HIVE – FOUNDATIONS

This page contains a series of videos explaining the fundamentals of Hive Auto-Rigger.

Hive is a modular rig builder that allows you to create rigs from individual components such as legs, arms, spines, FK, and heads.

Various types of rigs can be created by arranging components in different ways, including bipeds, quadrupeds, dinosaurs, mechs, insects, and props.

This page explains the basics of using Hive and how to use the auto-rigger.

This page is currently being worked on and is not yet complete. We are planning to add more videos in the near future.

CONTENTS

1. Components Templates Introduction
2. Build Edit & Save Templates
3. Hive UI & Complex Scenes
4. Deconstructing Our Demo Scenes
5. Skinning And Deformation Overview (coming)
6. Modifying Controls (coming)
7. Joint and Control Alignment (coming)
8. Hive General Settings (coming)
9. Hive Containers Mode (coming)
9. Build Scripting Automation (coming)
10. Related Hive Tools (coming)
11. Setting Naming Conventions (coming)

1. COMPONENTS & TEMPLATES

In this video, you will learn about Components and Templates.

Components, also known as modules, are individual parts of a rig that can be arranged to create complex structures in Hive.

Templates are pre-made rigs consisting of multiple components that are arranged and parented together in order to create a more complex rig. These templates can be saved and reused in other scenes.

Templates can be added to a rig or used as a starting blueprint.

2. BUILD & SAVE TEMPLATES

In this video, you will learn how to create, modify, and save templates from scratch.

In this example, we will create the rig from the beginning rather than starting from a template.

This is a great opportunity to learn how to build templates and use the Hive UI effectively.

3. HIVE UI & COMPLEXITY

In this video, you will learn how to manage complex rigs using the Hive UI.

This video covers several additional UI tips.

You’ll also learn how to use FK branches to minimize rig components.

We are currently working on this page and adding more videos soon. Please check back later for updates.

4. DECONSTRUCTING OUR DEMO SCENES

The Maya Scenes pack is a great resource that includes official Zoo Tools demo rigs that you can open up and pull apart as Hive examples.

Download the rigs by clicking the “Maya Scenes” button on the Zoo Tools Pro install page. The Maya Scenes pack is a larger download than Zoo Tools Pro, so it needs to be downloaded separately.

This video demonstrates how to open and deconstruct Hive’s demo scenes, allowing you to interact with our rigs and study the settings in guides mode.

You’ll find other Hive tips in these scenes such as adding user-made custom parts and build scripting.

Also see how to brighten the default rigs in the viewport in 2024 and above.