Rigging and Skinning the Character

Rigging

The rigging process was straightforward. I used an automatic rigging system which saves allot of time. This involved being accurate in where the joints would be positioned. especially in the fingers and hand area. 

Skinning

Fingers

DQ weight map adds easier manipulation of finger joints.

Skinning of the fingers. My character is extremely expressive with hand gestures so the skinning has to be top notch.

The jaw rig has been skinned. I will use blend shapes to alter the different shapes that the mouth makes in speech. 

The rig also has a jaw Which I improved on by adding a tounge and extra joints to control the top teeth.

Testing out the skinning

Here is an example of the movement that my rig will allow. It has loads of useful features that will help when animating.

Eye controls

Eye controls The eyes have been parented to the rest of the controls with an aim constraint. This allows me to control the direction the character is looking.