The process of creating a hierarchical skeleton of interconnected bones and joints within a 3D character model, along with control systems and deformation rules, enabling animators to manipulate the mesh through inverse kinematics and forward kinematics for realistic movement.
Semantic Classification
Content
Technical Details
- Core Components:
- Bone hierarchy (joints with parent-child relationships)
- Control rig (animation controls)
- Skinning (binding mesh to skeleton)
- Weight painting (bone influence per vertex)
- Kinematics Types:
- Forward Kinematics (FK): Animator moves each joint separately
- Inverse Kinematics (IK): Animate end effector, system calculates joint positions
- Modern rigs include FK/IK switches for flexibility
- Bone Transform: Position, scale, orientation relative to bind pose; child transforms are product of parent and own transform
- Auto-Rigging Tools: Mixamo, AccuRIG, Anything World (AI-enhanced, 40% faster than manual)
- Software: Blender, Maya, 3ds Max, Houdini, Cinema 4D, Unreal Engine
Applications
- Video game character animation
- Animated film production
- VR avatar systems
- Motion capture integration
- Procedural animation systems