Rigging (animation)

Skeleton (rig) of a 3D model

The rigging is a working technique in the field of 3D animation .

In rigging, a so-called skeleton or rig is constructed from bones or joints, which defines how the individual parts of a mesh (a polygon network ) can be moved. It is not uncommon for the construction to be based on the nature of an actual skeleton , for example a real thigh bone or a real knee joint is reproduced.

After the skeleton or rig has been created, it can be coupled with the polygon mesh . In a further step, the so-called skinning , there are often a few minor errors to be ironed out that occurred when coupling the mesh to the rig.

Rigging 3D graphics software (selection)

• Softimage XSI
• Animation: Master
• Maya
• 3D Studio Max
• Cinema 4D
• Anim8or
• Blender
• Lightwave 3D
• Luxology Modo
• SideFX Houdini

literature

• Eyal Assaf: Rigging for Games: A Primer for Technical Artists Using Maya and Python, CRC Press, 2015, ISBN 9781317802945

• Tina O'Hailey: Rig it Right !: Maya Animation Rigging Concepts, Taylor & Francis, 2013, ISBN 9780240820798
• Andy Beane: 3D Animation Essentials, John Wiley & Sons, 2012, ISBN 9781118239056
• Jonny Gorden: LightWave 3D 8 Cartoon Character Creation: Rigging and Animation, Jones & Bartlett Publishers, 2004, ISBN 9781556222542
• Character Rigging and Animation: A Hands-on Introduction to the Key Tools and Techniques of Character Rigging and Animation with Maya, Alias, 2004
• Binh Huy Le: Example-based Rigging and Real-time Animation of Characters with Linear Skinning Models, University of Houston , 2014