How to rig a bar rag????

[Animonster]

Since a bar rag can have such a large range of odd movement that won't always fit into one set rig, it would really help if we knew what the rag needs to do. I assume preproduction has completely locked down exactly what the rag does?

Let us know what the rag needs to do...

[steveblake]

I agree with Animonster. However as a start I'd test with a very simple setup - have you tried just using a lattice or a range of clusters?

Anything more complicated may well need rigging on a shot-by-shot basis. Sounds like you'll need to finalise the animation of anything that's going to interact with it and work from there - just acting with hands etc and animate the rag in afterward.

For fixing tricky shots you could add shot specific blend shapes, even replacements or keying vertices frame by frame. It's suprising what you can get away with in medium or wide shots for example..

[animator1313]

Yeah you're absolutly right. The shot I have it in, are very quick and for the most part I've been able to fake alot with the positioning of the camera.

In the end I went with an eight legged starfish bone rig. While there are points of overlap, I've been able to accomplish many different moves (washing a glass, wiping a bar, as the character using it to dry his hands.)

I think its important to remember that it is, after all, a prop in the scene, not the main focus.

Thank you both for your input.

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