HIVE INTRODUCTION – ROBO BALL RIG

This page introduces the Hive Auto-Rigger and demonstrates how to rig a Robo Ball. If you are new to Hive, start here.

In most cases, you will need to modify our “biped template” to fit your character. However, in this demo, you will learn how to rig a character from scratch by building each component manually.

Understanding how a character is rigged from scratch will help you understand Hive’s rigging workflow and how to modify your characters.

Project files are coming soon.

1. INTRODUCTION & PIVOTS

This video provides a brief demonstration of the rig we will create and how to add pivot markers in preparation for the rigging process.

2. BUILDING RIG PARTS (COMPONENTS)

Learn about the Hive UI and how to build two rig parts:

– Hips (FK Component)
– Left Leg (Leg Component)

3. FINALIZE THE COMPONENTS

In this video, you’ll learn how to complete the rig by mirroring the right leg and turning on bendy.

You will learn how to duplicate and delete components, adjust and symmetrize controls, create a global node, and generate the antenna from a standard joint chain.

This tutorial uses the Joint Tool Window to create and orient joints but you can also use any method for creating joints in Maya.

4. ADJUST THE CONTROLS

Hive includes a special control system as part of the guides, which allows you to easily scale and position all your controls without needing to select CVs.

In this video, we will adjust the controls to fit the Robo Ball and demonstrate how to customize the control shapes and colors.

5. SKIN ROBO BALL

Hive’s “rig_skeleton_set” contains the skin joints for the character.

In this video, you will learn how to skin the Robo Ball to the relevant joints using our Skinning Toolbox.

Hive rigs are compatible with regular Maya, so you can easily skin them using third-party tools like NG Skin Tools or your own methods.

We are including comprehensive tutorials on skinning characters in Maya, covering various techniques.

You can also find our Skin Proxy workflow on the Asari Page. This method automatically applies skins to bipeds.

6. THE RIG EXPLAINED

Now it’s time to test the characters controls. In this video, we will guide you through the main features of the Robo Ball rig.

7. ADJUST PIVOTS & SAVE THE TEMPLATE

The rig is complete, but we can still adjust the pivots after skinning, further tweak the controls, or save the rig as a template for future use.

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HIVE INTRODUCTION – ROBO BALL RIG

CONTENTS

PIVOTS

GUIDES