How do you rig and animate your 3D models after sculpting them?

1 Choose your software

There are many software options for 3D animation, each with its own features and workflows. Some of the most popular ones are Blender, Maya, 3ds Max, Cinema 4D, and ZBrush. Depending on your preference and budget, you can choose the one that suits your needs and style. You can also use different software for different stages of your project, such as sculpting, rigging, and animating.

2 Prepare your model

Before you can rig your model, you need to make sure it's ready for animation. This means you need to optimize your geometry, reduce your polygon count, and create a clean topology. You also need to unwrap your UVs, assign materials, and bake your textures. These steps will ensure that your model has a good performance, quality, and appearance in your animation software.

3 Create your skeleton

The next step is to create a skeleton for your model, also known as a rig. A rig is a hierarchy of bones and joints that define the structure and movement of your model. You can use the built-in tools in your software to create a custom rig, or you can use a preset or a plugin that automates the process. You need to position and orient the bones to match the anatomy and proportions of your model.

4 Add your controls

Once you have your skeleton, you need to add controls to it, so you can manipulate it easily. Controls are usually curves, shapes, or widgets that are linked to the bones and joints of your rig. You can use constraints, expressions, drivers, or scripts to create the connections and logic between the controls and the rig. You need to design your controls to be user-friendly, intuitive, and responsive.

5 Bind your skin

The final step in rigging is to bind your skin to your skeleton, so they move together. Skin binding is the process of assigning weights to the vertices of your model, based on their proximity and influence to the bones. You can use the automatic or manual options in your software to create the initial skin binding, and then refine it by painting or editing the weights. You need to make sure that your skin deforms smoothly and naturally when you pose your rig.

6 Animate your model

Now that you have your rigged model, you can start animating it. Animation is the process of creating keyframes that define the position, rotation, and scale of your controls over time. You can use the timeline, the graph editor, the dope sheet, or the NLA editor in your software to create and edit your keyframes. You need to apply the principles of animation, such as timing, spacing, ease in and out, anticipation, overshoot, and follow through, to make your animation realistic and expressive.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?