Rigging a Strandbeest in Blender – With Free Downloadable Model
Dutch artist Theo Jansen has been building and evolving hist Strandbeests on the Dutch beaches for years. They’re intricate machines built of the simplest materials like pvc pipes and cloth that self-propel along the beach. Today, you can learn how to rig and animate one in Blender!
This one is a bit unusual, but I am sure you’ll learn a lot about how to properly set up a rig and make it work in a proper and efficient manner. The Strandbeests are unique artificial creatures constructed to walk by themselves on the beach just driven by wind. What you’ll learn:
- Setting up the main bone structure
- Creating the walk cycle with just one rotation
- Using IK and parenting for complex movements
- Duplicating the whole rig in an efficient way
- Making the legs walk automatically when moving the whole “Beest”
- Creating the sails on the top and connecting them to the rig
