I tested out the new autorig feature and it works very well, the only thing i wonder about (PS. Not an animator) but why does the torso follow follow the lower body, is it intended that we animate them seperatly?

The other thing is that it would be good if the autorig head had eyelids, jaw and eye controllers built in.

Another thing is that I have figured out how to do the IK/FK switch, but if i animate the the rotation of the upper arm the hand stands still?

Hi again!

(this is from memory as I just tried to load an autorig in 16.0.530 and it is currently broken )

I have a feeling that the eyelids, jaw and eyeball ctrls are something that are forthcoming in the autorig…

For the chest following the lower body, there is a blend node between the chest and pelvis controls I think inside the generated HDA, but by default it's parameters are not exposed to the HDA's parameter interface, you'll have to crack it open and have a dig around for it. Of course not ideal, but I'd use it as a good opportunity to learn some stuff about rigs in houdini

When I last checked, the IK/FK matching had a couple of issues which I have flagged up. One of these is related to the parenting relationships of the IK end affector for the arm bones and the hand control. I did come up with a fix for this, but I can't remember if I saved it out… Basically the problem revolves around the arm IK end affector being parented underneath the hand root control (indirectly), and that there was no parenting between the hand root and the bones/FK controls for the arm.

I'm sorry I can't be more crystal clear about this right now, if you need more info I'll get an earlier build reinstalled.

EDIT: the blend node is called Spine_chest_follow_COG

Thanks alot! Again!

Im on 16.0.504.20 and its working here, i guess they are still messing with it then so thats a good sign.

The blend node seems to do the trick, just strange the have that by default, seems like a bit of a nusance to animate with.

I guess i just have to dig a bit deeper into the rigging toolset and fix the rig my self for time beeing.
Seems like the rigger was still messing around when the final call for H16 launch was there.

Are you comfortable editing parameter interfaces? You can always drag and drop the blend node parameter onto the parameter interface for the rig, and then you won't have to keep diving in and out.

I'm looking forward to the up coming masterclass on the autorigs, I'm hoping that it will evolve into a proper rigging API. I'm sure that all will be ironed out before too long

friedasparagus
I'm looking forward to the up coming masterclass on the autorigs, I'm hoping that it will evolve into a proper rigging API. I'm sure that all will be ironed out before too long

yes, lots of little things to iron out
Masterclass is the top priority!
We do intend these tools to develop over time with more modules like face, mechanical rigging etc (quadruped soon), and that users build a share their own modules. Also, as with any rig, there are different requirements for different characters/projects, so we want as much feedback on the functionality of not just the Autorig Tool but the rig parts themselves.
The parameter interface is an area that is tricky - because this is what an animator will be dealing with most/all of the time, it's not easy to predict what the end user will want but customizing it is very easy and I'll cover that in the Masterclass.

It's all exciting stuff

Any automated tool will always have to gun for the middle of the bell curve to a greater or lesser degree, unfortunately I haven't been able to put it use on the current project I'm working on, but I've got another character waiting in the wings who I'd love to do a time-trial rigging session on.

friedasparagus
Are you comfortable editing parameter interfaces? You can always drag and drop the blend node parameter onto the parameter interface for the rig, and then you won't have to keep diving in and out.

I'm looking forward to the up coming masterclass on the autorigs, I'm hoping that it will evolve into a proper rigging API. I'm sure that all will be ironed out before too long

I would be lying if i say i was, but i have done it before and it should be simple enough to figure it out.
To be frank im not working on something where i need the rig right away i just like to know what options i have when discussing projects with clients and naming price tags. Now that you shown me where the node is i can survive working with the IK animation for hands

Really looking forward to this master class as well. In regards to the auto rig i think what you have now plus jaw and eye controllers covers the need for the majority. Most facial stuff i have found to be just as good to do with blendshapes. I usually prefer to rig my self, but once in a while you get those projects where you have a three days to model, texture and rig a character and then that autorig is a pretty sweet start at least.

And that biharmonic skinning is so good its hard to put words on it. I did a rig on a test character and compared to the time we usually have on certain projects I think it was good enough for production with the default skinning. Heatweighting can go suck on it!

What is the approximate ETA on the masterclass?
I'd sure love more insight into muscles.
Thanks for the tip on the spine follow cog parameter. The default is very odd.

Also, some more insight into saving the panel when you are in pre-rig and reloading it would be helpful. We have closed our pre-rigs and have no way to reload the generate panel now that it was closed and the layout was not saved.