Neck Options
Count
Number of neck bones
Note
To export to Unreal Engine as a humanoid rig:
- 1 neck bone is required to match the UE4 Mannequin
- 2 neck bones are required to match the UE5 Mannequin
Twist Bones
Add neck twist bones, for better deformations when the head twists (rotates along the Y axis).
Bendy Bones
Use multiple bendy bones segments to smoothen the neck twist deformation
Important
Warning, Bendy-Bones are unfortunately not export compliant! Should be used for internal Blender projects only.
Spine Options
Count
Number of spine bones, from 1 to 64.
Note
To export to Unreal Engine as a humanoid rig:
- 4 spine bones are required to match the UE4 Mannequin skeleton
- 6 spine bones for UE5 Manny/Quinn skeletons.
Spine Master Controller
Add a spine master controller to rotate and move all spine bones at once, with optional Stretch and Squash effect.
Bottom
Add two bottom (buttock) bones at the left and right sides.
Arm Options
Arm FK Lock-Free
Add an Arm Lock setting to the FK upperarm controller, to switch parent space.
Twist Bones
Number of twist bones.
- If the rig is not exported to game engines, 1 is enough since the Blender armature modifier handles dual quaternions skinning (Preserve Volume).
- When exporting to game engines, multiple twist bones are recommended for best deformations (3-4 or more) since Preserve Volume is not supported by game engines. Multiple twist bones totally solve the candy paper wrap issue when twisting hands/feet. Above one twist bone, below 4 twist bones in Unreal Engine:
- However, 1 twist bone is required to match the Unity’s humanoid rig. Unreal’s humanoid rig support multiple twist bones.
IK Pole Distance
Adjust the IK pole controller distance from the elbow
Soft IK
This setting helps to avoid the typical elbow “pop” when the arm is switching from stretched-out to flexed pose.
Note
Do not enable this setting if the rig must be exported later, prone to error. There are unfortunately drawbacks when this setting is enabled: the bones will be slightly stretched by default, Auto-Stretch will always be enabled, and IK-FK snap won’t match accurately
Auto IK Roll
Automatically align IK bones axes for coherent rotation axes and perfectly lined up IK pole. If disable, the IK bones roll can be freely set. It’s recommended to keep it enabled, but in case the model has special arms rotations, it can be useful to disable it.
Rotate Fingers from Scale
Fingers phalanges can rotate when scaling the first one. Set the Rot From Scale property above the fingers checkboxes. Set it to Disable to disable this feature.
Note
Only FK fingers are compliant with this setting, IKs are not
Fingers Shapes
Default shape for the fingers controllers: boxes, circles
Fingers
Add fingers (thumb, index, middle, ring, pinky)
Fingers IK-FK
If Fingers IK-FK is enabled, IK controllers will be added to each fingers, with IK-FK switch and snap settings, and all tools dedicated to manipulate IK fingers.
- IK Parent: Parent bone of the IK target controllers
- Pole Parent: Parent bone of the IK pole controllers
- IK Root Shape: Custom shape used to draw the IK Root target controller, located at the root of the third phalange
- Pole Shape: Custom shape used to draw the IK Pole controller, located above the second phalange bone
- IK Pole Distance: Distance from the second phalange to the IK pole
For fingers IK to work properly, it’s best to make sure that finger bones (reference bones) are slightly curved upward. Otherwise, the IK direction will be inverted and fingers can fold in the wrong direction:
Correct fingers curvature
Wrong fingers curvature that leads fingers to fold in the wrong direction
Joints Fans
Joints fans are secondary bones, dedicated to hold volume in the elbow and wrist areas. Useful if the Armature modifier “Preserve Volume” setting (dual quaternions) is disabled, or when exporting to game engines that only support linear skinning.
An arbitrary amount of bones can be set between 1 and 32. Useful for accurate control over the deformations in these areas.