How to Optimize Pokémon Rigs in Blender [2.8 and Beyond]

[@Wiimonkey2]

*UPDATE: January 2024* With the release of Blender 4.0. a few notable changes have been made. Please check the timestamps below for more info. - 21:36: Ctrl+Alt+S is no longer the shortcut for scaling B-Bones, and instead saves a new instance of your project file. To scale your B-bones, navigate to the option in the Armature tab (as shown at 21:04). You can also right-click the option to set up your own shortcut for the command, which I highly recommend. 41:36: Bone layers have been replaced with a new feature called Bone Collections. It functions almost identically to the box-like Bone Layers I show in this tutorial, but instead of assigning bones to boxes, you now create a new layer in a "Bone Collections" menu, which you can rename for your own convince. 45:23: Bones are no longer colored via Bone Groups. Instead, bone colors are changed on an individual basis in the Bone Setting's "Viewport Display" tab. This new method allows you to give a bone a unique pose mode color in addition to its default color, but unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be any quick way to colorize multiple bones, so you will have to go through each of your bones and give them a color manually.

[@sKetchooDles]

As a complete Blender newbie, I have learned more from your video (and the two preceding it) than I have trying to follow one of the many loud, annoying and convoluted beginner tutorials that are scattered about in abundance on KZbin. Thank you so much for your easy to follow and cohesive approach, and generally for coming back to leave this comment for everyone planning to tackle this lengthy undertaking in the future. I really appreciate that there is no unnecessary background music unlike in most videos nowadays. I hope to see more tutorials from you in the future!

[@Wiimonkey2]

Hey! Glad I was able to help, and thanks for telling me what aspects of my tutorials you found appealing. I’ll keep that in mind going forward.

[@stqrz3642]

Just found these videos when trying to make a 'Guess that Pokémon' minigame lol. I have never used Blender prior to this. Honestly , these videos have been Insanely helpful, even from someone who literally just downloaded blender! Thanks a bunch, and I hope to see more in the future!

[@Wiimonkey2]

And thank you for the support and encouragement your offer by watching my tutorials. :)

[@tanver3d982]

For people using blender 2.9 or above, at 59:58 the "select mirror" option does not exist instead it is 'flip active', Thanks for the tut btw it is very helpful

[@Wiimonkey2]

Glad you found the tutorial helpful, and thanks for the update. I’m sure it will prove useful to many people who find this video. :D

[@flarethorn7833]

In the 3.5 version its been changed to "X-Axis Mirror" under the pose option in the tool bar tab. They changed it again, sorry.

[@B0l0553]

Damn, I found your channel like 24 hours ago and its been amazing so far, everything you explained was crystal clear and I almost instantly understood each and every blender function you described. Your channels a gem man, thank you for your amazing tutorials ! PS : I've just began using blender and doing animation, I'm a total noob in this field. So I'm looking forward for the next tutorial !

[@Wiimonkey2]

Hey! Thanks for the kind words. I’m glad my tutorials were able to help you get off the ground. :) Here’s hoping my animation tutorial will prove just as useful when the time comes.

[@FloppyFish]

*For those implementing this on a Human Rig:* 1. When following setup of Additional Bones from 20:24 - 23:11, make sure you are setting them up on the Proper Bone. For WiiMonkey's instance he's putting it on the Third (Or Bottom) Segment of Umbreon's Rig. But since Humans only have 2 Leg Segments, make sure you are implementing these Bones on the actual *Foot* Bone of the Character, then it should work properly. 2. 31:40 When you reach this point and your Rig doesn't behave like his, there's an additional Step you have to go through. Apply a "Limit Rotation" Bone Constraint to the *Lower Leg Bone*. Check on Limit X, Y, and Z Rotation. Then set the Limit X Maximum to -100 Degrees. Leave all the others are 0, (But make sure they are still checked on). 3. Then apply a "Limit Rotation" Bone Constraint to the *Upper Leg Bone*, and check on Limit X, Y, and Z, but leave all of them at 0 Degrees. The Legs should behave perfectly now. I hope this helped, your Rig might be different, but I think the same fundamental principle should apply.

