Hi,
I know this may seem like a pretty big ask but I need some guidance on a project I am working on.
For background knowledge I have taken both the rigging courses and learnt a lot about bones and rigging however when trying to apply what I have learnt to prosthetic limb I want to rig & animate I am finding it hard to apply the knowledge I have learnt.
Below is a video of the end result I want to achieve, progress I have made so far and the issues I have facing at the moment.
https://www.loom.com/share/0674258be2524de783fb68556549926e?sid=9863d51d-99f2-4c0c-9368-13f2756c1283
The advice I need is:
-Advice systematic work flow to create similar bone structures for future projects like this one.
-And best practices for this type of rig.
Please feel free to reach out as I can provide more videos and screenshots of settings and other things. And if you would like to see the file just let me know.
If I need to delete the current bone structure and start again I am happy to do so.
Look forward to receiving a response
Thanks
Joseph
Thank for your words Omar.
I get certain things working then when I try to move onto the next stage, the whole thing breaks and then I am left for 2 hours stretching my head thinking how do I move onto the next stage lool. This is the reason why sent this message, it was the last result lol
Hey Joseph,
You may find the OFF-ROAD course useful. Particularly chapter 4 rigging the springs and chapter 5 which covers just about everything else including rigging suspension and ground detection.
The advice you ask on workflow and best practices will get a boost from Wayne in the course for sure, but they are things you will develop over time.
I highly recommend OFF-ROAD, but you will need to adapt it to your needs.
Have you done the Animation Bootcamp? Everything is like a bouncing ball. Think bouncing ball with squash and stretch for the blade.
The blade could just be a section of a bouncing ball, right? Do you need to use bendy bones?
If you haven't done either course, go for the bootcamp first.
If you still require help after watching these, try jumping on the CG Cookie Discord. The community over there is awesome, as it is here, but the facility to screen share and livestream is a great help to get troubleshooting advice and tips.
ok thank you very much I will do the animation & Off-Road bootcamps. I have only done the rigging courses.
Constraints, constraints, and possibly drivers. Just like a flesh leg you probably want both an IK and FK setup. IK will need more bones to the IK chain. This just means you need to increase the number. You will also want to lock axis and use limit rotation so that bends aren't to much. Remember you want the heads of bones at points it will bend. Use spline IK if you're exporting to other software for smoother bending if needed. If you're staying in blender then bendy bones is a great option.
As for workflow, get use to the workshop concept. In other words work on one part with just the bones until they behave the way you want. For example on your leg I'd start with FK build until you have something that works for your model with limit constraints and locked axis. Plus any other constraints and/or drivers you might need. Then you can use this as the base mechanism bones for the IK. Get that working the way you want. Then add your deform bones and create switch. The. Attach to the mesh. Then adjust limits to match with the mesh. In other words break down what you need build each piece and then combine. This also allows you to play with different ideas that may not work for this project, but could be useful in other or future projects. The real trick is to get comfortable with messing up and experimenting without a mesh to distract you while rigging.
This is for an older version of blender but the information and concepts are still valid. Note: Wayne covers a lot of this in his courses.
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLWbnoG8MQdQSO79Kq3EVvtxrO8MTwzJNd&si=wzitNjVo4b8xJXdJ
Hi Joseph! I wish I had some good advice for you but all I can do is echo the suggestion that the Off-Road course might, at the very least, provide some ideas to try for a rig like that.
I do want to say that I love that you are attempting this! It's the sort of model one doesn't see too often. I'd love to see the finished project at some point!
Thank you so much for the advice given by everyone I will definitely try to break it down in to sections and stop trying to be so impatient lool. I am currently going through the Blender animation bootcamp and afterwards I will take another one, attempting this rig again. Once I get this sort I can start creating better product animation videos for medical practices
Its me again lol
The video below show the issues I am facing in more detailed
https://www.loom.com/share/b2afeb495971411cb51084562ff4d702?sid=8b667e4e-83c2-4725-95f0-ff996b257bcf
I recently deleted all the bones from my prosthetic leg protect to start again trying to rig it, however I am facing and issue where the mesh is deforming in a really weird way and all the troubleshooting methods I have personally learnt are not working at the moment.
Any advice would be grateful as I have spent the last 3 hours trying to get to the bottom of this lool
Regards
Joseph