Variable FK Autorigger

update 2020: Since highend3d is down I move the download to gumroad. Enter 0€ / $ to get the script for free. If you want you can enter more but feel free to try it out before as much as you like.

download: https://gumroad.com/l/OOZoXj

If you create something worth seeing with it show to me, I am curious :D

This is a quick demonstration of my autorigger I wrote for the variable forward kinematic concept presented by Jeff Brodsky in this video: https://vimeo.com/72424469

This is my first maya scripting project of this size but since it would require a lot of manual steps to set this up all by hand I decided to write it as an autorigger right from the beginning plus I thought it could be fun. It is the first time I used pymel for a maya script so the code is probably a bit messy but it reliably does what it's supposed to do.

Variable FK is a bit more dynamic than normal FK controls because it adds the feature to move the controls along their jointchain while the influence of a control on a joint is determined by the distance between them. The moving along the joints part works similar to a ribbon rig and the distance-influence calculation is achieved with utility nodes.

This kind of rig works well for:

- tentacles

- tails

- plants (mainly ferns)

- belts

- adventure time style limbs

- elephant trunks

and probably much more. feel free to experiment, feedback appreciated.