Embedded Files
Adding an Armature
In Blender, “Armature” refers to an object type that is used to deform a mesh. Think of your finger and the skin covering it and the bones inside. The skin would be the mesh and the bones are the armature; when the bone moves, the skin moves with it.
To begin the instruction on armatures, start with the default Blender scene, delete the cube object, and add an armature object (press Shift + the A Key—“Armature”—“Single Bone”). Zoom in (with the number pad + key) and press number pad 1 then number pad 5 to get the front orthographic view.
Single Bone Armatures
What you see is a single bone armature. Armatures can, and usually do, comprise multiple bones, but before we complicate anything we should start with an understanding of bone manipulation. The default single bone armature is displayed in type “Octahedral” (due to the object having eight surfaces): it appears as two four-sided pyramids conjoined at the base with spheres at the apexes. For the purpose of the demonstration, we will name the parts of the armature tip, body, and base.
Although the armature is an object in Blender, it is not a mesh object. Its shape cannot be edited other than scaling it larger or smaller. It can be rotated and translated. It has a center like any other object, which may be repositioned, but for use in a multibone armature it is best to maintain the center at the apex of the lower (smaller) pyramid in the center of the sphere. With the manipulation widget turned on, the widget is also positioned at the center.
Adding Additional Single Bone Armatures
A single bone armature was added to the scene by pressing Shift + A key and selecting “Add”—“Armature”—“Single Bone.” It is positioned at the location of the 3D cursor in the 3D window. The armature is entered in “Object” mode. It may be stating the obvious but what you have added to the scene is an “Armature” comprising one single bone. Note the name “Armature” in the “Outliner” window. Click on the little plus sign to open the file tree and the headings “Armature” and “Pose.” Click the plus sign next to the second “Armature” entry and you will see “Bone.” These entries say there is one armature comprising one bone. Deselect the “Armature” in the 3D window.
If you relocate the 3D cursor and repeat the process you add a second single bone armature. Note the new name “Armature.001” in the “Outliner” window and the subentries “Armature.001” and “Bone”. If you select either armature in the 3D window and press Shift + D key (Duplicate) and translate (drag the mouse) you create a third single bone armature. The name in the “Outliner” window for this armature is “Armature.002”.
Note the entries in the “Outliner” window. There are three separate single bone armatures. All three armatures are independent of each other. Select one of the three armatures, say “Armature.002” and tab into “Edit” mode. In “Edit” mode only the tip of the armature is selected. Press A key twice or RMB click on the body of the armature to select the whole armature.
Note you are in “Edit” mode. Press Shift + D key (Duplicate) and drag the mouse to reveal a new bone. The point here is that it is a new bone that is part of “Armature.002,” not a new armature. If you select the original armature “Bone” and tab to “Object” mode both bones will be selected. Translating the original will cause the new bone to follow. There is no link shown between the two but they are connected. In the “Outliner” window you will see “Bone.001” entered under “Armature.002”.
In “Edit” mode, press the A key to deselect then RMB click on the tip to select the tip of “Bone.” Press E key (Extrude) and drag the mouse you extrude a new bone from the tip of the original. This is a new bone that is part of the armature not a new armature. Note the entries in the “Outliner” window. You now have subentry “Bone.002” under “Bone”.
If you go to the “Properties” window, “Object Data” button, “Display” tab, and tick “Names” the individual bone names will display in the 3D window.
Select “Pose” mode in the 3D window header. Any bone may be selected then rotated, translated, or scaled independently to enable posing for a still image or for animating.
Tab will take you back to “Edit” mode and all bones are displayed in their original positions prior to posing. Observe that Bone.002 follows Bone when it is rotated but Bone.001 remains stationary. In the “Outliner” window under “Pose” for the “Armature” see that Bone.002 is subentered under Bone while Bone.001 is a separate Pose entry. In other words, Bone.002 moves with Bone but Bone.001 will not.
If you require Bone.001 to rotate with Bone go to “Edit” mode, select Bone.001 then shift select Bone and press Ctrl + P key. From the “Make Parent” panel that displays select “Keep Offset.” You have told Blender to make Bone the parent of Bone.001 but to leave Bone.001 where it is. If you select the “Connect” option Bone.001 will be moved and connected to Bone. The shift select order is critical since you are telling Blender to make the last bone selected the parent of the first. Play around with this concept noting the order of entries in the “Outliner” window.
Armature Display Types
The default armature display type is octahedral but there are four alternative display types: stick, b-bone, envelope, and wire. The wire display option appears much the same as stick. With the armature bone selected, see the “Properties” window, “Object Data” button, “Display” tab to choose these options. Which display type is used depends on what you are doing with the armature.
Basic Procedure
The basic procedure for deforming a mesh object with an armature is to apply an armature modifier to the object and then, in the modifier, name the armature that will do the deformation. It doesn’t matter which armature display type is used; each armature has a field of influence in which mesh vertices must reside in order to be influenced.
Change the armature display type to “Envelope” and you will see a shape like a cylinder with a sphere at each end. Tab into edit mode, and you will see the field of influence surrounding the armature (you can only see this in envelope display type in edit mode). In edit mode, you can select the whole armature or the spheres at either end separately, then translate them.
To reshape the field of influence to encompass vertices in a mesh, have the armature displayed as “Envelope” in “Edit” mode. Here you can select either the head or the tail of a bone, then in the “Properties” window, “Bone” button, “Deform” tab adjust “Envelope—Distance” or “Radius—Head or Tail.” Just file this information in your memory bank for the time being and go back to the default single bone armature in octahedral display type in object mode. Tab into edit mode and select the tip—now the widget is located at the tip, which shows that the tip of the armature is selected. Turn the widget off and you’ll see that the sphere at the tip is orange; having the widget on just makes it easier to see for demonstration purposes. With the wid get on you can translate the tip in the 3D window, which also changes the length of the armature. The rotate and scale functions of the widget have no effect.
Multibone Armatures
Turn the widget off but leave the tip selected. Now press the E key (extrude) and drag the mouse; you will see a new bone being extruded from the tip. Select the tip of the new bone, press the E key, and drag the mouse and a new bone is extruded. Select the base of the original bone and repeat the process, creating a multibone armature.
Deforming a Mesh Object
So far, we have demonstrated the very basics of what an armature is and how to expand a single bone into a multibone armature. It’s time to see how to deform a mesh. To demonstrate the armature principle in Blender, we will make something akin to a finger on your hand and make it deform with an armature.
