How do you balance rigging complexity and performance for different platforms and purposes?

1 Know your target platform and audience

Before you start rigging, you need to consider the platform and audience of your project. Different platforms have different limitations and requirements for rendering and interactivity. For example, if you're rigging for a game engine, you need to keep your rig as simple and efficient as possible, to avoid lagging and glitches. If you're rigging for a film or a TV show, you can afford more complexity and detail, to achieve higher quality and realism. Similarly, different audiences have different expectations and preferences. For example, if you're rigging for a cartoon or a stylized animation, you can exaggerate and simplify your rig to match the style and mood. If you're rigging for a realistic or a photorealistic animation, you need to pay more attention to anatomy and physics.

3 Optimize your mesh and topology

One of the most important factors that affect rigging complexity and performance is the mesh and topology of your model. The mesh is the collection of vertices, edges, and faces that form the surface of your model. The topology is the way the mesh is arranged and connected. A good mesh and topology can make your rigging easier and smoother, while a bad mesh and topology can cause problems and errors. For example, a good mesh and topology should have enough resolution and detail to deform well, but not too much to slow down the performance. It should also have clean and even quads, without n-gons, triangles, or poles. It should also follow the natural flow and curvature of the model, especially around the joints and the facial features.

4 Use layers and groups

Another way to balance rigging complexity and performance is to use layers and groups. Layers and groups are organizational tools that allow you to separate and manage different parts of your rig. For example, you can use layers to hide or show different parts of your rig, such as the skeleton, the controls, the deformers, or the accessories. This can help you focus on the part you want to work on, without being distracted or cluttered by the rest. You can also use groups to parent and link different parts of your rig, such as the spine, the arms, the legs, or the head. This can help you create hierarchies and relationships between your rig elements, and make them easier to select and manipulate.

5 Test and tweak your rig

The final step to balance rigging complexity and performance is to test and tweak your rig. Testing your rig means checking if it works as intended, without any errors or issues. For example, you can test your rig by posing it in different ways, and see if it deforms well, without any stretching, pinching, or popping. You can also test your rig by animating it with simple or complex motions, and see if it responds well, without any lagging, flipping, or snapping. Tweak your rig means adjusting and improving your rig based on the feedback and results of your testing. For example, you can tweak your rig by adding or removing joints, controls, or deformers. You can also tweak your rig by changing the weights, constraints, or expressions of your rig elements.