Rigging in 3D character animation involves constructing a digital skeleton (armature) and control system to enable realistic character movement, serving as the bridge between 3D modeling and animation.
It starts with building a hierarchical bone structure that mirrors anatomical features—limbs, spine, facial bones—to mimic natural motion.
Next, constraints like inverse kinematics (IK) or forward kinematics (FK) are added: IK simplifies limb positioning (e.g., foot planting), while FK allows precise joint rotation for detailed movements.
Finally, user-friendly controls (sliders, handles) are integrated, letting animators easily adjust poses, expressions, or gestures without manipulating individual bones.
This ensures characters move naturally, making rigging a critical pre-animation step.