Start with the default Blender scene, delete the cube, and add a mesh circle. In the tool shelf (the panel at the lower LHS of the 3D window) tab named “Add Circle,” reduce the number of vertices from 32 to 8. When creating a mesh for use with armatures, use as few vertices as possible. A high number of vertices will give you a better surface look and a better render, but too many vertices will slow down the computer considerably in an animation.
Note: When you add a primitive to a scene, it is in object mode and the tool panel at the lower left of the screen provides the facility to edit the size and vertex count. If you tab to “Edit” mode then tab back to “Object” mode the tool panel no longer has this feature.
If you want to alter the vertex count again press the space bar to display the search panel and type “Add Circle.” Select this option from the menu that displays. The “Add Circle” tab is reinstated in the “Tool Panel.”
Tab into edit mode and extrude the circle on the z-axis to produce a cylinder. With the top ring of vertices selected, extrude the shape again. With the third ring selected, press the S key and move the cursor in toward the center of the cylinder. Continue on extruding and scaling until you get a shape like the one in the figure (right). The finger will only have two parts, with a joint in the middle. The vertices close together in the middle of the mesh are where the joint will be; they act like a concertina hose on a vacuum cleaner, allowing the mesh to bend. With the mesh selected, tab into object mode and place the 3D cursor.
Note: For the purpose of the demonstration, leave the default circle object with the default radius of 1.000 Blender grid units. If the circle is scaled, the finger mesh vertices may fall outside the armature’s field of influence, producing some unexpected results.
Deselect the mesh finger with the A key and add a single bone armature as previously described. Since the cursor was placed at the base of the finger on the centerline, you probably won’t see the armature. Go to the “Properties” window, “Data” button, “Display” tab, and tick “X-Ray”. This makes the armature visible in object mode in solid display. It actually makes the armature display on top of the mesh. With the armature selected, tab to edit mode, select the tip of the bone, and drag it up to the middle of the bend point of the finger. Press the E key and extrude the bone, which creates a second bone, up to the top of the mesh finger.
In the “Properties” window, “Object Data” button, “Display” tab, tick “Names” to show the names of the bones in the 3D window. The names will be “Bone” and “Bone.001.” Press the A key to deselect the armature bones and change to “Object” mode.
Alternative Method for Creating a Multibone Armature
There is an alternative method for creating a multibone armature. With a single bone armature added, tab to “Edit” mode and drag the tip up to the top of the finger. Make sure you have the body of the bone selected (right click on the body), go to the tool shelf at the left of the screen, and click “Subdivide”. Successive clicks will subdivide the bone and create a multibone armature.
Armature Modifiers
We will now add an armature modifier to the finger mesh object. Deselect the armature and select the finger in object mode. In the “Properties” window, “Object Modifiers” button, click “Add Modifier” and select “Armature”. Click in the “Object” panel and select “Armature” (Blender named your armature “Armature”).
In the modifier panel check “Vertex groups” and “Bone Envelope” under the “Bind To” heading. It is time to test the deformation process. In the 3D window, deselect the finger and select the armature. (Depending on how you positioned the armature in the finger, you may have difficulty selecting. If this is the case, go to the “Outliner” window at the upper right of the screen and click on “Armature” in the display.) With the armature selected, change from “Object” mode to “Pose” mode in the 3D window header—select “Bone.001” (RMB click), which will be highlighted in blue. Press the R key and rotate the bone and you’ll see the top of the finger rotate with the bone. Next, select a bone and press the S key to scale. Then, change the armature to envelope display.
The foregoing has demonstrated how to deform a mesh object using armatures and the armature modifier. The ultimate use of armatures is in character animation, which involves rigging a mesh (the character) with a multiboned armature and then animating the movement of the armature to simulate the character’s movement. Rigging a character can be a tedious and sometimes complicated process. Blender has a ready-made humanoid armature rig stowed away in the user preferences window.
Humanoid Armatures
In the “User Preferences” window of a new scene (“Info” window header, “File,” “User Preferences”), click on “Add-ons” at the top of the window. In the panel at the LHS, click “Rigging” and you will have a single-line entry named “Rigging Rigify.” Tick the little box at the end of the line. Close the “User Preferences” window and go back to the 3D window and press Shift + the A key. Select “Armature” and you will see that “Human (Meta Rig)” and “Pitchapoy (Meta Rig) have been added to the selection options. Click on the “Human (Meta Rig)” entry and a multiboned humanoid armature is introduced to the scene. On my computer it is entered rather small. If this is the same for you, zoom in or scale the rig up. Pan the window around and have a good look at the rig. If you go into pose mode and select individual bones, you will be able to move them about to create different poses. The “Pitchapoy (Meta Rig)” is a little more advanced option.
It may be a little ambitious at this stage to construct a model of a human figure and rig it for animation. Of course, you could use the Make Human program (www.makehuman.org/) to create a figure then import it into Blender and rig for animation, but unless you have a reasonable computer you may be disappointed.
Make Human models have a pretty high vertex count so there is a lot of stuff to move about in an animation. What we have covered so far is the very basics; while on the subject of armatures, let’s demonstrate a few more basics.
Disconnected Bones
You may have noticed that in the humanoid armature, some of the bones appear to be disconnected because they are separated from adjoining bones. To demonstrate how this occurs, follow this procedure. In a new scene, add a single bone armature, tab into edit mode, select the tip if it is not already selected, and extrude another bone. Select the body of the new bone and, in the “Properties” window, “Bone” button, “Relations” tab, untick “Connected”. The new bone may now be translated (use the G key to grab) and repositioned away from the original bone. It remains part of the armature as seen by the dotted line connecting its base to the tip of the first bone. If “Connected” is reticked, the new bone will be repositioned with its base connected to the original bone.
In the previous examples of deforming a mesh with an armature, the mesh vertices had to be located within the field of influence of the armature. An alternative to this is to manually nominate which vertices will be affected by the armature. There are basically two methods:
Select and assign vertices to a vertex group and nominate the control armature bone.
Perform the same operation using Blender’s weight paint tool.
Method 1: Manually Assign Vertices
In a new scene, construct a finger as previously described. Add a two-bone armature as before, but position it as shown in figure. Select the armature and in the “Properties” window, “Object Data” button, “Display” tab, tick “Names” to show the bones named “Bone” and “Bone.001.” Deselect the armature. Select the finger, tab into edit mode, and press the A key to deselect the vertices. In the “Properties” window, “Object Data” button, “Vertex Groups” tab, click the + sign to add a new vertex group; a vertex group is added and named “Group”. The aim here is to select vertices and add them to the vertex group. The movement of the group is to be controlled by a bone in the armature. By renaming “Group” to “Bone.001,” the vertex group will automatically be controlled by the bone named “Bone.001.” Groups and bones may be renamed to whatever you want, but for a group to be controlled by a bone, the names must be identical. In the 3D window, select the vertices in the upper part of the finger (press the B key—drag a rectangle). Make sure you have the “Select Only Visible” button turned off in the 3D window header or you will only be selecting the front vertices of the finger. In the “Vertex Groups” tab, click “Assign” to assign the selected vertices to the group. Check out the assignment by alternately clicking on “Deselect” and “Select” in the tab.
