Mario Kart Wii Custom Character Tutorial #1: Getting Started And Rigging The Model

[@BitsMKW]

Corrections/Things I forgot to mention: -When exporting your .fbx DISABLE "ADD LEAF BONES" -Ignore the _2 and _4 files for now

[@PrettyKoolCrocodile]

Great tutorial, I just got into the modding scene namely to port custom characters to the game, however upon trying to rerig my model upon experimentation since it uses finicky vertex group rigs I figured out a way to use the custom model's original rig, skipping most of the rigging process! Here's what I did, note I'm only trying to backport models to MKW so idk if this will work reliably everywhere. 1. Open Blender and add the original model as BrawlCrate DAE->FBX 2. Add the custom model as FBX (convert from DAE if not), align its arms and feet, then delete its armature then scale and align the model, if you don't have an armature, don't worry, it's probably in t-pose anyway, if not do your best attempt at making one (I've seen models use a custom A-Pose but I haven't done that at any point.) 3. Separate the face of the custom model then change the modifer of the mesh to apply to the original armature (but I have a new issue where the face mesh is brighter than the body, making it stick out like a sore thumb), then remove all vertex groups on it aside from one and rig the entire mesh to one called face_1, optional if you want an animated face using textures, I haven't got that far yet, esp since my custom model doesn't come with an animated face 4. Delete the original model's polygons, then CTRL click the custom model's meshes and orig armature, only use Armature Deform, not with empty groups, this will only apply the original boneset 5. Rename the bones of the custom model to appropriately to match the character's boneset, you may have to rerig certain perportions in case they look weird in the original rig, then check in pose mode, the bones should rotate the model properly if you done this correctly, you may also do this first after importing the model if you know the structure and also skip step 3 if you are doing that one 6. Normalize all vertex groups for both the face (if used) and body, separate by material (if your model has multiple, mine doesn't) 7. Export as Blender FBX->DAE (no leaf bones+no animations) I also renamed my meshes to polygon* (if not working with hair) and materials to the original names in the project to make importing slightly easier

[@pipopawebghost8095]

Can this work with any Wii game? I would like to replace a charcter in cartoon network punch time explosion

[@xanderdagamer]

Goated tutorial 👍

[@SuperJTG500]

1:33 Don't forget about Koopa as well

[@BitsMKW]

i forgor 💀

[@crazboiigd]

why doesnt the fbx converter work when i try to download it help pls

[@PokecanaldoZASH]

how make all things i hided visable again?

[@BitsMKW]

@@PokecanaldoZASH Press Alt + H

[@PokecanaldoZASH]

@@BitsMKW thank you

[@luisantonioluis1944]

Oye bro me ayudar cuatomisar mi personaje

[@klucasplays]

so im trying to just addon to an existing model, more notably in Donkey kong Country Returns, would it still work just to add a hat, connect it to the head bones and then make that the new model? also does it strictly have to be blender 3.6 or could I use for example 4.0

[@klucasplays]

well ive been sifting through the files for a minute and can't find any character models for dk country returns, I'm not sure why and idk if you'll be able to help or know anything about it but any help would be great lol

[@Ashes_Games]

Good stuff

[@nolannono31]

what if my model is too big that if i shrink it to the head the arms arent at the right place, do i just make it bigger until the arms are at the right place?

[@BitsMKW]

I'd recommend trying different mkw characters and see which works best

[@008ARMYUTUBE]

Thank you for the tutorial! I have one question my modal comes with a lot of textures but most of them are solid blocks of colour. Will it work or do I need to retexture. And when separate into materials it make like 20.

[@BitsMKW]

@008ARMYUTUBE If your model's textures are just solid textures you can just use those colours and put them all into one texture, with 20 colours you should be able to get away with a texture size of 64x64, with each colour being a 4x4 square

[@iwolftotaldrama485]

What if thye dont came with armature...?

[@PrettyKoolCrocodile]

Super late but if the model came without an armature and likely in T-Pose, it's probably fine to scale and align the entire model albeit harder for individual parts of it, if you're lucky (I think, I'm not sure if models always have them), the model may have vertex groups which can help you with that. I never actually encountered a model without them so take this with a grain of salt.

[@delinquenst]

just a heads up, toadette isn't a really hard character to replace. all you have to do is keep the hair bone and you *should* be good atleast...

[@goat_yllw]

Hair bone just sounds wrong

[@delinquenst]

@@goat_yllw hair model*

[@BuckBerryBrosTheRealDeal]

so basically i clicked seperate materal and it didnt separate even though i went back and watched this video for hours lol (its now 6 in the morning and i started this at like 12

[@BitsMKW]

How many materials does your model use? And did you select everything before clicking separate by material?

[@BuckBerryBrosTheRealDeal]

@@BitsMKW well i selected everything before separating but im not sure how many materials my model uses since its a commissioned model

[@BitsMKW]

​@BuckBerryBrosTheRealDeal If you go to the materials tab it should have all the materials listed Also before separating your model is all in one piece and not already separated right?

[@BuckBerryBrosTheRealDeal]

@@BitsMKW my bad i got it working after awhile and the model works fine in game (thx for the tutorial sorry for me beind dumb lol)

[@whydalukaton5818]

@@BitsMKW hi i was wondering what exact version of the fbx converter do i need to download since theres many on the website, and when i have it downloaded how do i open the program. cuz it says that i need to press start and then go to all programs but i don't see it there

[@luisantonioluis1944]

Oye bro me ayudar cuatomisar mi personaje