Master's thesis titled Rigging analysis using morph and inverse kinematics on a 3D model, summarizes the production pipeline of a 3D animation, from the birth of an idea to the end result - animation. A detailed overview of the rigging process is the focal part of the thesis. Rigging is a process of preparing a 3D model for animation. It is a very broad term, that includes the creation of the skeletal hierarchy, joint orientation, skinning, painting weights, creation of animation controls, blend shapes and inverse kinematics. It is a vital part of the production pipeline, as without it, charachter animation would be even more complex and time consuming. Incorrect rigging leads to delays in production and unrealistic results when it comes to animation. Therefore, a correct rigging process is a requirement for good animation.
In the experimental part of the thesis, two 3D characters were developed, a human and an animal character. Through them we look at the process of rigging in great detail and discover the differences between rigging a human and an animal character. The thesis offers a thorough analysis of the whole process, from modeling the characters to animation, including the complications that occured on the way.
As a result of the master's thesis, we completed two 3D characters, that are fully ready to be animated. The second result is a walk cycle, that was created for each of the characters. During the overall process we discovered, that various stages of the production pipeline were of different difficulty for each of the characters. The processes of modeling, skinning and painting weights were more complex when creating the human character, while the process of inverse kinematics, blend shapes and leg animation were more complex when creating the dog character.
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