What is rigging?

Definition What is rigging?

Rigging translates product logic (hinge, push, turn) into operable control handles: this allows feature advantages to be shown visually immediately - such as soft-close, modular extensions or textile reactions. The effect: comprehensible product communication, applicable from hero stills to campaign films, e.g. in a 3D product video.

Rigging in practice: From T-pose to movement (FK/IK in action)

To turn a static 3D model into credible movement, you need a clean rig: bones for deformation, controls for operation and FK/IK for efficient posing. The first picture shows the neutral T-pose with control shapes - here the joints are tested, weights are checked and FK/IK switches are applied. The second image demonstrates a running pose: the legs run in IK (foot remains stable on the ground), the arms swing in FK, while the hips and spine guide the body's center of gravity. In this way, a good rig enables fast, reproducible animations - without messy deformations.

Rigging basics: Joints, controllers, constraints & skinning

• Joints/bones form the kinematics (hierarchy, pivots, axes).
• Controllers are the operating handles for animators; movements are plausibly limited with constraints (e.g. Limit, Aim, Parent/Point/Orient).
• FK/IK: Forward Kinematics controls limbs one after the other (precise arcs), Inverse Kinematics places the end point (perfect for grips/support).
• Skinning combines mesh and skeleton: LBS (Linear Blend Skinning) is fast, DQS (Dual Quaternion) holds the volume better; blend shapes correct folds/bumps in close-ups.
• The model base is crucial for clean deformation (loops on joints, frozen transforms) - see 3D modeling.
• In-depth information on skeletal logic: Blender Manual - Armatures.

IK/FK change in the run cycle - Rig controls in action

The GIF demonstrates how a clean rig alternates between Inverse Kinematics (IK) for stable legs and Forward Kinematics (FK) for naturally swinging arms. You can see how Foot-Roll/Plant-Foot locks the standing leg to the floor while the hips and spine guide the body's center of gravity. Such control setups speed up posing, prevent foot-sliding and deliver reproducible animations for product and character CGI.

Comparison table: FK vs. IK - control, use & limits

Comparison table: Skinning process - LBS vs DQS vs Blendshapes

Rigging workflow for furniture & products (7 steps)

1. Model check (deformation-ready): clean topology, edge loops at pivot points, normals okay, transforms frozen.
2. Joint layout & pivots: set real pivot points (hinges, pull-outs), align axes consistently.
3. Controllers & limits: FK/IK sets, meaningful constraints (min/max), logical naming.
4. Skinning & corrections: Coarse auto-weights, refine manually; DQS for twists, define necessary blend shapes.
5. Defo tests: Check extreme poses, self-intersections and rig stability; create test clips.
6. Retargeting/clips: reusable movements (e.g. open/close door, grab handle), version guidance.
7. Export & target path: Film/Offline (full rig) vs. Web/Realtime (lean rig, baked constraints) - for browser experiences we recommend the 3D viewer.

Error patterns in rigging - and quick fixes

Export & formats: FBX, glTF, USD (practice)

• FBX remains solid for DCC exchange/offline render.
• glTF/GLB is ideal for web/viewers (skins/animations, good runtime ecosystem) - technical details on skins: Khronos glTF 2.0 - Skins.
• USD/OpenUSD is suitable as an authoring hub for large scenes/variants. For e-commerce stills 3D product visualization provides the appropriate output; interactive demos run in the browser, for format information see glTF file format.

FAQ - Rigging

How do I know if my 3D model is "rig-ready"?

Clean topology with edge loops at joints, correct normals, no duplicate vertices, frozen transforms (scale/rotation = 1/0) and realistic pivot positions. A quick test: three extreme poses (0 %, 50 %, 100 %) without skinning artifacts or flutter.

FK or IK - what do I use for product mechanics?

For pure rotary or folding movements (hinges, lids), FK is precise and clean. For contact and grip situations (arm to grip, robot end effector), IK provides speed and stability. In practice, an FK/IK switch is ideal: FK for clean arcs, IK for interactions.

How do I prevent volume loss ("candy wrappers") and hard wrinkles?

Use DQS (Dual Quaternion) at critical twists, add twist bones along rotating axes and correct close-ups with blend shapes. Limit the number of joint influences per vertex (max. 4) and smooth weights locally instead of globally.

How "light" does a rig for web/viewer have to be?

As lean as possible: core chain + few twist bones, remove unnecessary helpers, bake constraints (keyframes), key reduction with tolerance (e.g. 0.5-1 mm). Target values: ≤ 4 weights/vertex, moderate bone count (e.g. 30-80 for product rigs) and 24-30 fps with stable frame rate.

How do I make movements reusable (clips/retargeting)?

Build modular animation clips (e.g. door open/close, slide in/out) and maintain consistent skeleton naming. Use neutrals (bind pose, zero pose), the same axis orientations and document limits - this allows clips to be transferred to variants and successor models.

Which typical rigging mistakes cost the most time - and how do I avoid them?

Non-uniform scale on joints (avoid), incorrect joint orientations (normalize before skinning), too many controllers without benefit (reduce), missing extreme tests (always check 0/50/100 %). Before exporting: bake constraints, remove dummies, check naming/units and run through a 10-second smoke test animation.