Props in animation.

[Bartosz Piłat]

Hello. I’m wondering how to animate props that is not a part of character, i.e. helmet, hat. It’s just a simple constraint? If so then what with animation that hat while constrained. Or is there another method?

[madstarboy]

I think people would help you if you were little bit more specific. Try to describe your problem better. 😉

[Bartosz Piłat]

I’m new to animation (still doing great @waylow courses) and I’m gathering info about proper workflows. 

Currently I’m planning to do short animation where character have some props, like gun, helmet etc. In robot animation exercise @waylow show that object can be constraint to some bone. This means I need to create this empty bones in rig – one for each prop type I want to use. I’m not very good rigger so I’m looking for alternatives.

[Jack]

Hi, I’m not that far in the animation course, but I think I can point you in the right direction. It depends on the type of prop you have and how it’s going to behave, for some props you can use the character’s bones, for others you may need new bones. For example, you could parent the helmet to the head bone if you are not going to move it by itself or have the character take it off. If you want to animate it you may have to make new bones for it. For the gun, you may be able to do it by parenting it to a bone in the hand but sooner or later your character may need to holster that weapon. 

In some videogames they use one bone for the location of the prop, this bone is usually part of the character’s armature. If the prop can move or has moving parts (for example, when you reload a shotgun) the prop may have it’s own armature.

[Dolores 74]

[Dolores 74]

This is as far as I got with the animation for the moment   http://www.dolores74.com/blender/Lily.mp4

[Bartosz Piłat]

Thanks mates! But parenting something to bone takes ability to freely animate that object.

Watering can seems to be good idea but also it seems to be a lot of work. You can animate parenting state (look at “animate robot arm” videos)

I think I need to learn more about rigging.

[Dolores 74]

Thank you for talking back.

It isn’t that bad parenting to bones, you can always animate a child separated from its parent.  A child can live its own life and still be connected to its parent.

The eyeballs can rotate in all directions and still stay in the eye sockets and follow the head movements because they are parented to the head bone.

Of course, every scene requires its own technique. This is just one way to do it, it doesn’t mean it is the rule. 

Lots of progress I wish in your learning process.

[Author]

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