Rigging Stickman

Jason van Gumster features a nice and detailed tutorial on rigging a simple character.

As you may have guessed, rigging is a pretty intensive process. You need to be technically minded and creative at the same time. The best riggers I’ve ever met are the sort of people who fit this description and have an eye for the big picture. Well, regardless of whether you’re one of these people, the best way to understand the full process of rigging is to actually create a rig of your own. The examples throughout the rest of this section are done with a simple stick figure character that I like to use for creating quick animations that test body language and timing. I love animating with stick figures, even in 3D. Ninety percent of an animated character’s personality comes through in that character’s body language. Animating with stick figures allows you to focus on that essential step and keeps you from getting distracted with secondary details.