Rig & Controller

What's a rig?

A rig can mean a different things depending on a variety of factors, but generally, a rig is a set of bones and blend shapes coupled together with an abstraction layer that can control the mix of blend shapes, positions of bones and other characteristics.

What is a Blend Shape?

A blend shape can be thought of as a variation on a base model. In the context of the MindTwin Puppet, a blend shape would be a single clone of the base mesh, modeled to make a different shape (mouth shape, eyebrow position, etc). Multiple blend shape variations can be stored within a single model and can be mixed together. 

Do we use blend shapes?

No. Blend shapes are common and traditional in CG rigs. But they can be time consuming to make since each variation needs to be generated and modeled by hand. Further, once the blend shapes are packaged with the controler that blends between them, it can be difficult to make modifications or tweak combinations of blend shapes.