[@Wiimonkey2]

Thanks for sharing this additional info with us FloppyFish! I’m sure that it will prove useful. :)

[@TerastalDJ]

Been wanting to get into learning how to rig and animating pokemon models for a while and now that im actually getting myself to practice blender more, these tutorials you made have been so much help and ive been enjoying using blender for pokemon so much! Also SOOO glad you were showing how to fix certain issues by using Lycanroc, very helpful since that is the main pokemon i'm practicing with too lol! Thanks so much and very interested in other pokemon blender tutorials you will make in the future!

[@Wiimonkey2]

Ayyy! I’m so glad my tutorials could prove of use to you. Best of luck with with your Lycanroc rig! :D (I’m glad I used it now as well.)

[@FloppyFish]

I finally was able to make it through the whole thing. I just want to say, this is an excellently made Video. Your Videos are amazing in the way that they provide both really intuitive, efficient, and non destructive methods for productive workflow, but they're also explained extremely well and are really easy for anyone to follow. I just want to let you know that that's a really rare combination that you pull off really well. Despite knowing a lot about Blender, I always learn tons of new things from your Videos, and it's great that you're providing this great knowledge to absolute beginners. Anyway, I'm really happy you made this, it's so helpful to absolutely everyone. As always, I can't wait for the next one, but I know these take a lot of time to make, so no rush. I just want to let you know you're an awesome guy, keep doing epic stuff.

[@Wiimonkey2]

Aww. Thanks so much for your kind words. :) I don’t know when the animation tutorial will come out, but I’ll try not to keep you and others waiting a whole year this time. :p

[@tracer8115]

HOLY CRAP! Just found these tutorials and they are awesome! Thank you and can't wait for part 4!!!!!

[@Wiimonkey2]

:D

[@Stopthemotionvideo]

AAHH im so happy i found your channel again. I remember watching your videos YEARS ago to help with my animations. Your content still holds strong. 11/10 as always

[@Wiimonkey2]

Glad to have you back. :D

[@werelwolf]

What an incredible tutorial!! Thank you for sharing this with everyone!

[@Wiimonkey2]

You’re welcome. Glad I could help you out. :D

[@seavalanche]

This is very well made! Thank you for the information!

[@Wiimonkey2]

You’re welcome! Glad you found the information useful Seava. :D

[@flarethorn7833]

Took me awhile, but I finally got my Eevee rig set up. Thx man.

[@Corviknight2678Animations]

Dang Wii, how do you know so much about this? Thanks for the help. 👍

[@Wiimonkey2]

You're welcome Corviknight! I hope this will prove useful in your own work. :D

[@Yuk0uki]

I was looking forward to this video thx u so much !

[@Wiimonkey2]

You’re welcome!

[@PyroTheCinderace]

Thank you for making these videos! I plan on making some animated shorts of my Pokémon team so this will help a lot :D

[@Wiimonkey2]

You’re welcome! I wish you the best of luck with your animated shorts!

[@GlitchmanVGM]

Thank you very much for explaining all of this! And also for making the fast version of the tutorial at the end, it's very helpful! 😃

[@rakshinr.n5668]

these are so good so in-depth and helpful, as good as a paid course

[@Wiimonkey2]

Whoa! That’s quite the complement. Thank you so much. :)

[@luizh.mormille2247]

Thank you so much for the video. You definitely put a lot of work and care into making it, and it was very helpful and easy to understand for a beginner like me.

[@Wiimonkey2]

Ayyyy, I’m glad it was able to help you! Good luck with your blender work. :)

[@Pokesleeper]

Thanks for all the tutorials and tricks! Subbed!

