Rigify Rig Types
Rig types are the properties collection used by Rigify to identify what kind of rig the user is building.
Note
The list of available rig types appears in the Bone properties tab when the bone is selected in Pose Mode. Scroll down the Properties editor to find Rigify Type panel.
The currently available rig types are:
Basics
basic.copy_chain
Will copy the bone chain keeping all the parent relations untouched. Useful as utility rig-type for custom rigs.
Requirement: A chain of at least two connected bones.
control (boolean)
When checked control bones and widgets will be created.
deform (boolean)
When checked deform bones will be created.
basic.super_copy
Will copy the bone. Useful as utility rig type for adding custom features or specific deform bones to your rigs.
Requirement: A single bone.
control (boolean)
When checked control bone and widgets will be created.
widget (boolean)
When checked a circle widget will be created in replacement to the standard.
deform (boolean)
When checked deform bone will be created.
Spines
spines.super_spine
Will create a complete bendy and stretchy b-bones spine system based on bone numbers of your bone chain and user defined options.
Requirement: A chain of at least three connected bones (base system).
pivot position (integer)
Defines the pivot position for torso and hips.
head (boolean)
When checked neck and head systems will be added to your spine rig.
neck position (integer)
Defines the bone where the neck system starts. The last bone will always be the head system. If neck position is the last bone of the chain, then only the head system will be created ignoring the neck.
tail (boolean)
When checked tail system will be added to your spine rig.
tail position (integer)
Defines the bone where the tail system starts. The next bone will always be the hips system.
Limbs
limbs.simple_tentacle
Will create a bendy and stretchy b-bones tentacle chain or automatic bendy and stretchy finger controls.
Requirement: A chain of at least two connected bones.
Automation Axis (X, Y, Z, None)
Enables the automation on the selected axis. Multiple axis or none can be selected holding Shift-LMB. When enabled the controls of the last bones will copy the rotations from the previous ones. The option is exposed on the controls of the final rig as a Copy Rotation constraint and can be disabled even after rig is generated, or at animation time.
limbs.super_finger
Will create a bendy and stretchy chain or automatic bendy and stretchy finger depending on a master control bone.
Requirement: A chain of at least two connected bones.
Bend Rotation Axis (X, Y, Z, -X, -Y, -Z)
Defines the automatic rotation axis to be linked to the scale of the master bone.
limbs.super_limb
Will create a full featured bendy and stretchy limb depending on the user defined options. Available limb types:
Arm
Requirement: A chain of at least three connected bones (upper_arm, forearm, hand).
Rotation Axis (Automatic, X, Z)
Defines the bend axis for the IK chain. FK chains will have a totally free degree of rotation on all axes.
Limb Segments (integer)
Defines the number of additional tweak controls each limb bone will have on the final rig.
B-Bone Segments (integer)
Defines the number of b-bone segments each tweak control will be split into.
FK Extra Layers
Defines on which bone layer the FK chain will be created. The yellow dot shows where will be placed the IK chain (by default is the same layer of meta-rig’s limb chain).
Tweak Extra Layers
Defines on which bone layer the Tweak controls will be created. The yellow dot shows where will be placed the IK chain (by default is the same layer of meta-rig’s limb chain).
Leg
Requirement: A chain of at least four connected bones and a last child used as heel pivot (thigh, shin, foot, toe, heel).
Rotation Axis (Automatic, X, Z)
Defines the bend axis for the IK chain. FK chains will have a totally free degree of rotation on all axes.
Limb Segments (integer)
Defines the number of additional tweak controls each limb bone will have on the final rig.
B-Bone Segments (integer)
Defines the number of b-bone segments each tweak control will be split into.
FK Extra Layers
Defines on which bone layer the FK chain will be created. The yellow dot shows where will be placed the IK chain (by default is the same layer of meta-rig’s limb chain).
Tweak Extra Layers
Defines on which bone layer the Tweak controls will be created. The yellow dot shows where will be placed the IK chain (by default is the same layer of meta-rig’s limb chain).
Paw
Requirement: A chain of at least four connected bones (upper_arm, forearm, paw, toe) or (thigh, shin, paw, toe).
Rotation Axis (Automatic, X, Z)
Defines the bend axis for the IK chain. FK chains will have a totally free degree of rotation on all axes.
Limb Segments (integer)
Defines the number of additional tweak controls each limb bone will have on the final rig.
B-Bone Segments (integer)
Defines the number of b-bone segments each tweak control will be split into.
FK Extra Layers
Defines on which bone layer the FK chain will be created. The yellow dot shows where will be placed the IK chain (by default is the same layer of meta-rig’s limb chain).
Tweak Extra Layers
Defines on which bone layer the Tweak controls will be created. The yellow dot shows where will be placed the IK chain (by default is the same layer of meta-rig’s limb chain).
limbs.super_palm
Will create a palm system based on the distance between palm bones.
Requirement: At least two bones child of the same parent. The property has to be set on the inner palm bones (think it as index’s metacarpus), the rig control will appear on the last palm bone (think it as pinky’s metacarpus).
Bend Rotation Axis (X, Z)
Defines the automatic rotation axis to be used on the palm bones.
Faces
faces.super_face
Will create a face system based on the bones child to the parent that has the property set on it.
Requirement: All the face bones bundled in the faces.super_face sample had to be present and child of the master bone that has the Rigify-type face property set.
Experimental
experimental.super_chain
Rigify Rig Samples
Rig samples are just pre-built bone chains with corresponding rig type assigned to the first bone of the chain. The currently available rig samples are:
Basics
basic.copy_chain
basic.super_copy
Spines
spines.super_spine
Limbs
limbs.arm
limbs.paw
limbs.rear_paw
limbs.simple_tentacle
limbs.super_finger
limbs.super_limb
limbs.super_palm
Faces
faces.super_face
Experimental
experimental.super_chain
Add a New Armature Object
Reference
Mode: Object Mode
Menu: Add ‣ Armature ‣ Single Bone
Hotkey: Shift-A
Building your own meta-rig from scratch requires an armature object to work with. Just add a single bone from the Add menu.
Tip
At this stage naming the newly added armature “meta-rig” is a good idea. You can do it at any time (or not at all) but it’s suggested to do it before going on so it will always be clear on which armature you have to work when editing the meta-rig structure.
Edit Armature
Now that there is an armature object to work – with the armature selected – enter armature Edit Mode. Building a meta-rig from scratch in Edit Mode can be done in two ways:
Adding rig samples.
Creating bone chains.
Adding Samples (Basic)
Adding samples in Edit Mode is a good way to start building a meta-rig. This way you can become familiar with the available building blocks and how they are meant to be used. To add a rig sample:
Go in the armature tab.
Scroll down to Rigify panel.
Select a sample from the list.
Click on the Add sample button.
Edit the bone positions to match your character.
Using Rig Types (Advanced)
Create your bone chains in Edit Mode.
Assign the correct rig type to the first bone of each chain in Pose Mode.