I decided to take a shot at rigging a quadruped. I got halfway through the rig when I figured, it'd be cooler if I had made a raptor ... so I did. Behold, the majestic horse-raptor. The animation is choppy, but I was primarily focused on rigging techniques. Feel free to check out the rig for yourselves.
If anyone has ideas for rigging improvements, let me know.
DOWNLOAD RIG: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0Bwzk-f ... sp=sharing
I'll save this thread and update it with new rigs as I create them.
Horse-Raptor and stuff
Moderators: Víctor Paredes, Belgarath, slowtiger
Re: Horse-Raptor and stuff
I loved it before I ever even hit the play button thanks to those silly eyes.
The walk looks good, the only thing that seems off is the rear "arm" looks longer than the front arm, that should be the other way around?
The walk looks good, the only thing that seems off is the rear "arm" looks longer than the front arm, that should be the other way around?
~Danimal
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Víctor Paredes
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Re: Horse-Raptor and stuff
Ok, I played with your character, so here's my approach:
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/544 ... elgin.anme
I think your rig is far more complex than it should. Separating parts in different bone layers could look useful, but it will only make the animation process harder, because you will never work with the skeleton as one structure. Of course that's just my opinion.
I put everything inside one bone layer and added targets bones for the feet, so now it's very easy to make the body go up and down and keep both feet on the ground. Since your leg has more than 3 bones on its chain (ignoring the "helper" perpendicular bones), I set "independet angle" to B1 and B1_2 (the thighs bones) and animated them independently to the rest of the leg, that way the IK worked better.
I added little bones to make the eyes wiggle. That bones have dynamics but also are child of toher independent angle bones, that way they follow the "gravity". I think that's the best addition I made
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/544 ... elgin.anme
I think your rig is far more complex than it should. Separating parts in different bone layers could look useful, but it will only make the animation process harder, because you will never work with the skeleton as one structure. Of course that's just my opinion.
I put everything inside one bone layer and added targets bones for the feet, so now it's very easy to make the body go up and down and keep both feet on the ground. Since your leg has more than 3 bones on its chain (ignoring the "helper" perpendicular bones), I set "independet angle" to B1 and B1_2 (the thighs bones) and animated them independently to the rest of the leg, that way the IK worked better.
I added little bones to make the eyes wiggle. That bones have dynamics but also are child of toher independent angle bones, that way they follow the "gravity". I think that's the best addition I made
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Previously Rigged animation supervisor: My father's dragon, Wolfwalkers & Star Wars Visions "Screecher's Reach"
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Re: Horse-Raptor and stuff
Fantastic stuff all around. I liked this post based on the subject line alone. My concern was that the character felt top-heavy and without a longer tail with some kind of mass it would need to tilt more upright, but selgin's approach seems to negate that by expertly shifting weight during the motion. His walk definitely feels more bird-like, but I think Jurassic Park explains why that makes sense 
Also, just to note, the parent bones with independent angles for a dynamic child is the key to something I've so stupidly overlooked since upgrading. Thanks selgin and dkwroot for making it (almost painfully) obvious.
Also, just to note, the parent bones with independent angles for a dynamic child is the key to something I've so stupidly overlooked since upgrading. Thanks selgin and dkwroot for making it (almost painfully) obvious.
-ddrake
Re: Horse-Raptor and stuff
@Danimal
Thank you! I was inspired by the wacky art style of "FilmCow". If you look at the back legs, you'll see that the background leg is slightly ahead of the foreground leg. The character is at a slight offset, which is why his arm is also forward. I could have definitely done a better job with the head and neck to sell the offset angle and the arm is probably still too far to the left, but I wanted the horse-raptor to look goofy anyway so just rolled with it.
@selgin
lol, I love it! I nearly fell out of my chair laughing at the eyes! You made it look more natural and funny.
Also, I really like the implementation of target bones. I'm still new to the idea of using them, but they look really useful. I agree about the complexity and to be truthful, I got lazy and just copied the bone layer so that I could just move it below the main rig. I'd be great if there were a way to quickly copy a leg and pair it with copied bones without having to go through so much hassle of duplicating a layer and bones separately and re-parenting.
When you animate a walk cycle, do you animate each leg separately or do you animate the walk of one leg and then copy that motion to the other leg?
Another question, do you plan on making more advanced rigging tutorials? I watched your first rigging tutorial and it was great, but I'd love to see how you rig up more advanced things like animals and characters that have more detail in their design. I've been experimenting with Angle Control Bones lately and it was really my main emphasis with this rig. I can't find many tutorials that talk about building rigs like this, which is why I'm asking.
@ddrake
I agree! I went back and looked at how he handled weight distribution and it definitely gives the character a more natural and bird-like stride.
To be honest, I'm still learning how to implement all of the new features in version 10, so you're not alone in that regard. I'm glad there's something to be learned from this wackiness.
Thank you! I was inspired by the wacky art style of "FilmCow". If you look at the back legs, you'll see that the background leg is slightly ahead of the foreground leg. The character is at a slight offset, which is why his arm is also forward. I could have definitely done a better job with the head and neck to sell the offset angle and the arm is probably still too far to the left, but I wanted the horse-raptor to look goofy anyway so just rolled with it.
@selgin
lol, I love it! I nearly fell out of my chair laughing at the eyes! You made it look more natural and funny.
Also, I really like the implementation of target bones. I'm still new to the idea of using them, but they look really useful. I agree about the complexity and to be truthful, I got lazy and just copied the bone layer so that I could just move it below the main rig. I'd be great if there were a way to quickly copy a leg and pair it with copied bones without having to go through so much hassle of duplicating a layer and bones separately and re-parenting.
When you animate a walk cycle, do you animate each leg separately or do you animate the walk of one leg and then copy that motion to the other leg?
Another question, do you plan on making more advanced rigging tutorials? I watched your first rigging tutorial and it was great, but I'd love to see how you rig up more advanced things like animals and characters that have more detail in their design. I've been experimenting with Angle Control Bones lately and it was really my main emphasis with this rig. I can't find many tutorials that talk about building rigs like this, which is why I'm asking.
@ddrake
I agree! I went back and looked at how he handled weight distribution and it definitely gives the character a more natural and bird-like stride.
To be honest, I'm still learning how to implement all of the new features in version 10, so you're not alone in that regard. I'm glad there's something to be learned from this wackiness.