A Complete Guide to Character Rigging for Games Using Blender

Cover
Half Title
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments
1. Introduction
	What Is Rigging?
	Additional Resources
2. The Big Picture
	Character Design and Modeling
	Rigging
		Standardize
		Define Specifications
	Character Animation
	Export
	Game Engines
3. What Is a Game Rig
	Definition
	Export Limitations
	Base Skeleton
	Bone Scaling Animation
	Max Number of Influences
4. Blender Tools and Concepts
	Prerequisites
	About Blender
	Blender Version
	Initial Settings
		Load Previous Version Settings
	Context Sensitivity
	Selection
		Select All
		Select Linked
		Parent, Child, Siblings
		Select Under Cursor
		Draw Selection
	Transformation
		Transform Orientation
		Transformation Pivot
		Options
		Transforming without Gizmos
		Reset Transforms
	Hide and Unhide
	Data Objects
		Users
		Auto Cleanup
		Fake User
		Remove Unused
	Default Scene
	3D Viewport Regions
	Object Origin
		Apply Transforms
	Snapping
		Snap During Transform
		Snap
	3D Cursor
	Symmetry
	Outliner
		Collections
	Properties
	Modifiers
		Modifier Stack
	Units
	Import, Link, Append
		Import
		Link
		Append
	Animation
		Actions
		Dope Sheet
		Timeline
		Graph Editor
		Drivers
		Nonlinear Animation
	Quick Favorites
	Preferences
	Operators
	Blender Python API
	Add-ons
5. 3D World and Transformation
	World Space
	Vectors and Translation
	Euler Rotation
		Rotation Order
		Gimbal Lock
	Quaternion Rotation
	Scale
	Parenting, Local and Pose Space
	Order of Execution
6. Armatures
	Fundamentals
	Modes
		Object
		Edit
		Pose
	Rest Pose
	Pose Apply
	Armature Properties
		Skeleton
	Bone Groups
	Viewport Display
	Selection Sets
7. Bones
	Structure
	Edit vs Pose Mode
	Bone Properties
		Transform
		Bendy Bones
		Relations
		Inverse Kinematics
		Deform
		Viewport Display
		Custom Properties
		Item Panel
	Creation
		Add
		Extrude
		Duplicate
		Subdivide
		Ctrl + Click
		Fill
	Editing
		Move
		Rotate
		Scale
		Using Pivots
		Snap to Cursor
		Snap to Bone
		Snap to Geometry
		X Symmetry
		Roll
		Switch Direction
		Align Bones
		Delete and Dissolve
		Separate and Join
		Symmetrize
	Parenting
		Parent
		Clear Parent
8. Mesh Topology and Deformation
	Introduction
	Mesh Elements
		Vertex
		Edge
		Face
		Normals
		UV Maps
	High Poly vs Low Poly
	Grid Division vs Form Describing
	Edge Flow
	Triangles
	Joint Topology
		Outer Side
		Inner Side
		Conclusion
	Twist Support Edges
	Mesh LODs
	Overlapping Geometry
	Uniform Meshes
	Base Mesh
	Bind Pose
	Proportions
		Legs
		Arms
		Hands and Fingers
	Shape Keys (Blendshapes)
	Non-Manifold Geometry
	Gravity
9. Scene and Model Preparation
	Workspace
	Collections
	Model Preparation
		Import/Append
		Position, Size, Rotation
		Mesh Cleanup
10. Naming
	Foundation
	Naming Tools and Shortcuts
	Naming Convention
	Prefixes
	Side Identifiers
11. Rig Creation Approach
	Rig Layers
		Deformation Skeleton
		Intermediate Skeleton
		Rig Mechanics Bones
		Control Bones
	Symmetrization
	Cleanup
12. Root Bone
	Definition
	Make the Armature
	Armature Transform Workaround
13. Body Deformation Skeleton
	Introduction
	Torso
	Leg
		Upper Leg
		Knee
		Ankle
		Toes
		Angle Check
	Shoulder and Arm
		Shoulder
		Upper Arm
		Elbow
		Wrist
		Fingers
		Thumb
	Neck and Head
	Twist Bones
	Summary
14. Bone Orientations
	Fundamentals
	Bone Orientation Convention
	Setting the Roll
	The Roll Value Is Irrelevant
	Recalculate Roll
		Local Tangent
		Global Axis
		Active Bone
		View Axis
		Cursor
15. Body Skeleton Orientations
	Introduction
	Root and Prop Bones
		Torso, Neck, and Head
		Shoulder
		Arm
		Hand
		Fingers
		Thumb
		Leg
		Twist Bones
16. Weights
	Introduction
	Linear Blend Skinning
	Vertex Groups
	Armature Modifier
	Binding
		Fixing the Heat Map Failed Error
	Normalize Weights
	Smooth Weights
	Mirror Weights
	Limit Total
	Weight Paint Mode
		Bone Manipulation
		Vertex and Mesh Selection
		Display Settings
		Influence Lock
		Assign Automatic From Bones
		Set Weights
	Weight Paint Tools
		Brush Presets
		Brush Settings
		Draw
		Blur
		Average
		Smear
		Gradient
		Falloff
