Autorig tool

How i made it

Thanks to the rhino project, I was able to apply my Python skills to create the biped auto-rig. The challenges in rigging the rhino helped me improve my scripting abilities, which allowed me to develop a more efficient and customizable rigging tool for the biped. The experience deepened my understanding of automation and programming within rigging workflows.

The Main Menu of my auto-rig tool is designed for ease of use and efficient workflow. It includes the following key features:

Generate Locators: This button creates all the necessary locators for the rig setup, simplifying the rigging process.
Generate Rig: With a single click, this button automatically generates the complete rig based on the locators previously generated.
Delete Rig: This option removes the rig from the scene, allowing for easy resetting or re-rigging.
Visibility of Systems: This button toggles the visibility of the rigging systems, hiding unnecessary elements when not in use, and making it easy to show them again when needed.
Auto-Skin: Automatically applies skinning to the selected geometry, saving time and ensuring a clean skinning process.
Help: Provides useful instructions and tips for using the auto-rig tool effectively.

This main menu streamlines the rigging workflow, making the process faster and more user-friendly.

Main Menu

Settings

The Settings menu allows for customization of the rig based on the character’s proportions, ensuring a perfect fit for both short and tall characters. The key settings include:

Number of Spine Bones: Adjust the number of bones in the spine to fit the character’s proportions and topology, ensuring smooth and flexible torso movement.
Sternum Position: Just an extra control the placement of the sternum to align with the character’s body shape, useful for characters of varying heights. (Usually dont have to change it.)
Number of Neck Bones: Customize the number of bones in the neck for more precise control over head and neck movements.
Control Size: Adjust the size of control shapes for easier manipulation and a more intuitive rigging experience.
Number of Twist Bones: Fine-tune the number of twist bones in the limbs for smoother rotations and more realistic limb deformations.
These settings provide the flexibility to adapt the rig to all character types, ensuring proper deformation and control.

Hand and foot

Hand and Foot Setup
I decided to separate the hand and foot rig setups for greater versatility, as having everything together was too complex. The Hand Setup allows for easy customization, with options to select the number of fingers (from 3 to 5). It includes a Generate Bones button, which creates provisional bone chains for finger placement in the rig. Once the bones are placed, the Join Hand button finalizes the setup by mirroring and organizing the hand rig, cleaning up the controls and ensuring everything is in place.

For the Foot Setup, there are two simple buttons: one to generate a locator system that must be positioned on the foot, and the other, Join Foot, takes care of the entire foot rig, including the foot roll, mirroring, and cleaning up the system. Once activated, the tool handles all the necessary steps, leaving the foot rig ready to use

Conclusion

With just a few simple steps, you can create a fully prepared biped rig, complete with advanced features like spaces, twist control, auto-stretch, global scale, FK/IK switching, FK/IK spine, pole snap, and more. This tool streamlines the rigging process, allowing to quickly generate a high-quality, customizable rig ready for animation.