Tab into object mode and deselect the finger with the A key. Select the armature and change to pose mode. Select “Bone.001” and press the R key to rotate. Nothing happens because we haven’t applied an armature modifier to the finger. Go back and select the finger and in the “Properties” window, “Object Modifiers” button, click “Add Modifier” and select “Armature.” In the armature “Object” panel, click and select “Armature.” Deselect the finger and select the armature in pose mode. Select “Bone.001” and rotate it—the upper part of the finger will now deform as the bone is rotated. Since the armature is located well away from the finger, the field of influence of the armature is not enforced.
Method 2: Weight Paint
Instead of selecting vertices, Blender has a painting method that selects and assigns vertices to a group, automatically linking them to an armature bone. The paint method allows a graduated weight to be given to vertices that dictates how much influence the armature bone will have over the deformation of the mesh.
To begin, set up a new scene the same way you did for Method 1. Select the finger in object mode and add an armature modifier in the properties window. Don’t forget to enter “Armature” in the “Object” panel. Select the armature and enter pose mode. In the “Properties” window, “Object Data” button, a “Display” tab, tick “Names” to display the bone names in the 3D window; the names should be “Bone” and “Bone.001” as before. Select “Bone.001” and right click the finger to select it. With the finger selected, go to the 3D window header and change from object mode to “Weight Paint” mode. The finger displays in blue, which indicates that no vertices are selected.
In the panel at the LHS of the window, make sure the “Strength” slider is set to 1.000. We are about to paint over the finger mesh to select vertices, and by setting the strength to a high value we are telling Blender that the selected vertices are to be rigorously controlled by “Bone.001.” In weight paint mode, the cursor in the 3D window has a circle attached to it. The size of the circle is the size of the paint tool, which can be altered in the panel at the left. We want the upper part of the finger to be transformed by “Bone.001” so click, hold, and drag the cursor circle over the top part of the finger. The part of the finger painted turns red, which indicates a rigorous control. Altering the “Strength” value changes the control strength and will display as some other color.
Turn the mesh around and make sure the vertices on the backside of the finger are painted (pan the 3D view around). Having painted the finger, note that in the “Properties” window, “Object Data” button, “Vertex Groups” tab a vertex group has been created and named “Bone.001.” Selecting “Bone.001” in pose mode and translating it will move the top part of the finger.
Vertex Groups or Field of Influence
Having described the deformation of a mesh by employing vertex groups and field of influence, the question arises as to which is being employed when the armature is located inside the mesh. If we follow the preceding examples by either selecting vertices or weight painting, we assign vertices to a vertex group. It is unclear whether the vertex group or the field of influence is controlling the deformation of the mesh. If the armature is moved away from the mesh posing, the bone will still cause a deformation; therefore, the vertex group is in control. However, when the armature is inside the mesh, is it the field of influence or the vertex group?
Follow this example to clarify this dilemma. Create the same scene as in Methods 1 and 2, select only the vertices at the tip of the finger, and assign them to a vertex group. Name the group Bone.001. Make sure you have added an armature modifier to the finger and have assigned “Armature” in the “Object” panel. Rotate “Bone.001” in pose mode and the whole top of the finger deforms. Place the armature in “Object” mode and move it away from the finger. Rotate the bone again and only the tip of the finger deforms—this only proves that both the vertex group and the field of influence are active.
Place the armature back inside the finger. Select the finger and take a look at the armature modifier. Under the heading “Bind To” there are the two boxes labeled “Vertex Group” and “Bone Envelope.” Untick “Bone Envelope”; rotating the bone now only deforms the tip of the finger. Obviously you have turned the field of influence off, so herein lies the control for selecting either the field of influence or the vertex group.
Another way of negating the field of influence is to set the “Distance” and “Weight” values to 0.000 in the “Properties” window, “Bone” button, “Deform” tab.
Inverse Kinematics
The “IK” solver constraint is a wonderful tool for animators. IK is the opposite of FK, or forward kinematics, and both IK and FK are ways of controlling the posing and animation of a chain of bones. With FK, you have to rotate the chain of bones one by one to pose it for animation; this is a tedious process but gives you full control. With IK, dragging the end of the chain will result in the chain following the selected bone.
An example would be to create a chain of bones as shown in the figure. With the chain (armature) selected, go into pose mode, select the last bone in the chain, and in the “Properties” window, “Bone Constraints” button, click on “Add Bone Constraint” and select “Inverse Kinematics”. In the 3D window in pose mode, with the end bone still selected, press the G key and move the bone. Even in this single constraint, there are plenty of settings to play with.
Inverse Kinematics Constraint
The IK Constraint forces a multibone armature to follow the shape of a curve. With the armature constrained to the curve, the curve is then manipulated to adjust the shape of the armature and in turn any mesh assigned to the armature. To demonstrate we will create a multibone armature and constrain it to a “Bezier” curve.
In the default 3D window delete the cube and add a “Bezier” curve. Leave the 3D window view as “User Perspective.” The “Bezier” curve is displayed with the curve shape in “Top” view. If you were to view the 3D window in “Front” view all you would see is a straight line. Scale the curve up four times (S key—4—Enter). Deselect the curve (A key) and add a single bone armature. Scale the armature up four times. Tab into “Edit” mode and select the body of the armature. In the tool shelf click “Subdivide” twice to produce an armature with four bones. Note the location of the armature in the “Top” view. Both the origin of the armature and the center of the “Bezier” curve are located at the center of the scene.
With the armature selected, in the 3D window header change from “Edit” mode to “Pose” mode. The outline of the armature will be displayed in blue. Deselect the armature (A key) and select the top bone in the armature (RMB Click). When selecting the top bone a “Bone Constraints” button displays in the “Properties” window. LMB click this button, click “Add Constraint” and select “Spline IK” in the drop down menu.
The constraint panel will display in the “Properties” window. In the panel change the “Spline Fittings: Chain Length” value to 4 (the number of bones in the armature). In the “Target” panel LMB click on the cube icon and select “Bezier Curve” from the drop down. This enters the curve as the target. In selecting the target the armature is relocated in the 3D window and shaped (constrained) to the curve. Note the direction of the bones.