		Symmetry
		Options
		Useful Shortcuts
17. Weight Painting Method
	The Method
		Lock
	Mesh Preparation
	Workspace Preparation
		Presets
		Viewport Settings
		Quick Favorites
		Auto Normalize and Symmetry
	Demonstration
		Branch Bone, Lock
		Branch Bone, Section
		Branch Bone, Transition
		Top Bone, Lock
		Top Bone, Section
		Top Bone, Transition
18. Weighting the Body
	Torso
	Leg
	Neck and Head
	Shoulder
	Arm
	Thumb and Fingers
	Twist Bones
	Mirror
19. Weight Transferring Techniques
	Introduction
	Data Transfer Modifier
	Separate, Join, and Merge Geometry
	Layered Geometry
	Shells
	Selective Inue fl nce
	Rigid Pieces
	Mirror Modifier Technique
	Intermediate Mesh Technique
20. Bone Constraints
	The Constraint Stack
	Header
	Target and Owner
	Spaces
		World
		Custom
		Pose
		Local with Parent
		Local
		Local (Owner Orientation)
	Creating and Removing Constraints
		Add
		Add (With Targets)
		Delete and Clear All
		Copy and Copy Constraints to Selected Bones
		Duplicate
	Dependency Cycle
21. Essential Constraints
	Copy Location
	Copy Rotation
		Mix Modes
	Copy Scale
	Copy Transforms
	Mix Modes
	Damped Track
	Stretch To
	Locked Track
	Transformation
		Rotation Mode
	Action Constraint
	Inverse Kinematics
		Properties
		Common Issues
22. Dealing with Clutter
	The Problem
	Different Bone Lengths
	B-Bone Thickness
	Bone Layers
	Hide Bones
	Clip Regions
	Material Preview + X-Ray
23. B-Bone Rigging
	Introduction
	Base Setup
	Twist Distributor
	B-Bone Chain
	Layered B-Bones
	Attaching Bones to B-Bones
	Common Issues
		B-Bone Twists
		B-Bone Curves
24. Drivers
	Introduction
	Creating and Removing Drivers
		Create Driver
		Copy/Paste
		Copy as New Driver
		Delete
	Driver Editor
	Driver Types
	Driver Variables
		Single Property
		Transform Channel
		Rotational Difference
		Distance
	Expressions
		Variables
		Literals
		Globals
		Constants
		Arithmetic Operators
		Comparison Operators
		Logical Operators
		“If” and “else”
		Standard Functions
		Blender Provided Functions
25. Rig Building Blocks
	Control Bone
		Custom Meshes
	Forward Kinematics Chain (FK)
	Rotation Isolation
		Rotation Switch
	Inverse Kinematics Chain (IK)
		Pole Target Placement
	Blending
	Tweak Chain
26. Body Rig
	Rules
		We are Rigging the “INT” Bones
		Parent to “INT-” Bone
		Parent IK to World Control
		Disable Deform on Non-Deform Bones
		Duplicate
		Name Your Bones
	The Deformation Skeleton
	The Intermediate Skeleton
	World
	Root Control
	Body Control
		Movable Pivot
	Torso
		Pelvis
		Chest
		Abdomen
	Head and Neck
		Control Bones
		Neck Setup
		Rotation Isolation
	Shoulder
	Arm and Hand
		FK Arm
		IK Arm
		Arm IK/FK Blend
		Twist and Bend Setup
		Arm Rig Summary
	Hand
		Metacarpals
		Fingers and Thumb
	Leg
		FK Leg
		IK Leg
		Leg IK/FK Blend
		Twist and Bend Setup
	Inverse Foot
		Adding the Bones
		Twist
		Bank
		Roll
	Symmetrize
27. Correctives
	Introduction
	Angle Reader
	Elbow and Knee Correctives
		Elbow Bones
		Corrective Bone Weights
		Bringing it Together
	Shoulder and Hip Correctives
28. Facial Rigs
	Introduction
	Types of Facial Rigs
		FACS
		Freeform
	Standard ARKit Shapes
	Shape Creation Using Audio2Face
	Shape Key Transfer
	Connecting Shapes to Bones
		Direct Connection
		Inverted Connection
		Adjusted Motion Range
		Shape Combo
	Eye Rotation
29. Cloth and Hair
	Introduction
	Bone Distribution
	Example Setup
30. Space Switches
	Introduction
	Space Switch Setup
		Custom Property
		Armature Constraint
		Drivers
	Copy Global Transform Add-On
31. Props
	Introduction
	Prop Bones
	How to Animate Props
32. Rig Finalizing
	Selection Sets
	Rotation Order
		How Modes Affect Animation
	Channel Lock and Limit
	Visibility Layers
	Colors
	Scene Cleanup
	Pose Library
33. Animation
	Linking and Library Overrides
		Relative Versus Absolute Paths
		Forcing a Linked Object to Update
	Framerate
	Keyframes and Keying Sets
	Actions
	In-Between Tools
	NLA
	Discontinuity (Euler) Filter
	Preview Rendering
	Rotation Order and Mode
34. Export
	Skeleton and Mesh
	Animation
		All Actions
		Single Action
		Selection of Actions
	Conclusion
Index