Beginner's Guide to 3ds Max -- 11: Rigging and Skinning

In our final chapter, Isaac Oster covers the basics of two key animation areas: rigging and skinning

[@ravkenvega]

This is the best video tutorial (on this subject) that I've ever encountered. You described everything that you do, almost every click and very clearly. A lot of details that needed to be said for begginers. Thank you for this tutorial. Well done! 👍 [ Shared / Liked / Subscribed ]

[@toni90227]

Thank you very much, it's been nearly seven years but still this video was super useful to me and your voice was really soothing! Just what I needed.

[@rubencuellar1825]

Best IK explaination for beginners on youtube starts @ 24:00. You are the greatest!

[@TheNeoChannelMc]

+Ruben Cuellar 23:59

[@cgdata9213]

Brilliant! Haven't even watched till the end, but already answers tons of questions I had over the years. Thank you very much!

[@KarmaMonks]

Excellent, easy to follow. Perfect kickstart to rigging. Nicely done. Thank you!

[@DragonautX]

Thanks for the tutorial. I like how you went beyond bones and skinning and went to stuff like IK and shape controllers. It's still the same process and works nice for me, even when I'm using the 2017 version.

[@relinqu1shed]

"A full body rig like this one is outside of the scope of this tutorial" Well, thank God for that!

[@elderlyracer9971]

wonderful thank you. Was getting frustrated with others that left stuff out or assumed too much knowledge. This was perfect! It is fun again!

[@tokumusic4078]

Thank you. I am a complete beginner, who is expected to rig and skin some models. I worked through this entire vid, took about 3 hours, but am very happy with the result.

[@dresnyd]

I used to complain my headphones are too loud. But now that I've watched this, I''m glad they are that way :D

[@StillNight77]

Excellent tutorial. This helps clear up everything I had questions about and then some.

[@emxma8441]

This helped me a lot. Hate it when teachers just rush and forgets that we are new to the subject, ty :)

[@nannernator]

Excellent! What a great refresher. Thank you again, Sir!

[@yassinefahsi]

Ps. this guy is a genius keep watching his videos

[@Playlistdrawing]

Thanks you very much for this tutorial. Long time that i struggle with rigging on maya, i prefer work on max, and with this, i can learn a lot.

[@JesseEtzler0]

Thanks a ton for this tutorial! You answered my question I've had forever about the weight system.

[@dawoodbadri9744]

thank you for the tutorial man i dont know what i could have done without your help! thanks alot.

[@boitahaki]

Why does every 3DS Max tutorial have the volume so low........

[@Mishiiiful]

You have literally saved my brain from exploding!

[@Domm_Dynamite]

The audio on this video is super quiet. I am having a hard time getting the voice loud enough to follow easily.

[@JustinDesilva]

Thank you Isaac. I'm having difficulty at 39:40. When setting the ball ik end effector > solver properties > parent space > to IK goal the heel edge is moved to the ankle ik end effector position and contorting the foot. I've reviewed my rig, HI solvers and links and they all look correct.

[@JustinDesilva]

Solution: Under Motion > IK Solver be sure to toggle IK/FK Snap. This option prevents the heel from snapping from it's existing location to the ankle location.

[@jenninexus]

I had the same problem with the foot distortion, thanks for sharing your solution.. I'm new to rigging / animation in Max and never would have guessed :-) ... although! At :44 same foot-deformation happens when I select the point helper and goto Animation-Constraints-Orientation Constraint and choose the circle shape controller... I tried toggling IK/FK & surrounding area.. but any tips? I've come so far in this tut & don't want to give up now. Thanks!

[@BiggstheCat]

Hey, glad to be the first to comment. Really good video, didn't quite manage to follow it fully correctly, but I got the skin modifier to move the mesh with the bones, so that was a big step for me. I got most of the point's to work for me too. Up until the knee swivel point I was going good. The knee swivel point warps my leg for some reason. I'll figure it out, the bones move the body, that's half of what I need. Much appreciated!