The armature bones are arranged in accordance with the direction of the curve. If the curve were being used as an animation path the movement along the path would be in a specific direction. To see the direction of the curve, select the “Bezier” curve (if the armature obstructs the curve in the 3D window selection may be made in the “Outliner” window) and “Tab” into “Edit” mode. You will see chevrons spaced along the curve pointing the direction. The direction may be reversed by pressing the W key to display the “Specials” menu and selecting “Switch Direction.” In doing this the chevrons are reversed and so are the bones in the armature.
With the armature constrained to the curve the armature may be posed by selecting the control handles on the “Bezier Curve.” The curve can be subdivided in “Edit” mode to add additional control handles and facilitate more control over the posing. Remember the practical use of the armature is to control the shape and movement of a mesh object, which is assigned to the armature.
“Hooks” may be assigned to the control handles of the curve, which give you a nonrenderable object with which to translate and pose the armature.
To add a “Hook” to a control handle place the curve in “Edit” mode and ensure everything is deselected. Select a control handle (RMB Click) and press “Ctrl + H key and select “Hook to New Object” in the drop down menu that displays. A “Hook” is displayed in the form of a 3D cross.
To display the “Hook” in a different format go to the “Outliner” window and open up the file tree under the “Bezier” curve until you find “Empty.” Click on “Empty” (LMB) to select it.
In the “Properties” window, “Object Data” button the “Empty” tab will display with a “Display” drop down selection menu. You select a different display format from this menu.
Another method of introducing nonrenderable objects to allow curve manipulation, when you have an armature constrained to the curve, is to add single bones. You then parent the bone to the “Hook.”
Character Rigging
Rigging the Character
The basic concept of animating a figure or character is first model a mesh figure or character and second rig an armature (skeleton) inside the mesh which is then posed and animated on a timeline to produce simulated movement. The mesh is linked to the armature so that it follows the movement of the armature.
The Human Figure
Constructing a model of a character or figure can be a lengthy process depending on the detail employed. To jump right in and save time we will use a ready-built human figure.
There are several websites where you can download pre-built models some of which are pre-rigged. To understand the rigging process you should begin with a simple “Low Poly” mesh model. “Low Poly” means a mesh model with a minimum number of vertices, edges, and faces. You could start from scratch and build your own model or there are applications for creating human figures. I suggest you choose the first option and download a pre-built model. One may be obtained from the “BlendSwap” site: (Note: You have to register to download files.)
www.blendswap.com/blends/view/55698
“55698” refers to a Blender (.blend) file named “Basemesh.”
Clicking “Download” on the site and accepting the agreement saves a compressed (.zip) file named: “55698_basemesh_blend.zip” to your hard drive. Make note of the location where it is saved. Using “Win Zip” or “Win Rar” extract the contents to a folder. You will have two files: Basemesh.blend and BLENDERSWAP_LICENSE.
The Blender file contains a “Low Poly Character” model of a male human figure. This file is supplied by “tweediez” and is released under Creative Commons Attribution 3.0
Open the file in Blender and immediately save a copy by press ing “File—Save As” in the “Info” window header. Give the copy a new name. By doing this you retain the original file for future use.
The downloaded file opens a scene with a mesh model of a human figure in “Object” mode. The mesh figure is low poly, which means it has a minimal number of vertices, faces, and edges thus minimizing the number of calculations that have to be performed in posing the mesh during animation and, therefore, minimizing computer processor power.
Select “Front Orthographic” view (Num Pad 1). Press “Tab” to enter “Edit” mode and you will observe that the mesh is displayed on one side of the figure only. You will note that some vertices are selected around the midriff. These are selected simply because they were selected when the file was saved. Press A key to deselect these vertices. Go to the “Properties” window, “Modifier” button and you will see that the mesh has been constructed using the “Mirror” modifier.
Centering the Cursor
With the mirror modifier applied “Tab” to “Object” mode in “Front Orthographic” view. This presents the figure face on with the objects center located at the center of the scene 3.300 Blender units on the Z-axis. Make sure you have the 3D window cursor located at the center of the scene also (press “Shift” + S key to display the “Snap” menu and select “Cursor to Center”). The 3D cursor will be located at the center of the scene midway between the feet.
Deselect the figure (press A key).
Tip: In following this demonstration save the Blender file repeatedly at each stage of the exercise. If you get off track further along it will be frustrating to have to repeat the entire procedure over. If you have to repeat the consolation is that repeating consolidates the learning process.
Creating the Armature
In creating a skeleton for a mesh figure you begin by adding an “Armature”—“Single Bone” and then duplicating or extruding the single bone forming a multibone armature which is the skeleton. The skeleton will deform the mesh figure. Other single bones (single bone armatures) are also added as control bones which are used to move or control move ment of the skeleton and the mesh figure. The whole kit and caboodle is what we will call the “Armature Rig.”
Make sure the figure is deselected then press “Shift” + A key to add an “Armature”—“Single Bone” to the scene. The bone is entered at the location of the 3D cursor in the 3D window, which is at the center of the scene. This single bone will be the “Root Bone” which will be used to move the character around in the scene. It will be a “Control Bone.” Control bones are used to move the armature bones, which control the mesh figure in posing. The “Root Bone” will be used to move the mesh figure about in the scene.
With the bone selected in “Object” mode “Tab” to “Edit” mode. The “Tip” of the bone will be selected as shown by the orange outline. The bone is orientated vertically with its tip at the top and with the base of the bone accurately located at the center of the scene. We want the bone to lay flat along the ground plane of the scene on the Y-axis. Change the 3D window to “Right Orthographic” view (Num Pad 3). To lay the bone flat and accurately position it on the Y-axis we will use “Increment Snapping.” Press Ctrl + Shift + Tab and select “Snap Type – Increment.” With the bone tip still selected press G key (Grab), hold “Ctrl” and drag the mouse pulling the tip down flat along the ground plane. As you drag, the bone tip will jump from one grid intersection to the next and finally locate precisely on the midplane Y-axis (green line). Release “Ctrl” and LMB click to release grab.
Bone Naming
We have one single bone of the “Armature Rig” in place. At this point it is very important to begin naming the bones in the “Rig.” Blender will automatically give the bones’ names but they will be named Bone, Bone.001, Bone.002, etc. This is fine for very simple armatures where it is obvious which bone is which but for complex armatures it is essential you name the bones with distinguishable names. What you will be doing is renaming Blender’s default names.
Start with the single bone and name it “Armature_Root.” There are two ways to do this.
You can rename bones in the “Outliner” window. In this instance open up the file tree under “Armature” until you come to “Bone.” Press “Ctrl” and LMB click on “Bone” (the name is highlighted), press “Delete” and type “Armature_Root,” press “Enter”.
