ABSTRACT
We’re going to rig the spine twice. First, we’re going to do a nice FK spine, mainly because that is what I like to animate with. In a human character, I fi nd it is just enough. However, this bird character has such a nice graceful neck we should rig it as a spline-driven joint chain. I think it will give us much better control for the animator. Th ere is another type of back rigging technique (remember, we’re treating this long neck like a back), which is an FK/IK stretchy spine setup. Th at would really be the best on this rig, but is a bit too advanced to start with. You can fi nd it in Th e Art of Rigging (see Epilogue).