[@sypeiterra7613]

After having just jumped into 3ds max dead blind and learning by clicking buttons like a madman, this is kinda useful

[@acuraaquatosphoenix]

Oh.So thats why my bones were messed up. Was using perspective when I made the bone system at first. You saved my project XD Thanks for great tutorial:)

[@caliagentmikoful]

Great Tutorial! Expertly Detailed

[@Doctorstew]

Great tutorial mate

[@pantatmerah]

After watching this tutorial i have deep understanding of layers

[@Kindlesmith70]

Ok. I'm finally following most of what you are saying. If I was a complete beginner I'd have absolutely no idea what you talking about or even demonstrating. Right off the bat you sling terminology at full force without a simplified explanation. This vid has been a wealth of help in seeing how rigging is done. I do have a stupid question however. 'Helpers' are they all needed to make use of those circles (controllers), or were some of them just placed there for completion sake, ease of reference, etc? For example - the heel.

[@TehMaxLightning]

Kindlesmith70 Yeah it's just to make it easier.

[@Kindlesmith70]

Ah. got ya. Thank you.

[@PrincessPheeni]

Thank you very much, this has massively helped me with the skinning of a character =]

[@Midnightsorrow12]

can you do one tutorial about creating a full rig for a full body like you've done here

[@ashouashley6231]

Hey Isaac, merci pour ce beau tutoriel qui en tout cas m'a aidé. Non seulement j'ais su comment faire une jambe mais également un rigging, merci beaucoup.

[@nalissolus9213]

Good tutorial, don't pay attention to the ungrateful comments, lots of spoiled brats these days.

[@Kennr]

This tutorial was great for getting started with rigging, though I am having problems with animating it. I can create the start/end point of an animation but I unless I do it frame-by-frame it just moves the controllers

[@_piccoloser]

Tutorial actually starts at 7:22, just so you know. I came here to learn to rig, not to make legs.

[@paolaherrera55]

This is actually a rig, a rig is not necessarily an all human body, if you get this and you have a complex model , then you will rig it easier.

[@johnrobertson4146]

The sounds fine here too !

[@kubli365]

Finally watched this from start to finish. Been animating as a hobby for years with mostly bones and IK's. Probably still will until my professors will tell me not to. xD Although my better judgement tells me this will definitely make walking animations and the like easier.

[@torbjornkallstrom2316]

Stuck on the "IK goal" part. Clicking it still doesn't make the foot stay in place while the knee moves.

[@Magsmog]

Great tutorial, thanks :D Great starting point for me.

[@seancarroll7812]

Fantastic Tutorial! Awesome Job! :D

[@The9PointStar]

Thanks for the video! work to know the basics

[@yehbe]

You sound like Ron Swanson. Which makes the tutorial greater than it already is :D

[@djpeterson7479]

Good tut. I agree sound is very low. I did this with a mesh I made in 3D Coat and imported into 3DS Max and every time I try to bend a bone 3DS crashes. Every experience that and if so, do you know what's causing it?

[@Araanim]

Here's a quick question. I attached two meshes, then went through and weighted the first mesh to the skeleton. Is it possible to detach (and delete) the second mesh without losing all of my weighting and riging work?

[@lifefitnessaustralia3dvisu145]

Great Video. Very Helpful

[@alexandercranga7064]

Just amazing. Thank you!

[@joshthebrawler]

if i use the character in a game, and in 3ds max the bone is sticking out of the character, can you see it in the game?

[@OlemVolle]

+joshthebrawler I don't think bones are ever visible in game engines. Also you can definitely hide all the objects you don't want to be seen in a game engine, if they were to be converted to geometry or the likes..

[@joshthebrawler]

OlemVolle ok thank you!