[@Wiimonkey2]

You’re welcome! :D

[@icarovdl]

You don't have idea on how this is important to me, I am starting an Pokemon animated series and plan to use the 3d models but I have no experience with Blender or drawing so this tutorials are really helpful

[@Wiimonkey2]

Glad you find my tutorials helpful. I wish you the best of luck with your animated series. :D

[@Sylveon322]

hello wiimonkey! I am a new blender animator. I am not great at and I really want to animate like you and patafoin. you inspire me so much, but do you know if there are already rigged models? If this is a thing that is looked down apon then I'm sorry. I would follow this tutorial, but I have ADHD and I dont really understand blender the best. thank you for inspiring me to make animations and to help me get better with all your tutorials :)

[@Wiimonkey2]

Awww, I'm glad me and Patafoin were able to inspire you! :D Many of the Pokémon models have their bones already in place when you import then into Blender, but the IK constraints and such will still need to be added manually after the import. The only way around that would be if you found someone who has posted a .blend with the constraints for your desired Pokémon already in place, or found someone willing to do it for you. My discord server may have a few .blends that you could use in a pinch, but I do highly recommend you learn how to at least set up a simple IK rig (shown in the video between 18:26 - 20:21) It's a very helpful skills that will give you a lot of creative freedom in constructing poses.

[@ironmilutin]

Loving the tutorial series, I just want to implore everyone to make extra sure they didn't miss any tiny bones during the rescaling when they're working on models. I just ended up missing the "head" bone of a Vaporeon because it was connected to the "neck" bone that was already fairly small. It resulted in the Vap's face being stuck in place while other body parts moved without issue. Had to go and redo a bunch of stuff to fix the model ">_>

[@ironmilutin]

That aside, I wonder if there's a way to transfer the IK setup between models. It seems like it'd be faster to copy it over and fix it, than making a new one, especially if pole targets are also being made.

[@Wiimonkey2]

If there is, that would be incredible. The tricky thing is that many Pokémon have different body types, so there may be a limit to how applicable such a transfer could be. I have a buddy who spent some time trying to create a script to automate the process, but it's still quite rough.

[@ironmilutin]

@@Wiimonkey2 True, the body types are varied, but I feel like there is really only like... 3-4 types of feet on Pokemon? Like standard biped, standard quadruped, "simplified" quadruped (Umbreon front legs for example), and I guess maybe if you wanna count the ones that have individual toe movements? I still haven't dabbled in it much, but I think I have an idea about how it can be done. I'll be sure to put an update here if I do figure it out tho!

[@PapitosArt]

I wish I could like more than once. ITS AMAZIN

[@Wiimonkey2]

:)

[@samybrenes8079]

Heh, thanks by use some Eeveelutions too, I love they!

[@gazeros69]

Super good tutorial! Is there a way to copy parts of the setup to other pokemon, or does it have to be fully remade each time? Greatly looking forward to your animation tutorial!!

[@Wiimonkey2]

Unfortunately, I have yet to find a quick way to transfer a completed setup to other Pokémon. Pokemon have very diverse body types, so these these rigs usually need to be built on a case-by-case basis. The good thing is that setting up these rigs gets easier the more you do it. I took my time in this tutorial to showcase all the details, but once you memorize all the steps, the rigging processed goes by faster. Glad you enjoyed the tutorial! Can’t wait to get the animation tutorial out. :D

[@gazeros69]

@@Wiimonkey2I see, thanks! Practice makes perfect, so it's not a problem. It took me a whole day to follow your guide the first time, but yesterday I made two of them in a couple of hours! I ended up with some wierd mistakes and had to restart a couple of times, but that is also part of the learning I suppose :P

[@Wiimonkey2]

Sounds like you’ll be a master in no time. :D

[@thuberni15]

Amazing tutorial, waiting for the next one

[@Wiimonkey2]

Glad to hear that. I’ll try not to keep you waiting as long this time. ;)

[@MrHa0c]

Thank you for this useful lesson

[@Wiimonkey2]

You’re welcome! :D

[@MrHa0c]

@@Wiimonkey2 sorry for my lousy english. I really like it and hope the new episode in the series comes out soon. Living in the world of Pokemon was my childhood dream. Your video helps me take the first steps in the process of learning and building videos. Thank you so much and I'm looking forward to the next video because I'm really having a hard time not knowing what to do next .

