3D Character Rigging in Blender: Rig your characters from scratch to give them life and make them animation ready Jaime Kelly Author

Use the robust rigging tools that Blender has to offer to give life to your mesh as you dive into the art of rigging with this bookLearn to use automatic and manual weight painting to merge skin and boneEnhance any rig with a sweeping host of automatic controls and aids for animationKeep your rigs efficient and clean for optimal end user performanceThis book offers detailed instructions to help you achieve the same outcome as seasoned artists. You will progress from adding bones to an empty scene and learning how to weight paint to rigging a humanoid character in Blender while learning all the necessary buttons for rigging and success-boosting tips. You will further push on to implementing advanced features like drivers, constraints and custom handles, all of which will be expected of a professional rig. By the end of this book you will have the ability to create rigs of all shapes and sizes, compatible within the pipelines of many teams and studios.Understand the basic terminology of riggingLearn how to create rigs and modify rigsWitness how bones interact with topologyWeight painting mesh by both hand and through automatic meansKnow when and how to add constraints such as IK, point to and child ofLearn about advanced techniques like shape keys and bone driversMake rigs both visually appealing and easy on the eyesIf you are an animator, modeler or someone who wants to start rigging with a solid foundation then this book is for you. You will need no knowledge of blender to get through this book as we will go step by step with shortcuts and UI pointers provided.Example rigs in media and TerminologyStarting with bonesUsing weighting tools to give life to a meshUnderstanding how placement and topology affects deformationRigging a humanControlling rigs using constraints and building an IK setupMaking automatic assists for animatorsUsing Custom Handles to make rigs more visually pleasing