How I rig Anime Characters in Blender! 🐦 (Feat. Birdbrain Teto!)

High-level summary

This is a Blender rigging tutorial/stream showing how the creator rigged an anime/low‑poly character (Birdbrain Teto / “Tedto”) using Rigify and Blender’s automatic weights, followed by post‑bind weight‑paint cleanup. The video also promotes the creator’s low‑poly course (10% off via a link in the description; “42 perfect reviews”).

What was changed on the model before rigging

• Texture updates
  • Improved shorts (asymmetrical pockets, back seam, shading)
  • T‑shirt line added
  • More subtle face shading
  • Chunkier hair highlights and cleaned-up hair drills
  • Overhauled crocs with more detailed soles
• Topology checked and cleaned (important to avoid deformation problems before rigging)

Pre-rigging checklist and cleanup (recommended workflow)

1. Save an incremental version (Ctrl+Alt+S) before any destructive steps.
2. Optional: apply the Mirror modifier if you prefer working with applied modifiers.
3. Merge stray vertices:
   • Mesh → Clean Up → Merge by Distance (consider adding to Quick Favorites).
4. Find and fix n‑gons:
   • Select → Select by Trait → Faces by Sides (>4) and repair (knife/poke/delete faces).
5. Optionally inspect triangles:
   • Select by Trait → Faces by Sides (=3). Decide whether to keep or retopologize if they exist in deformation zones.

Rigging approach and tools used

• Rigify add‑on to generate a human meta‑rig (includes IK/FK and animation‑friendly controls).
• Typical steps:
  1. Shift+A → Armature → Human (Rigify meta‑rig).
  2. Set bone display to “In Front”.
  3. Align bones in Edit Mode with X symmetry enabled.
• Modeling/scene tips:
  • Model with feet flat on the floor and scene origin at 0,0,0 to avoid export and animation placement issues.
  • Ensure elbows have a clear bend direction for IK to work correctly.

Bone orientation and finger warnings

• Pay attention to bone roll/axes for fingers. Misaligned bone roll causes finger clipping when rotating.
• Fix bone roll early via bone roll controls (N panel → Roll) to align local axes for clean rotations.

Generating and testing the rig

• Generate the Rigify rig and inspect it in Pose Mode before binding:
  • Test finger curl, foot roll, toes, knee bending, and elbow behavior.
  • Remove or relocate unwanted automated face bones if needed (they can be deleted from the generated rig before binding).

Binding and weight painting (post‑bind cleanup)

1. Bind the mesh:
   • Select mesh(s) + Armature → Ctrl+P → Armature Deform → With Automatic Weights.
2. Pose the rig to reveal problem areas.
3. Fix weights in Weight Paint mode:
   • Select the target deform bone in the Armature Object Data Properties (e.g., “deform_spine_6” for head).
   • Use Weight Paint tools: Draw/Gradient with Weight/Strength 100%, enable Auto Normalize, and use Vertex Selection Mask to isolate vertices.
   • Use Gradient outward for clean 100% weights on skull/hard areas.
   • Use Smear and Smooth to blend transitions.
   • Use X symmetry during weight painting for symmetrical results.
   • Merge vertices at center if accidental holes appear (Merge at Center).
   • For shoes/feet: paint sole/bottom verts to the foot bone 100%; ensure toe influence is painted for proper toe roll.
4. Toggle Rest/Pose position in the Armature object data when editing to avoid confusion.

Practical tips / workflow preferences

• Work iteratively: save versions frequently and test rig generation multiple times.
• Rigify + automatic weights + manual weight‑paint cleanup is a fast, practical workflow for animators (saves time versus building every bone manually).
• Expect many small cleanups after binding: hair bones, waist/shoulder weight refinement, eye/face/mouth shapes (texture‑based mouth shapes), and finer deformation fixes.

Product / course mention

The creator’s low‑poly course (covers rigging, texturing, modeling, character design, and fundamentals) is on sale for 10% off through an exclusive link in the video description; the course is claimed to have 42 perfect reviews.

Remaining to‑do list (noted in the video)

• Add hair bones / hair rig
• Refine waist and shoulder weights
• Clean up eye/face weighting and create mouth shapes for the texture sheet
• Additional deformation polishing (knees, shoulders, chest/bust influence)

Key Blender features, shortcuts and commands referenced

• Incremental save: Ctrl+Alt+S
• Add Rigify armature: Shift+A → Armature → Human (Rigify)
• Merge by Distance: Mesh → Clean Up → Merge by Distance
• Select by Trait → Faces by Sides (set >4 to find n‑gons, =3 to find triangles)
• Knife tool: K; Poke Face
• Delete generated face bones in Edit Mode (if unwanted)
• Bind: Ctrl+P → Armature Deform → With Automatic Weights
• Weight Paint mode: Auto Normalize, Gradient tool, Draw tool, Smear tool, Vertex Selection Mask
• Toggle bone visibility: H / Alt+H
• Switch modes: Pose / Object / Edit
• Toggle Rest vs Pose position in Armature object data

Main speakers / sources

• Video presenter / stream host (the Blender artist/YouTuber who rigs the character; unnamed in subtitles)
• The character: Birdbrain Teto (referred to as Teto or “Tedto”)
• Tools referenced: Blender and the Rigify add‑on
• Creator’s low‑poly course (product linked in the video description)

If you want, I can convert the workflow into a concise step‑by‑step rigging checklist you can follow in Blender.