the handle of the upper body twists the whole rig.

Nice work so far :eyebrowlift:
Keep it up !
def

#4

um when I try to use your link the site asks me to pay to download it. why?

#5

well thanks everyone … it helped so far but i would still appriciate a bit more help…

and Zenoth… its rapidshare… you just click on the free button and next page will come… some seconds will count and some letters appear jus type them in and u will get the download… iam sorry i cant afford a premium account so uploaded on free one!

#6

Try using 4shared.com instead. Its much easier to upload to, and also for others to download from.

#7

What concrete problems are you struggling with?

#8

The major problem iam facing is with animation and rigging… iam a bit confused about weight painting and making the character rigged properly… so that when i animate it … i don have uneven or ugly defrormations… as not been able to assign the right vertices… and do i need to apply a weight of 1.0 too all or it should vary accordingly??? i hope iam clear with my problem

#9

Hey Don007, if you followed the Introducing Character Animation book like I mentioned before you should have a pretty solid rig already, like I mean follow it word for word and chapter by chapter, don’t skip ahead.

Second off the weight painting process is a bit of a tough one to explain but it comes with practice. Basically rigid areas like thighs and forearms should have the same weight paint area along the length of the limb but as each limb tapers off to a joint is where the weight paint is lightened to allow for smooth creasing of the mesh. Each vertex group you weight paint, the name of each group should correspond to the name of the bone located within that area of the mesh eg. bone: forearm.L should have the same name as vertex group: forearm.L. The Armature Modifier should sort this aspect out for you, just turn off the envelopes button, envelopes are sloppy. Basically the arm. modifier tells the mesh ‘Hey mesh, theres an armature inside of you and the bones are going to be named the same as the vertex groups you assign to them’

Just follow the book, it’ll tell you how to do it!

#10

thanks alot Pheonix … you always are great help… well i have made another character… and if u cud help me with it will mean alot… i will send you the blend file and then if you can do something about the rig then please do… i mean ikts upto you… so please let me know if you could… will give the blend file then!! thanks again and now iam gona go thourgh that book word toword which i dint dio before!!