Workflow questions

I’m trying to figure out a workflow for a character animation where I may be working with others. We’re on a tight schedule, but there is still modeling adjustments that need to be made.

Can I:

  • Model in one .blend.
  • Link that model in another .blend
  • Make a proxy object
  • And rig it
  • Link the rig and model into a third .blend for animationWhen I do the above, it works except when I make a change to the model’s .blend, all the weight painting is lost in the rigging .blend.

I was hoping I’d be able to have separate files for model, rigging, and animations. But it seems that the rigging must be done in the same file as the modeling. Is this correct?

Right now it seems I can’t do it that way so I need to:

  • Model and rig in one .blend
  • Link the model and rig using a proxy object for the armatureBut I want to be able to experiment with different rigs without having to duplicate my model data. Is this possible?

Maybe this is not possible in Blender?

well, you should probably just save different versions- start off with just the model and deform bones, save it, add rig elements, save it as a different name, etc. Or, just use bone heat weighting every time to get a quick weight paint.

So there’s no way around having multiple versions of the mesh then, right?