What is Rigging?
Rigging is the process of adding a skeleton of bones and controls to a 3D model, and binding the mesh to it, so the model can be posed and animated.
A model without a rig is a statue. Rigging adds an internal skeleton and binds each vertex to one or more bones with skin weights, so moving a bone moves the surface around it smoothly.
The parts of a rig
- Bones (joints): the hierarchy, such as hip → spine → chest → neck → head
- Skin weights: how strongly each bone pulls each vertex
- Controls: the handles animators actually move, including inverse kinematics (IK) so a hand or foot can be placed and the limb follows
- Blend shapes (shape keys): for facial expressions
Auto-rigging
Tools like Adobe Mixamo and Blender's Rigify can rig a humanoid in minutes. They work best on a model in a T-pose or A-pose with separated arms and legs.
Generated characters
Characters from text to 3D or image to 3D arrive unrigged. Simple ones auto-rig fine. For good deformation at elbows, knees and shoulders, retopology first. Export rigged characters as FBX for Unity and Unreal, or GLB for the web.
Written with AI assistance and reviewed by the Renderlyst team. Corrections welcome at alishbakhalid766@gmail.com.