Key Menus For This Tutorial Creating a Basic Human Rig Part 1: Feet & Legs.

F3 Rigging Menu shortcut.

Use X on the keyboard to snap joints to grid for

clean joints with no rotation as all rotates need
to be zero so that the rig work accordingly.
 Side view:
• Hip joint 11 units high
• Knee joint 5 units high
1 • Ankle joint 1 unit high
• Toe and ball joints 0 units

2 There is a hierarchy of joints:

1. Hip.
2. Knee.
3. Ankle.
4. Ball of Foot.
3 5. Toe.
5 Important to functionality of the leg and the
flow of the joints

This is an Inverse kinematic (IK) rig which allows

for the rig act and more realistically to how a
human figure would walk.
 Need to parent centre joint to left hip.
The Child will be the hip joint as that is
selected first and then the centre joint
which will be the parent (Hip then
centre).
-The Child comes first then the parent,
hit P on the key board to parent
selected objects.

Then mirror left IK leg in through the mirror joint options, selected the mirror across YZ and rename joints in mirror to
R_ from L_ .
Adding in the leg IK
handles from hip (1) to
ankle (2) on both legs.
Adding in the ankle to ball (1) to toe (2) IK
handles and then renaming then for clean and
clear working so I know what each joint is.

Group Left and Right IK handles together and

snap pivot points using D then V to ball joint.

Repeat group process for toe.

Then group the corresponding Left and
Right group/IK Handles to new groups
and label ‘heel tap group’ aligned pivot
to heel group.

Then group again and name it

‘pirouette group’ aligned pivot to toe
joint.

The group a third and fourth time, for

each and snap pivot to either side for
the foot roll mechanism – one for left
and one for right.
• Finally group as a whole and label left/right foot group.
• Then make a nurbs circle and snap to left foot, shape circle and then delete history and freeze transformations on circle,
label Left leg control.
Create attribute in the command box for: toe tap, heel
lift, heel tap, pirouette up/down, pirouette left/right
and foot roll.

Then go to curve tools, cv curve tool and it options,

select linear. Make sure to be in side view and draw an
arrow of any size as it can be scaled down. One happy
snap to knee joint using V and then hold D and X to
move three units back, once in place delete history and
freeze transformations on curve.
Create nurbs circle and snap to
aligned with the hip, scale up the
circle to surround the hips, then hold
D and V to snap pivot to pelvis
centre.

Then you can copy over foot/leg

controls to the right leg by
duplicating, grouping and then
flipping in X-1 and then delete
transformations and remove form
group.
Adding in the Constraints:
Open the constraints menu and select the pelvis control and the centre pelvis control. Open up the pivot menu options and
select maintain offset, click apply. Repeat for orient constraint, a blue bar should pop up beside translate or rotates if
constrained..
Pole vectors:
Select pole vector arrow on one leg and then its ankle IK Handle and click pole vector, repeat on other leg.
 • Connect up the joints to move like a pair of legs:

• Go to windows > general editors > connection editor.

• Select one of the leg control group and load into the left column of the editor window.
• Select toe group in outliner and reload in the right column of the editor and click toe tap
in the left and then in the right open the rotates and click rotate x.
• They will become italic meaning a connection has been made.
• Repeat similar process for following joints and repeat on the other leg.

1 2
3 4

6 Last step: Translate to translate and rotate to

5 rotate.