In the “Properties” window, with the body of the bone selected in “Edit” mode, click the “Bone” button. Click LMB on the name “Bone,” in the name panel (Bone is highlighted), press “Delete,” retype “Armature_Root” as the new name and press “Enter.”
Either of the methods, “Properties” window or “Outliner” window, will automatically update the name in both windows. When naming bones in a “Rig” set a convention and maintain it throughout the naming process. In the process of this exercise we will demonstrate a convention as an example. You may name bones anything you like but make sure they are meaningful. Obscure names in a complicated “Rig” will be difficult to find.
Adding More Bones
We will now add a second bone to the “Rig.” Select the body of the “Armature_Root” bone in “Edit” mode then press Shift + D key (Duplicate). Drag the mouse and move the duplicated bone up to the pelvic area of the figure, rotate and position as shown in the diagram by selecting the body of the bone or by selecting the tip or the base. The tip should be positioned in line with the belly button. Switch between “Front Orthographic” and “Right Orthographic” views to orientate the bone.
X-Ray
To enable you to see bones inside the mesh figure go to the “Properties” window, “Object data” button, “Display” tab, and tick “X-Ray”.
We duplicated the “Armature_Root” bone in “Edit” mode because we want this second bone linked to the “Armature_Root” bone and to be part of the “Rig.” Duplicating in “Object” mode would cause the new bone to be an independent “Armature” not connected to the “Rig.” Name the new bone “Pelvis.” In the “Properties” window, “Bone” button. In the “Object Data” button, “Display” tab tick “Names” to display the bone names in the 3D window. You can now extrude bones to form the remainder of spine. In “Edit” mode select the tip of “Pelvis,” press E key then Z, and drag the mouse to extrude a new bone (E key—extrude, Z key confines the extrusion to the Z-axis). Repeat the process for each new bone. Side view allows you to position bones to shape the spline. In front view the bones follow the centerline of the figure. For the head bone restrain the extrusion to the Z-axis by pressing E key + Z key.
Note: In “Edit” mode you may select the tip or the base of any bone to adjust its position and alignment.
Position the bones as shown in the front and side view diagrams and name them as shown. You can name the bones anything you like as long as they are meaningful and relevant to the figure you are working on. Obviously, there are many more bones in a human skeleton than shown in the diagrams. In creating an armature for animation it is good practice to minimize the number of bones, which saves computer power in the animation process and uncomplicates the naming process. The more bones you have in a “Rig,” the more flexible posing will be therefore you have to work out a compromise.
With all the bones in the “Rig” selected in “Edit” mode, select “Pose” mode in the 3D window header. Select and rotate individual bones to see how bones are parented.
When you tab back to “Edit” mode the bones are arranged as they were before you did any posing. In “Pose” mode press “Alt” + G key followed by “Alt” + R key to return bones to their original pose location.
Note: When you create bones in “Edit” mode pressing “Tab” will toggle you between “Edit” mode and “Object” mode. With only one bone selected in “Edit” mode pressing Tab will toggle to “Object” mode with all bones selected.
Note: If you have all bones selected (the complete “Armature”) in “Edit” mode and toggle to “Object” mode then deselect the “Armature.” You will have to reselect the “Armature” in the “Outliner” window. RMB clicking on the “Armature” in the 3D window selects the mesh figure.
Note: When you select all the bones in “Edit” mode then change to “Pose” mode in the 3D window header pressing “Tab” will toggle between “Pose” mode and “Edit” mode. To reverse the toggle process simply select “Object” mode in the 3D window header.
You may continue and create bones for the arms and legs. Remember we want the arm and leg bones to be part of the armature therefore duplicating and extruding will take place in “Edit” mode.
Creating Arm Bones
To create the arm bones begin by selecting the body of the bone named “Spine_Upper” in “Edit” mode. Change to “Front Orthographic” view. Press Shift + D key (Duplicate) then drag the mouse and reposition the new bone as shown. Name this bone “Shoulder.L.” Make particular note of this naming convention with the “.L” suffix, which denotes a bone on the figure’s LHS. Note the figures LHS is on our RHS. Also note the dotted line between the base of “Shoulder.L” and the base of “Spine_Upper.” This shows that the two bones are connected (parented) even though they are displaced from each other. If you have the manipulation widget turned on it may obstruct the names in the 3D window so it may be advantageous to turn it off. In creating bones for the arms and legs we will duplicate and extrude bones on the LHS of the figure only. Blender has the ability to mirror bones to the
opposite side.
In “Edit” mode select bone “Shoulder.L.” We will not be using the X-axis mirror function so make sure it is unticked in the “Tool Panel,” “Options” tab, “Armature Options” panel. Instead of mirroring the bone go ahead and extrude the upper arm, lower arm, and hand bones. You have to rename them at this stage. Name them as shown in the diagram. Use the side view to position the bones within the arms of the figure. When positioning the arm bones it is not important that the edge of a bone may be outside the mesh. The important thing is to have the tips and tails located at the limb joints, that is, elbow and wrist. When the bones are in place and named we can mirror them to the other side of the figure.
Mirror Pivot Point
To mirror we must tell Blender to mirror about a designated pivot point. Make note that our figure is presented with its left right orientation on the X-axis of the scene. The centerline of the “Armature Rig” is on the vertical Z-axis with its center of origin at the intersection of the X- and Z-axis (the center of the scene). In our case we will mirror about the 3D window cursor (not the mouse cursor); therefore, we have to position the cursor at the center of origin of the armature (center of the scene). Since we have established that this center of origin is at the center of the scene we can use Blenders snap function to position the 3D window cursor. Change from “Edit” to “Object” mode. In following this example the 3D window cursor is already located where we want it, so to prove a point click LMB somewhere in the 3D window which relocates the cursor. Press “Shift” + S key and select “Cursor to Center.” The cursor moves to the center of the scene. We have established our point of rotation for mirroring.
We now have to tell blender to mirror about this point. In “Object” mode and in the 3D window header click on the “Pivot Point” drop down and select “3D Cursor”.
Mirror the Bones
Change back to “Edit” mode. Once you have all the arm bones in position “Box Select” (B key—LMB click—Drag rectangle) all the arm bones then press “Shift” + D key (Duplicate) and press “Enter”.
This duplicates the bones and leaves them positioned exactly in the same position as the original. In the 3D window header click “Armature,” “Mirror,” and select “X-Local” to mirror them on the RHS. Press “Enter”.
With the RHS bones selected press W key (Specials Menu) and select “Flip Names.” The bones are automatically named for the RHS.
Alternative Mirror Method
The alternative method for mirroring bones is as follows. It will probably appear that there is little advantage in either method since we are mirroring only four bones.
