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View Full Version : Help> Modeling Dragon in Rig-Friendly Pose

konishimei
06-20-2009, 05:37 AM
To any modelers and/or riggers out there, i need help in setting a starting pose for modeling my dragon that i'll be passing on to my friend to rig. we're both students and still new to what we're doing, and we most definitely have never done anything near modeling or rigging a dragon before. (school has taught us human character modeling and rigging)

the type of dragon that i'm looking to model would be the generic winged-lizard looking types that you'll see in fantasy/magical universe. most of the tutorials and images that i found on them were all basically standing on the ground. one of them had their arms outstretched though. but i noticed that most of their legs on the ground were bent, as if they were relaxed/crouching/walking. we learnt to rig our characters in T-pose, so i wouldnt have any idea how to rig the dragon if i modeled her like the refferences. my friend was asking for me to model her with all limbs out stretched, like in a oH position, where 'o' is the head and 'H' is the body and limbs, from top view.

any advises on how to model and rig a dragon properly/nicely would be highly appreciated. main concern would be the limbs. if there are any advises for the wings, neck and body/spine, i would like to hear them too.
Aluuk
06-22-2009, 06:57 AM
This should get you in the ball park. Hope it helps, and good luck!

http://www.leifjeffers.com/model_help/dragon_tPose.jpg
Dragon
06-22-2009, 08:28 PM
Typically any rig freindly pose should be the pose that is the halfway mark between any 2 extremes. Take the arms for example the reason they are typically straight out is because the up and down are the extremes. This being said, I'd go one step further and consider the range of motion you are going to have your character go through. For example if your character typically doesn't lift his arms above their head (most don't... or at least rarely) then you might want to consider halfway between straight and down, giving you a 25-35 degrees downward neutral. If you think about the default for front and back, your arm does not go behind your back a full 90 degrees, therefore directly out from the sides might not be the best choice either. You might want to consider rotating it about 20 percent forward.
The reasons for these placements is that you don't want the model favor one pose or the other, that way you don't need to correct for it in the rig when you hit the opposite extreme.
With all that being said, think about your character and think about it's range of motions and apply this logic. The same rule applies to faces, you can sculpt extremes (surprise and squinch) to find the halfway mark and make sure you aren't losing volume while traveling through the range.

Hope this helps.
hypnocookie
06-23-2009, 09:06 AM
most of the tutorials and images that i found on them were all basically standing on the ground. one of them had their arms outstretched though. but i noticed that most of their legs on the ground were bent, as if they were relaxed/crouching/walking.

I was always taught to start with all joints slightly bent. If you were ever to decide against using the standard Biped system (slightly deformed obviously) and wanted to model your own rig and IK's, when you apply an IK to the bent limbs bone's it helps the programme determine what way the joint is facing.

As you are both new to it I would suggest that method because you never know, you may find it easier to create your own rig.