After modelling the alien, I decided to do the UV map last because that stage won't take long, however I still have the rigging and skinning stage to complete so I am attempting those video tutorials first.
The rigging stage part of the alien took a lot of time, like a few hours even though most stages were simple and quick, I did have difficulty because in the tutorial, what worked for a particular alien model did not work for another as the models were not identical so I had adjust certain joints so it would make more sense for my alien model.
I found the rigging easier than I thought because at the glance from the images below it looks confusing but the colours are indicators of what different controls are so looking at it is easy to understand. The skeleton of the model is identical to the form of the alien, this makes sense because the skeleton is later on parented to the controls made.
From last year's brief tutorials on adding the skeleton to the model, I definitely understand the process a bit more and I understand how similar techniques can be applied to other models. The skeleton is unique to the model because different characters act and move differently.
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| Skeleton of Alien |
These are the controls that are made to give movement to the skeleton, it is also the controls that will have constraints added to them to make certain movements more effective.
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| All Controls and IK handles of the whole alien body |
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| Front shot of the skeleton and controls |
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| Knee Locator handles, IK leg handles, Feet controls |
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| Wrist Controls |
For the wrist controls and joints, I did not apply as many joints as advised in the tutorial because the way I modelled my alien's wrist was not the same so I had to reduce the joints, but this did not complicate my rigging so I learnt that you can customise how you rig to your alien.