The disadvantage of this alternative method is that the connection for automatic naming of bones for the opposite side is broken. This doesn’t matter with only four bones being mirrored since it is easy to manually rename the bones but with many bones, which would be the case if all the finger bones were extruded, you would have a tedious manual renaming process.
Make Sure You Are in “Edit” Mode
To follow this alternative you will have to go back a few steps in the Blender file. Press “Ctrl” + Z key (Undo) and go back to the point where the arm bone “Shoulder.L” has just been created and positioned. Select bone “Shoulder.L.” Press “Shift” + D key then press “Enter.” This duplicates the bone and leaves it exactly in the same position as the original. In the 3D window header click “Armature” then “Mirror” and select “X-Local.” Click LMB. The bone is mirrored on the RHS of the armature. Note the name of the mirrored bone, “Shoulder.L.001.” With the bone selected press W key (Specials Menu) and select “Flip Names” to rename the bone “Shoulder.R.”
You can now extrude the arm bones. Having established a right-hand–left-hand convention in relation to the armature by setting the shoulder bones we can use the X-axis mirror function in the “Armature Options” in the “Tool Panel.”
Tick the “X-Axis Mirror” box. You may now select the tip of the LH shoulder bone and extrude the arm bones. The extrusions will be mirrored on the RHS. To set the bones accurately within the figure’s mesh you have to position the bones in front view and side views.
Observe that the bones are being named “Shoulder.L.001,” “Shoulder.L.002,” etc., which means that with many bones you would have a lot of renaming to do.
Adding the Leg Bones
To add leg bones for the figure repeat the process used for the arms this time duplicating the bone named “Pelvis” in “Edit” mode and repositioning as shown. Extrude and rename the leg and foot bones, etc. Use the “Right Orthographic” view to extrude the foot and toe then in “Front Orthographic” view tilt the scene forward (Press Num Pad 2). The feet are splayed outward slightly. When mirroring ensure that you have the 3D window cursor at the center of the scene.
With all the spine, arm, and leg bones in position you have constructed the basis of the Deform Armature Rig.
Assigning the Rig to the Figure
At this point, although the “Armature Rig” is incomplete, we will assign it to the mesh figure. This is the process of linking “Vertex Groups” (groups of vertices) on the figures mesh surface to individual bones. Blender has an automated process for doing this. The bones will then control the posing or posturing of the mesh.
Before engaging the automated process we need to exclude the “Root_Bone.” This bone is a control bone for moving the figure around in the scene and is not a posing bone. Posing is the process of posturing the figure.
In “Edit” mode select “Armature_Root.” In the “Properties” window, “Bone” button, “Deform” tab click on the “Deform” button to remove the tick. This tells Blender that we do not want “Armature_Root” to be part of the deforming rig. Deselect the bone and change to “Object” mode. Deselect the armature rig.
Select the mesh figure then “shift” select the “Armature Rig.” With the mouse cursor in the 3D window press “Ctrl” + P key to display the “Set Parent To” menu and select the “With Automatic Weights” option.
You may now go into “Pose” mode and select and rotate individual bones to pose the figure.
Note: After posing, in “Pose” mode bones will be returned to their original positions (Reset), individually by selecting each bone or collectivity by selecting all bones and pressing “Alt” + R key (Reset rotation) and “Alt” + G key (Reset Location—Resets Grab).
Vertex Groups
With the mesh selected in “Object” mode go to the “Properties” window, “Modifier” button and you will see that an “Armature” modifier has been added. In the “Object data” button, “Vertex Groups” tab observe that vertex groups have been assigned for each of the bones in the armature. There is a scroll bar at the RHS of the “Vertex Group” panel.
In posing the figure you may see that some of the mesh is not deforming correctly. This can be corrected by selecting the appropriate vertex group and using Blender’s “Weigh Paint” tool to clean up the connections between the mesh and the vertex groups. To understand how to do this refer to the section on “Weight Painting.”
Even with the mesh correctly assigned to the vertex groups there are some issues still to be resolved. For example, when “Spine_Upper” is selected and rotated in “Front Orthographic” view it will be observed that the neck and head of the figure move from side to side across the shoulders instead of the head tilting from side to side on the neck. This is corrected by changing where the shoulder bones are parented. The shoulder bones are currently parented to the tip of “Spine_Lower” because “Shoulder.L” was duplicated from “Spine_Upper” which is parented to the tip of “Spine_Lower.” The shoulder bones should be parented to the tip of “Spine_Upper”.
In “Edit” mode “Shift” select both shoulder bones and “Shift” select “Spine_Upper.” Press Ctrl + P key (Parent) and select the “Keep Offset” option.
If you accidentally select the “Connected” option the shoulder bones will be parented to the “Spine” but they will be located as if extruded from the tip of “Upper_Spine”.
Parenting Legs
The next issue is that the legs have to be parented to the “Pelvis.” In “Edit” mode “Shift” select both “Leg_Upper.L” and “Leg_Upper.R” and “Pelvis.” Press Ctrl + P key and select the “Keep Offset” option.
If you rotate “Pelvis” at this stage you will probably find that the whole figure rotates about the 3D window cursor which is still located at the center of the scene. The pivot point for rotation is still set to the 3D window cursor in the header. Change the pivot rotation to “Individual Origins” which in this case means the base of “Pelvis.” The whole figure continues to rotate when “Pelvis” is rotated.
The Rig is beginning to take shape but obviously there is more work to do.
Inverse Kinematics
At this stage the only option for posing the figure is by selecting and manipulating individual bones in “Pose” mode. As you can imagine this would be a very tedious process. Fortunately, the process is simplified by employing Blender’s “IK.”
“IK” sets up a chain link between strings of bones such that by selecting and translating the lead bone or a target bone, the bones in the chain will follow.
IK Chains for the Arms
IK in Blender may be applied in two ways. The easy way and the better way. The easy way is an automatic process which is great for a quick demonstration to see how a chain will react but it does produce some erratic movements which are not realistic.
The Easy Way
The easy way should be regarded as a temporary method which can be turned on and off. In “Pose” mode go to the “Toolbar” at the LHS of the 3D window and tick the “Auto IK” button. To see the effect grab a hand bone and move it about. The arms will follow the hand but you will probably produce some wacky results. When finished trying this out untick “Auto IK” in the “Tool Panel” then press the A key twice to select all the bones. Press “Alt” + R key followed by “Alt” + G key to return the bones to the original pose position.