[@liane4429]

I like your video and I hope you make more videos

[@Wiimonkey2]

Glad you liked it! I definitely plan on making more, so no worries. :)

[@xL1PEx]

I did some research on digitigrade rigging, and found something that made think back on this vid. In the vid "How Do I Build a Quadruped Rig?" by antCGI he showed multiple rigs, but for Maya, in rigs 3 and 4 he pointed out an issue where the hock/ankle doesn't bend unless rotated manually. I checked back on your tut and it seems to also affect your more complex set up (but not the simpler one), your backpaw "foot" bone seems to always stay straight unless things are rotated manually, but I'm not sure if I'm just missing something. The vid "Advanced Dog leg rig in Blender" by Pierrick Picaut shows a different rig that doesn't have that behavior. Any thoughts on this?

[@Wiimonkey2]

Hmm. Very interesting. I'll have to take a look at those tutorials and compare the rig setups. Thanks for letting me know about these videos. :)

[@Optimal848]

return of the king!

[@Wiimonkey2]

:D

[@lyrimetacurl0]

TROTK 😂

[@AnthanKrufix]

I've been using this to rig up 4 models of varying bodytypes and so far nothing's gone wrong.. A sheer godsend. But now I've hit a hurdle which is doing my head in... Serpents.. I have no idea how to visualize which bone would count as the 'foot' bone when the creature doesn't have feet and 5 bones are in contact with the ground instead of only one.

[@Wiimonkey2]

Admittedly I don’t have too much experience animating snakes either. I’m not sure if setting up an IK constraints would necessarily be the best approach. The way that snakes move, you may able to do it a fairly good job animating them with the default FK rig.

[@xL1PEx]

32:39 I guess cause there's too few bones since it lacks wrists? That's the main difference I noticed with the setup, the back leg bones go from digits, to ankle, to knee, while the front ones go from digits straight to the elbow. And I suppose the set up for lycanroc is different since it has extra bones for its bigger paws (even though it also lacks wrists, at least where a canine would have them anyway).

[@Wiimonkey2]

Yeah, some Pokémon are weird when they come to their wrists. The lack of bones (and the location of the default ones) is a primary reason I don’t use a foot roll/foot IK bone for Umbreon’s front legs. I’ve tried it, and it isn’t really intuitive or appealing with the default bone placements. In theory, someone could try splitting the default deformation bones and redistributing the weight paint to allow for such a setup, but I figured that may be a bit beyond the scope of this tutorial. (I also need to practice it more myself. :P)

[@VodkaChan_]

THis video is very nice thanks for your hard work

[@Wiimonkey2]

You’re welcome! Glad you found it nice. :)

[@shinyev3281]

Woo an animation vid Nice one

[@Wiimonkey2]

Thanks! :)

[@Dessiekens]

don't know if its because of a different version or because of controls being different, but at 37:00 when I tried to scale using S, instead of being able to scale up towards the top of the bone, it scaled towards the middle of the bone, I then found I had to hit G to grab the opposite end of the bone (bottom) in order to scale it towards the top , hope this helps anyone who might encounter the same issue I had. Either that or I was having a skill issue

[@Whoeverheis11]

Hey, This is a great vid, but when I tried to follow along using Ninetales, I ran into this strange issue where the front legs would bend sideways by default, like it's doing a wide push-up. I can't see anything I'm doing differently, and I even compared with your Lycanroc in case there was a fix there, but I came up empty. I appreciate any help you can give, thanks.

[@Whoeverheis11]

I think I fixed the issue, but I'm leaving the comment here in case someone else has the same problem (And also in case my fix ends up causing problems) Basically, I just bent the front legs slightly and leveled the paws before applying the IK constraint, that way blender had more info about how the leg should bend.

