This is only the first step of the process, currently I'm trying to procedurally generate the deformation layer of the rig, and from there constrain them to a stretch and tweak bone layer, then a mechanical layer where i can start to implement FK and IK structures and more mechanical stuff.

Since a rig is structurally hierarchical, bones form chains. So instead of making each bone one at a time. I made an indexed array of each bone from the meta rig, plot a starting position with an index, give it a length, and a set of toggles to tell the constructor which bones are connected or not.

The default way this is done in this system really sucks. It requires you to make a node bone, pass in its relationship to the previous bone often with an inherit node, then set its position using a metarig node, where you type in both the name of the metarig, and the name of the bone you want.

I'm making a good amount of progress learning and understanding the rigging nodes set up. I set up a way to construct bone chains based from a metarig. The default way of connecting bones together is really tedious and I wanted a way to make them faster, and more procedurally.

That rigging nodes addons been doing my head in. I have a terrible desire to make elegant reusable solutions but unfortunately I'm dumb and don't know how to structure a logic system for that kind a workflow. I'm stuck trying to make it perfect instead of make it fast.

Once I get my own system and work flow down I'll show it all off and what it's really capable of. As nice as the tutorials the dev made are, they're exceedingly dry, and cover nearly as much as I would like.

People need to make more videos about this, myself included. The only tutorials for it are made by the developer himself, and even the 8 that exist only average about 700 views each.
I've been trying to learn the node system and its been doing my head in, especially with incomplete documentation.

Rigging With Nodes Changes Everything! — Blender Conference 2025 YouTube video by Blender

Has anyone heard of Mantis Rigging Nodes for #blender3d? Its like Geonodes for armatures. And while its no where near polished, its actually exceedingly buggy, It is quite possibly the most excited I've been about an addon for a long time.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=XS8g...

I found an absolutely mental rigging addon for blender. It honestly looks like magic, and if I can figure it out fully Its gonna honestly revolutionize how I build armatures.

definately glad to see ive improved after my long time of study, specifically on human facial anatomy, that this turned out so well 😁

I've been in a slump artistically and for a long time; never touched sculpture. I always did everything via box sculpting and it made everything very mathematical since I was focusing on topology first. I've practiced alot of sculpture since and this is the first model ive made in a long time.

No problem!
I really like you're artwork, and enjoy making character models from em.
That being said, I need to go back and redo Patty. I did not do her justice last time 😅

I really liked this character reference sheet and have been working on getting a sculpt and model of him going. Hes got a lot of personality.

Im going to have a stroke.
Blender changed how bones are renamed, and its has fucked my entire workflow. It's literally a nightmare now. I can't even begin to express how bad this is, because i have meticulously baby every fucking bone now.

A drawn reference sheet featuring Nefarius, my monster OC. He is displayed as tall (for a young monster) with a wicked appearance somewhat resembling a mix between a dragon and a demon, but is simply described as a "monster". He has sharp yellow teeth and mischievous yellow eyes with red pupils, sporting scales that resemble freckles, two long curved horns, and a spaded tail that can shapeshift. He wears a pair of loose-fitting sneakers with untied laces with red socks under. He is magical as well, as seen with how he can breathe fire for instance.

Nefarius Ref Sheet

I think we're past the era of console wars, hardwares hardly gotten better.
We're bout to enter the OS wars: MicroSlop, Linux or FreeBSD? Mac? The fuck Macintosh?

I have a question to character riggers out there: What kind of naming convention do you utilize for bone structures like this? Obviously you'd probably want to name by what they control, like UpperEyeLid or Nostril.L, but how do you distinguish bones in that group?
Do you just number them, or what?

♫ BUG MUSIC [NO AI] | 1 hour of silly tunes for bugs and little creatures ♪ YouTube video by sleepytime warrior

Found this playlist recently and it is indeed very bugular and that doesn't need to be elaborated on.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=3xHc...

Man, I absolutely get lost with character rigging.
Not in the sense that I don't know what I'm doing, But I experiment way too much with mechanics and constraints to a point where I never make any progress.

​ YouTube video by nobody

youtu.be/c3zmUlPvgpo?...

I've been grinding at this video for fuckin months now, both getting footage, writing, now animating. I think I need a break and just make a less effort video for a moment because I'm gonna lose my mind if I keep spending every day drawing.

So, the 2d animation is taking forever, like one drawn frame a day, and as charming as i think it looks Im thinking Im going to try and work on a more hybrid approach.
My idea to expedite the process is to use a simple rigged 3d base with a grease pencil line art layer for more simple scenes.

man i really fuckin' did it to myself deciding I was gonna fucking draw for my newest video. I always pick the most labor intensive thing possible.

Oh boy... Imagine the lawsuits that are going to come out of this.

I'll make a short about it sometime soon.

I found a very cheat way to animate smoke with grease pencil. Looks pretty good to me at least.

Pretty sure ThoughtEmporium is also doing this on YouTube, but i think they are using rat brain and other medium, like slime mold.

I had a vision and I wanted to see it fulfilled

Green in the morning

hey look a fun history lesson!