The Better Way
The better way is to create a real IK chain, which is manipulated by a “Target” bone. For the arms the target bones will be extruded from the tips of the “Arm_Lower” bones. Make sure you are in “Edit” mode. Before you extrude turn on “X-axis Mirror” in the “Tool Panel” to allow extrusion of bones on both sides of the figure simultaneously. In “Edit” mode, in “Right Orthographic” view, select the tip of “Arm_Lower.L,” press E key (Extrude) and drag the mouse to extrude a new bone. With “X-axis Mirror” on, a new bone will be extruded from the tip of “Arm_Lower.R” at the same time. Turn “X-axis Mirror” off. Select each of the new bones in turn (separately) and press Alt + P key and select the “Clear Parent” option. The new bones are now independent of the rig and set to be employed as control bones similar to the “Armature_Root” bone. Rename the new bones “Arm_IK.L” and “Arm_IK.R”.
In “Pose” mode select “Arm_ Lower.L” and in the “Properties” window, “Bone Constraint” button, click “Add Constraint,” and select “Inverse Kinematics” under “Tracking.” With a constraint added the bone will be displayed in an olive green color. In the “Constraints” panel set “Arm_ IK.L” as the target. To do this first set “Armature” then set the target bone. (Tip: Wait for the little “Bone” icon to appear before attempting to select the target bone.)
At this stage grabbing the target bone and moving it rotates the whole f igure since the chain length is zero which means the IK chain extends right back to the “Pelvis” bone. To correct this change the chain length to 2 (1 sets the chain to itself, 2 sets it to “Arm_Upper.L”).
Note: When the constraint is added the bone is highlighted (olive green).
Repeat the process for the other side of the rig.
The control bones can be selected and translated moving the arms only but there is still some weird movement with respect to the elbows.
Just to make you aware there is a feature called “Pole Target” in the “IK Constraint,” which would be used to restrict the movement of the elbows. This process is a little difficult to understand so in the meantime will use another set of target bones.
Extrude control bones from the tip of “Arm_Upper.L” and “Arm_Upper.R” (at the elbows) with “X-axis mirror” turned on. Turn “X-axis mirror” off after extruding.
Select each of the new bones individually and press “Alt” + P key and select “Clear Parent.”
Move the bones back per diagram and rename them “Elbo_IK.L” and “Elbo_IK.R,” respectively.
IK Target Quick Method
There is a quick method for setting the IK. Select the target bone, say “Elbow_IK.L” shift select “Arm_Upper.L” and hit Shift + I key. Select “To Active Bone.” In “Properties” window set the chain length to 1. Repeat on opposite side of the figure with “Elbow_IK.R” and “Arm_Upper.R.”
When the arms are posed by grabbing “Arm_IK.L or R” the erratic elbow positioning can be corrected by translating the elbow control control bones “Elbow_IK.L or R.”
Note: Remember that after posing, in “Pose” mode bones may be returned to their original positions (Reset), individually by selecting each bone or collectivity by selecting all bones and pressing Alt + R key (Reset rotation) and Alt + G key (Reset Location— Resets Grab).
IK Chains for the Legs
Control bones and IK chains are set for the legs similar to the arms. The control bones are extruded at the knees and the ankle.
Extrude control bones from the ankles. Remove parenting but leave the new bones in position. Clear parenting and rename. Use the quick method to set up the IK with chain length 2 (up to the hips) by selecting the control bone and shift selecting “Leg_Lower.L and R,” press Shift + I key, select “Add Constraint.”
Extrude control bones from the knees in “Edit” mode (the tip of “Leg_Upper.L and R”). Name the controls “Knee_IK.L and R.” Remove parenting (select each control bone and press Alt + P key and select “Clear Parent”). Locate the control bones forward of the knee as shown in the diagram. I have set my knee control bones forward and above the knee line since it appears to let the knee be raised higher before it starts to roll over sideways.
If the knee does roll sideways translating the control bones sideways will let you correct this action.
Use the quick method to set the IK chain to “Leg_Upper” with chain length 1 (up to the hips).
Note: In renaming bones Blender has a copy and paste function. With a bone selected, hover the mouse cursor over the name panel and press Ctrl + C key (copy) then select a new bone and hover over it’s name panel and press Ctrl + V key (paste).
The rig is reaching the stage where it is functional but there are still a few controls to add.
In some instances such as rotating the hips from side to side you may not want the feet to lift off the ground.
Pinning the Feet to the Ground
To fix the feet to ground, select a foot bone (“Foot.L” or “Foot.R”). In the “Properties” window, “Bone” button, “Relations” tab there are buttons that determine if the bone is connected, if it inherits rotation from the parent, or if it inherits scale and location from the parent. Turn off “Inherit Rotation.” The foot remains on the ground when the hips are moved.
Controlling Hips and Torso
Maybe you want to move the hips leaving the torso in place. At this stage, when you rotate the “Pelvis” bone the legs and the “Spine_Lower” (torso) bone follow.
To allow the “Pelvis” bone to move without moving “Spine_Lower” we will create a new control bone. Remember this is a control bone for moving things as opposed to a deformation bone, which changes the shape of the mesh.
Note: All control IK bones should be selected and the “Deform” option in the “Properties” window, “Bone” button, “Deform” tab should be disabled. This has not caused a problem since we assigned the rig to the mesh using automatic weights prior to introducing any controls. If the rig were to be created including controls prior to assigning the rig to the mesh using Blenders automated system then vertex groups would be created for the control bones.
To continue creating our new control, in “Edit” mode, select “Pelvis.” We are about to introduce a hip swing control and to do this we want a bone orientated to swing as shown in the diagram.
Press Shift + D key + Enter to duplicate “Pelvis.” Press W key for the “Specials” menu and select “Switch Direction.” Alternatively, you can press Alt + F key to change the direction. Name the new bone “Hips_Root.” Parent “Hips_Root” to “Pelvis.” Select “Pelvis,” shift select “Hips_Root,” press Ctrl + P key and select “Connected.” “Pelvis” will now follow “Hips_Root,” therefore, by selecting “Hips_Root” and rotating it the hips will swing from side to side. By selecting “Pelvis” and rotating the hips swivel up and down. You will have to experiment to see what is meant.
You will observe that in swinging the hips the whole body tilts which is not desirable. To correct this select “Spine_Lower” and turn off “Inherit Rotation” in the “Properties” window, “Bone” button, “Relations” tab.
That cancels the body rotation when the hips rotate but maybe you want a little bit of body rotation to make the movement realistic.
Shift select “Pelvis” then “Spine_Lower.” Press Ctrl + Shift + C key and choose the “Copy Rotation” option. Wow! Some weird stuff just happened. In the “Bone Constraints” panel set “Space” to “Local Space” and “Local Space.”
