Tutorial on Using the Mario Rig (Created with Rigify in Blender)

Introduction

• Complexity: Model is high poly and detailed, leading to lag.
• Solution to Lag:
  • Go to Render Properties
  • Select Simplify option
  • Set max subdivision in viewport to zero
  • Note: Mario will look low poly in viewport but will render fine.

IK and FK Bones

• IK (Inverse Kinematics): Hands and feet follow the bones they are attached to, sticking to that point.
  • Ideal for walking animations, standing poses, climbing, stepping, etc.
• FK (Forward Kinematics): Allows for more fluid movements like flailing arms.
  • Switch to FK by setting the slider on bones to 1.

Face Rig

• Simplifying the View:
  • Use rig layers to hide unnecessary bones (e.g., hat, hair).
• Basic Controls:
  • Lips: Blue Bones for lip movements.
  • Jawbone: For opening mouth.
  • Adjust Bones: Crucial for meaningful expressions, e.g., adjusting mouth and mustache.
  • Eyes: Bones for eye movements, custom properties for iris and pupil size.
  • Eyelids: Requires manual tweaking for accurate expressions.
  • Eyebrow: One bone for lifting, and others for rotation to get the arch shape.
• Special Features:
  • Face Stretching: Non-destructive bone for exaggerated facial expressions.
  • Nose: Rigged for smear frames.

Hair and Hat

• Hair:
  • Hair bones for adjusting hair position and scaling.
• Hat:
  • Parent bone and adjustment bones for cloth effects.
  • Brim bones for adjusting the brim.

Body

• Bones:
  • Torso: Simplified control for upper spine, lower spine, and hips.
  • Head and Neck: Important for posing.
  • Tweaking Bones: For fine-tuning the deformation.

Hands

• Posing:
  • Detail view: Manual finger posing.
  • Rigify Feature: Quick posing by scaling finger bones for making a fist.
  • Adjustment Bones: Subtle adjustments for hand spread and curling.

Clothing Adjustments

• Adjustment for Clipping: Rotate and move bones to fix clipping issues with clothes (gloves, overalls, shirt collar).

Miscellaneous

• Root Bone: Controls overall movement of Mario.
• Alternate Appearances:
  • Damage: Slider to add bruises and dirt.
  • Fire Mario: Change appearance to Fire Mario.

Conclusion

• Overview of complex rig features useful for different types of animations and poses.
• Emphasis on manual adjustments for detailed and dynamic expressions.

Additional Note: Expect more PowerUp combos in future updates.