[@Alaa_alshahed]

very helpful :) thank you sir

[@Bobainthome]

is it a problem that I actually use the anatomical names for the bones

[@beeclair480]

The sound is really bad. Can't hear anything.

[@haris46teaning]

use the earphone..

[@karlhans6678]

How do I view the bone names of a model that I imported?

[@Feefafoozle]

Very helpful. Thanks!

[@VMetalic7]

Is it possible to move a vertex to the position of another one but not be welded, so that they are two vertexes only occupying the same location?

[@tyrelscott1475]

+Miroslav Kubíček if you right click the snaps toggle icon at the top of your screen ( it will highlight if you press "S") you can select vertex snap. Then just drag one vertex onto the other.

[@VMetalic7]

Thanks a lot for the answer, it will really help me in the future :)

[@alolni2880]

there 's one problem why it doesnt display any red colour skin in my xray mode on mesh

[@MarkH0895]

thank you very much for the tutorial! I only have 1 question: I'm using 3ds max 2014 and at the point that you're edditing your envellopes your leg becomes red with all the polygons that are selected but if I select a envellop it doesn't becomes red nor can I select polygons and I can't scale it like you did. Maybe you know what I should be doing at this points or what I'm doing wrong.

[@jenninexus]

did you find the answer? For me, same version of Max, the color shades are not available when in see-through mode, so as he mentioned to use ALT-X to toggle see-through mode so you can see the envelope colors.. (or right click on the mesh and goto object properties to toggle see-through).. also it has to be unfrozen. :)

[@paulbunter7225]

Hey, when I select my point helper and try to add the orientation constrait my bones do move, how do i fix this ? is there a way of knowing which parts are not aligned properly ? otherthen this great tutorial :)

[@FixwaysNet]

hi, thanks for the tutorial, i have a little issue on 18:38 which i hope you can help with it since google doesnt help so i just write here.. 1. didnt show colored faces on x-ray mode 2. if in normal mode, i must choose either colored faces or colored vertices. if choose both only showed faces color and not vertices 3. in normal mode i cant see the back vertices any advice?

[@FixwaysNet]

nvm..i did solve it by changing the viewport to smooth highlight like yours(need to change display driver from nitrous to direct3d or opengl)

[@ink_redemption_jack4244]

when i tried to change the foot IK from start joint to IK goal to stop the foot rotation heal side mesh was collapsing or deforming can you help me out I'm stuck there

[@MrKafteji]

very helpful. Thanks

[@Haruyuki_Art]

awesome thank you

[@aroz945]

Thanks , I was tried all :)

[@giannaras2010]

@3dtotal publishing do you know any other way to anime the mesh without any bones or something? thanks!

[@steplerman]

i have imported with script from one game this script make bones as helpers (dummy) knee and hip z-aligned when i try make iklimb between foot and hip 3ds max incorrect compute angle and as result invert knee rotation i many time repeat make ik solver or ik limb and 2-3 i make link with correct angle but cant repeat again how its fix?its bug?

[@Andy32410]

The only thing that I don't like about this video is how silent his voice is. It forces me to increase my overall volume while still barely being able to hear anything the guy is saying. Other than that, the video has been very informative.

[@VFXLtd]

Hey man how do i change the default size of the bones when i rig? When i create the bones they are as thin as a thread!

[@anuaggarwal143]

its a really nice tutorial, i dont understand y everyone is complaining about sound, just use headphones and its fine

[@snakemasterthorno]

Great tutorial, It just looks very painful how you twist the knee and enkel ;-) But other then that, i love to see more of your tutorials. Thanks.

[@mehmetkavruk9677]

I just understand underscore in the video

[@lordhendrixo3829]

+Mehmet Kavruk freeze transformation too lol but that is good habit to have

[@Evolutionadv]

Awesome

[@treyer78]

Thank you very much bro

[@caligulajones1237]

Thanks for sharing Good Tut

[@matty3732]

Thank you!! really useful

[@izvarzone]

How do I limit angles? I have a robot arm, one of the joints can rotate 0-60 degrees, and other one can rotate 360 degrees.