[@kukicornet]

Oh WOW!! This works really well!! Despite my first try being a failure, the second time I did it worked as intended. So, thank you for the tutorial :]] However, I have two problems I have no idea how to fix. I used an Eevee model, similar to the one you used in the first tutorial. 1 - When I exported the file, Eevee's hind legs aren't in line with each other. Despite that, everything works EXCEPT for the toes _(bottom of the foot)._ When I rotate it _(with the X-Axis mirror),_ it doesn't move as it should _(EXAMPLE: when I rotate the left toe up, the right side follows, but it also rotates to the right, making the foot look broken)._ How do I fix it? 2 - The new Waist for Eevee I made doesn't work like how Umbreon's did in the video _(I tried parenting it to the "Origin" bone, but nothing happens when I move it)._ If you could help, or at least direct me to another video that can help, that'd be great!

[@Wiimonkey2]

1. Try checking the bone rolls between your two bones. Make sure they are the same. If they are different, then that means each bone has a different interpretation of what direction each axis is, which can cause problems like the one you’re describing. If that doesn’t work, I’d double check your constraints, and make sure that everything is looking as they should (the correct constraints are being used, said constraints are paired with the correct bones, etc.) - 2. Make sure the first spine bone and the hips are patented to the waist as well. The waist works by moving both of those bones at the same time, so if moving the waist/origin doesn’t cause the model to move, that could be the problem.

[@kukicornet]

@@Wiimonkey2 1. I tried clearing the bone roll so that both are on 0°, but doing so breaks the right leg while the one on the left stays normal. I also tried checking the constraints, but I don't see anything out of place. EDIT: I'd also like to mention that the Y-Axis of the Toes work just fine, only the other two are broken. 2. But the Waist works now! So, thank you for that at least!

[@amirgulayin2656]

Thank you man!!! When you release the chapter 4?

[@Wiimonkey2]

It’s still on my to-do list, but I don’t have a solid release date yet. Grad school’s been occupying a lot of my time. ._.

[@amirgulayin2656]

I wait anxiously for the totorial! The work you take is incredible and it helps me a lot to learn and get started in this world. Thank you so much@@Wiimonkey2

[@jakesgamezone9567]

Hey can you do one on animating these

[@Y337n3ss]

can you do tutorials for fixing the eye textures for Scarlet and Violet pokemon?

[@Wiimonkey2]

I plan on covering the Scarlet and Violet models in detail in the future (possibly even before the animation tutorial), so yes, you can expect that. :)

[@Jazz.43]

ive got a question will you make a updated version for the charizard flames

[@Wiimonkey2]

I will likely do so at some point after I finish the rest of this tutorial series (of which there are 2 more episodes).

[@Jazz.43]

@@Wiimonkey2 alright thanks man

[@Juri_Animation]

Hi, is it possible to create pokemons for me in 3D? Of course I will buy them

[@qudsiahumakhan4885]

Hello again. I imported Elaine's .DAE model from Let's go Eevee/Let's go Pikachu, but when I enable Texture shading, Elaine is all white instead of how she is supposed to look like. (my dad told me to copy her DAE file and paste it into my Human models folder) Can you please tell me how to fix this?

[@qudsiahumakhan4885]

Edit: I fixed Elaine's textures, but the only problem is that her eyes are black and not white with pupils. Can you tell me how to fix this? (I'm using a Switch model)

[@xxgamertopicsfornow2512]

5:43 Didn’t work I clicked X and it says 0 objects deleted

[@dailyclipsofpokemonunite]

Know a place to get the 3D Battle Arenas from Pokemon Unite

[@hamzagamer0748]

Bro how add texture painting on models

[@Wiimonkey2]

Unfortunately, my skills with texture painting are minimal, so I may not be the best person to ask in that regard. I’m sure you can find plenty of tutorials out there that will help you develop that skill though. :)

[@simplydarkwhite3487]

For some reason after I finished everything up I realized some of the mesh disconnected from the head bone can someone help me?

