Game Rig Workflow - Cartoon Style (Technical Animator)
1. Project Overview
- Style: Cartoon
- Usage: Game Engine (Unity/Unreal)
- Export Format: FBX
- Focus: Performance, exaggerated motion, squash & stretch.
2. Motion Analysis
- Main actions: Idle, Walk, Run, Jump, Attack, Die
- Style: Exaggerated, bouncy, stylized poses
- Facial: Simple bone-based or blendshape.
3. Skeleton Structure
- Root > Spine > Neck > Head
- Arms: Shoulder > Elbow > Wrist > Fingers
- Legs: Hip > Knee > Ankle > Ball > Toe
- Extras: Tail, Ears, Facial bones
- Naming convention for game compatibility.
4. Control Rig Setup
- FK/IK Switch with blending
- Stretchy limbs (with ON/OFF toggle)
- Space switching (World/Local)
- Foot roll, knee pinning
- Basic facial controls: Jaw, Blink, Eye Aim.
5. Cartoon Features
- Squash & Stretch using scale or deformers
- Smear poses supported with extreme rig controls
- Dynamic follow-through (tail/ears) with constraints or sim
- FK override for extra flexibility.
6. Technical Implementation
- Scripting: Python/MEL for auto-rig tools
- Custom attributes for animator controls
- Clean control hierarchy: Offset > Ctrl > Joint
- Export tools for clean FBX skeleton.
Game Rig Workflow - Cartoon Style (Technical Animator)
7. Skinning Process
- Geodesic or heat bind
- Manual weight paint for joints
- Limit influences (Unity: 4, Unreal: 8)
- Add corrective blendshapes if needed.
8. Export Pipeline
- Export only deform skeleton (no controls)
- Bake animation if needed
- Clean history, freeze transforms
- FBX test in engine for performance.
9. Testing & QA
- Test all actions: Pose, Stretch, Deform
- Check for mesh breaking
- Squash/stretch integrity
- Performance test inside engine.
10. Notes & Tips
- Use modular rig for reuse
- Keep hierarchy clean
- Limit joints for mobile optimization
- Document every custom script/tool used.