[@DAmastr8]

click the magnet button at the top of the screen, more specifically the magnet with the arc

[@izvarzone]

DAmastr8 No, you didn't understand me, I'm not about angle snap, I want limit rotation for some bones (one bone 90 degress on X, other bone -60 to 60 on y, and third 360 on y)

[@CaliberFiftyVideos]

izvarzone Do you want to animate this model and just use the animation in your apllication or do you want to control the robot arm in your application? If you want to restrict the rotation in your game, presentation, etc., when actively controlling the robot yourself, set the limits in your script for the program, I don't know if thats what you want? In 3ds max bones have no limits because why should they. You have the full range of 360° for your creativity. You can easily see the angle you set a specific bone to when rotating it in 3ds max for the next frame of the animation. If that didn't solve your issue, then please explain what you specifically want to to.

[@izvarzone]

***** nvm, I already found how to limit rotation, it's in the graph window.

[@izvarzone]

***** I planned to make rig for Source engine (Source FilmMaker to be exactly) but I didn't figure out how to make rig for it, SFM uses python language for rigs. So I'll bake all animation in max instead and upload them to SFM.

[@guusjansen3491]

Missing Part 10 ? Great Tutorials !

[@DawidZiemba4]

Great :) TY

[@orkunsevengil336]

And lets call it bhhones. :))(Sound is allright nice tut bro)

[@brokenstudiotv]

Thank you for the tutorial, but I fell asleep 3 times during the video. Please be more energetic and faster next time. Also turn up the volume.

[@5p3ctr3x7]

very useful

[@TungNguyen-oe6bs]

Thanks you very much :)

[@Kinkoyaburi]

I was keeping up until the helpers. After that I got destroyed. Much confuse, such clueless. Why can't you animate and move directly the bones?

[@wilsonyu486]

anyone can tell how to view/on the red area of the envelopes

[@fredericgoineau6766]

when i set the constraint on the foot it moves what do I do 44:00

[@Staunts]

Same problem here, When I connect the first constraint it pulls the whole foot down.

[@wilsongaturu134]

Check alignment. Select the circle and press ALT A, a dialogue box for align will appear. Under orientation check all x y and z axes. That should solve it..

[@pruephillip1338]

My issue here was that for anyone wanting to know about rigging/skinning would have to wait for all this stuff on 3d snapping, forming of a foot shape etc..

[@tedchirvasiu]

Thanks!

[@Demonis5445]

how can i make a pelvis bone?

[@gnightrow4020]

*the sound is too quiet* please make an updated video

[@PashaDefragzor]

I like this technique. But, full body rig and skin video tutor would be coolest then just one leg, because there is much more nuances if u doing rig and skin of full body mesh with head body arms and legs..

[@KartondonCoder]

Good tut, its helping me make fanart :D

[@v8matey]

Export UE4 character rig, and use that as you skel model to rig off. perfect! =)

[@FesterThanLight]

Why tutorials like these always have super low audio?

[@BastardoMalakistiri]

THANKS

[@gnightrow4020]

the Microphone is Too Quiet, can you re do this tutorial ?

[@sherifhany386]

thank you ^^

[@ClaudiaShifferLA]

Where is the rest of the tutorial?

[@velikucuk782]

thanks

[@kailed]

i need a good skinning tutorial can anyone send me a link?

[@maheshkumarreddy6915]

Sir The Audio was very low.

[@husseinm.jammali1037]

please attach project file of tutorail

[@pukkacreative]

Increase the volume please!

[@SunnySummy04]

I somehow feel u r doing an overkill. Most of those helpers are definitely redundant. You could easily achieve the same rig with way less.

[@HimanshuSingh-cz7uv]

hey hi Sir isaac oster can u give a brief video about skinning thanks in advance although this tutorial was awesome