Character Rigs

*This article was written by storrmify.*

## Creating the Rigs

When creating the rigs, I first start by creating a sketch for that character to base the rig off of. I use ibisPaint for this step. Depending on how I decide to use them, I might choose to create a sketch for a front facing model, side facing, and back facing. I make sure to draw the head, arms, and legs on separate layers so I can test how well the rig might work, and once I'm satisfied with the sketch, I move on to the next step.

Once I have my sketch done, I begin working on the actual rig. I make sure to use the same brush, line width, and color for each rig to ensure consistency in each model. I draw each part of the rig (head, left upper eyelash, right eyebrow, etc) on a different layer, and once I draw the arms and legs, I cut them and round the edges of the lower arm/leg so I can ensure smooth rotation when animating. I cut the model as much as possible to insure flexibility during the rigging process, and once I feel like everything is good, I export the rig as a PSD file and save it to Google Drive (ALWAYS UPLOAD YOUR WORK TO THE CLOUD).

## Setting up the Rig

I use Live2d Cubism to set up my rigs. Live2d is a program often used by Vtubers and/or Gachatubers, but can be used in various other things (such as visual novels like Disney's Twisted Wonderland). With PSD file, I then import it to Live2d and begin the rigging process. There are many ways to go about the rigging process, but compared to the standard Vtuber model my rigging is relatively simple.

The rigs I currently use are front facing by default, which allows me to create more dynamic movements such as head turns on Angle X, Y, and Z parameters, and body turns on Body X, Y, and Z parameters. I use physics to automate hair and clothing movement with rigs that have it to speed up the process for animation. My rigs also have automated blinking, but I currently do not know how to bake these physics into my animation.

My rigs feature face shading that allows for blush and shade to appear and be controlled by an opacity parameter. I use deformers and parameters to switch between various eye types for more expressive emotion, and I use a similar switch for hand gestures. I've created a mouth rig that can be used for various models via templates, and has over 30 mouth gestures pre-created.

## Animating the Rigs

Live2d proves an animation mode within the program that allows use or import rigs within. It allows you to bake physics into your animation, use motion templates for things such as walk cycles and breathing, and allows the user to import .wav files as well as images.

I directly import my models into animation mode via drag and drop and select version SDK (Unity). I may change this method in the future, as Live2d has an After Effects plug-in, but for now this is effective. Using the parameters I created in model mode, I then animate the scene to my liking and using various templates such as walk cycles made ahead of time. Live2d automatically creates graphs for movement via keyframes, but I recommend delaying the keyframes for different body parts (hand, then lower arm, then upper arm) to create more organic movement.

With the scene done, I then bake the model's physics into the animation. I make any additional tweaks that need to be made then once I'm ready I remove any backgrounds added and export my animation as a .mov file with transparent background selected. I then import theses files into Premiere Pro and begin the editing process.