You will observe that “Pelvis” and “Spine_Lower” rotate in opposite directions since their rotation axes are different. In edit mode with “Spine_Lower” selected, in the “Properties” window, “Armature” button, “Display” tab, tick “Axis” to display the bone axis in the 3d window. Note the bone axes are different.
If axes are pointing in the wrong direction use the “Roll” tool to rotate the bones. To rotate the bone press Ctrl + R key and drag the mouse. To rotate a specific number of degrees press Ctrl + R key and type the number of degrees.
To correct, in “Edit” mode, select all bones and press Ctrl + N key and select “Recalculate” on “X-axis.”
Pinning the Hands
Pinning means fixing in place. Sometimes you will want the character’s hands to move when the body moves. Sometimes you will want the hands to remain stationary when the character moves. How the hands move and when they move will depend on which bone they are parented to.
For example, in “Edit” mode, select “Arm_IK.L” + “Hip_Root,” press Ctrl + P, and select “Keep Offset” to parent the LH control bone to the pelvis rotation bone. Repeat for “Hand_IK.R.” When “Hip_Root” is rotated the hands will follow but as you will observe the action is not quite right. Undo the parenting by selecting the hand control bone (Arm_IK.L) in “Edit” mode and pressing Alt + P key and selecting “Clear Parent.”
Parent the hand control bone to “Spine_Upper” and you will have a better action.
As previously stated, sometimes you will want the hands to remain in position when the body moves. To let you quickly select which action you want a slider can be created in the 3D window properties panel.
Before creating the slider go back and remove the parenting by selecting the hand control bones and pressing Alt + P key (in “Edit” mode) and selecting “Clear Parenting.”
Instead of parenting the control bones we will use a constraint. By using a constraint, in the “Properties” window, “Constraint” panel, an “Influence” slider value is introduced that determines how much the constraint affects the constraint action. The value range is 0–1.000 (maximum) so in effect you can turn the effect of the constraint on or off. When posing the character it is not convenient to be switching from the 3D window to the “Properties” window to control the constraint panel slider.
In “Pose” mode select the hand control bone, “Arm_IK.L.” Go to the “Properties” window, “Bone Constraints” button, and click on “Add Constraint.” Select “Child of Constraint.” In the constraint panel set “Target” as “Armature” and “Bone” as “Hips_ Root” and click “Set Inverse.” (Note: In the bone selection drop down scroll MMB to display bones.) This has made “Arm_IK.L” a child of “Hips_Root,” therefore, when “Hips_Root” moves, “Arm_IK.L” moves and since “Arm_IK.L” is the target of the “IK” constraint placed on “Arm_Lower” the LH arm of the figure moves.
Repeat for “Arm_IK.R.”
At this point whether the hands follow when the hips are rotated will depend on the value set in the “Constraint” panel “Influence Slider.” If the influence value = 1.000 the hands will follow, when the value = 0.000 they will not. The “Constraint” panel is not always displayed when posing, therefore, it is not the most convenient place to have a slider control. We will create a slider in a better location.
To start we will set up a “Property” for the pelvis rotation bone. Select “Hips_Root.” In the “Properties” window, “Bone” button, “Custom Properties” tab, click “Add”.
In the “Properties” panel click “Edit.”
In the “Name” panel enter “Hands_Follow.” Press “OK.”
We now have a value but it doesn’t do anything. Leave it there for the time being.
Go back to the “Hands_IK.L,” “Bone Constraint” panel. On the “Influence” slider, R click “Add Driver” (the panel turns purple).
Adding Drivers
Drivers in general terms are values that are used to control other values or actions that control other actions.
Open the “Graph Editor” window and change from “F-Curve editor” mode to “Drivers” mode. You will see a list of drivers (at this stage only one) and graph line. Select the driver then press N key to display the driver properties panel.
In the “Driver Properties” panel, in the “Drivers” tab, change “Type,” “Scripted Expression” to “Average Value.” You may ignore the error message that displays. Change “Transform Channel” to “Single Property.” In the “Properties” panel set “Object” then “Armature.”
In the “Path” panel that displays we need to enter the data path of the “Custom Property” previously created. With the “Hips_Root” selected, in the “Properties” window “Bone” panel R click on the “prop” value and select “Copy Data Path.” In the “Graph Editor” window, with the “Arm_IK.L” driver selected, hover the mouse over the “Properties,” “Driver Path” panel, and press Ctrl + V key to paste the path data in.
In 3D window press N key to display the “Properties” panel. You can now control the “Bone Constraint” influence value from the “Properties” panel slider. (Only on the LHS at this stage.)
Select the “Arm_IK.R.” The “Graph Editor” window will display the driver for this bone. Hover the mouse pointer over the “Properties,” “Driver Path” panel, and press Ctrl + V key to paste in the same data path. Press “Update Dependencies” to correct the error that displays.
With “Hips_Root” selected in “Pose” mode the “Properties”—“Hands_Follow” slider in the 3D window “Properties” panel now controls the constraint for both bones.
Correcting Erratic Hand Movement
When the hands are fixed in position and the body of the figure is moved you will see that there is some erratic hand movement taking place as they attempt to follow the IK chain. To correct this, select each hand bone in “Edit” mode and in the “Properties” window, “Bone” button, “Relations” tab turn off “Inherit Rotation.” The hands will stay in place unless the body of the figure is moved beyond the limits of the IK.
Head Rotation Tweak
Finally, there is just a small tweak to enhance the rotation of the head. Select “Neck” in “Edit” mode and in the “Properties” window, “Bone” button, “Relations” tab turn off “Inherit Rotation.” Change to “Pose” mode, select “Neck” and shift select “Head.”
In the 3D window header click on “Pose” then “Constraints” and select “Add (With Targets).” In the “Properties” window, “Bone Constraints,” in the constraint panel tick “Offset” and change “Space” to “Local Space” and “Local Space.” Adjust the axes of the head and neck bones to be the same if they are out of alignment.
Translating the Rig
Finally, in order to move the rig about in the scene, parent the “Hips_Root” bone to the “Root_Bone.” Select “Hips_Root” then shift select “Hips_Root.” Press Ctrl + P key and select “Keep Offset.” Now shift select all the IK control bones and finally shift select the “Root_Bone.” Press Ctrl + P key and select “Keep Offset.” When you select the “Root_Bone” and translate the whole rig and the figure is moved together.
This has been an introduction to the basics of character rigging. It is one way of doing it and by no means necessarily the best way. That will depend on your character and what you want to achieve. There are many details not covered in this example, therefore, it is up to you to research and experiment to determine what suits your needs. I hope the exercise has whetted your appetite for what is a fascinating part of Blender.
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