[@HorseyTime]

How do you fix the issue of applying rest poses on the armature completely ruining the models vertex group (this is spefic to charizard mega x as his wing horns break)

[@Cat-pq6er]

Import it as a dea and make the pose changes before you do anything

[@Gamer_something]

Can u please show how to do animations in blender when I look it upp on yt they go so fast and I dont get it and I want a slow pase tutorial

[@Wiimonkey2]

The animation tutorial is the next one on the list. I don't have a release date for it yet, but expect to see it at some point.

[@qudsiahumakhan4885]

Hello, Wiimonkey2. So, at the end of your video, you'd do an animation tutorial. I just set up this rig for Eevee and I'd like to animate him. Can you please provide the animation tutorial? Thanks.

[@Wiimonkey2]

The animation tutorial is still on my to-do list. I can’t say for certain when it will come out (since I’m also dealing with other projects/school) but it will be here eventually. I recommend looking across KZbin for some other animation tutorials in the meantime. A whole bunch of what they teach you will also be applicable to Eevee. :)

[@qudsiahumakhan4885]

@@Wiimonkey2 Thank you.

[@qudsiahumakhan4885]

I did a bit of animation. Thanks for the tip!

[@jaredbrown6343]

Do the models come with a rig already built in

[@Wiimonkey2]

Most of them should, yeah, at least the Pokémon ones from XY/SM/SwSh.

[@bookworm4133]

I think this happened during the pole targets setup, but my foot ctrl bone suddenly lost any control over the actual mesh, along with the most of the leg bones in the chain. The actual bones move as expected, but the mesh stays in place. Its seems that many of the constraints disappeared as well, but the issue persists after re-adding them. Has anyone else faced this issue? I'm using the Riolu rig with digitigrade legs.

[@bookworm4133]

UPDATE: I've mirrored the constraints properly and it seems that the Foot Ctrl bone is swapped? The left foot ctrl bone affects the right leg, and vice versa. I've looked through the bones' parents and constraints multiple times, but found nothing that would cause this to happen. I've also made sure the names are accurate.

[@bookworm4133]

SOLUTION: It seems that my vertex groups were swapped. Make sure to save a copy of your work before doing the pole targets. To fix the issue, I simply duplicated the vertex groups where the issue occurred (in weight paint mode), clicked "mirror vertex group" in the little down arrow, deleted the initial groups, and renamed the duplicated ones to match the deleted groups (basically just erased "_copy" at the end). Please be careful when using Symmetrize or any name-based shortcuts.

[@JoltsyIsNotHere]

Ain't no way Wii just posted another video..

[@Wiimonkey2]

Indeed I did. ;)

[@SHINING0224]

Is it a necessary task for animation work?

[@Wiimonkey2]

Depends on what you're hoping to create with your animation. If you're doing any complex motions that involve taking steps or pushing up against another object (like a wall) I'd say yes (without animating frame-by-frame that is.) If you want the quickest setup for an IK possible, watch 18:26 - 20:21. All the other stuff will help drastically for organization, management, and control, so while not 100% necessary, I highly recommend taking the time to go through it, especially if you plan on using your Pokémon across multiple projects.

[@SHINING0224]

I see, thank you for letting me know!!@@Wiimonkey2

[@crazysudarplayz1022]

how do u get umbreon model?

[@Wiimonkey2]

Here is a link to The Models Resource’s page on Pokemon X and Y. The Umbreon model I used is among them and available for download. www.models-resource.com/3ds/pokemonxy/

[@crazysudarplayz1022]

@@Wiimonkey2 thx

[@bekvanbek3895]

19:12

[@PixelKat5]

Bro my model was mean't to be rigged all the end bones and other junk was gone B)

[@elserennix631]

🤦 Promo sm!!!