When Rigging Doesn't Follow the Tutorial's Script
What you're describing is a situation we've all been through: you follow a tutorial step by step, hit play... and your model starts doing things worthy of a low-budget horror movie. Don't worry, let's go over together what might be happening.
Possible Causes of Failure When Following a Rigging Tutorial
When working in software like Cinema 4D, Blender, or Maya, errors during rigging are often treacherous but have logical solutions (though not always obvious). Here are some common causes:
- Poorly organized hierarchy: If in the Object Manager (or Outliner in Maya) you don't have the hierarchy of bones, controllers, and geometry well structured, it's almost certain that something is going to explode in the viewport.
- Skinning not done: You might have failed to apply the Skin or Bind correctly. If the vertices are not assigned to the proper bones, moving a bone will move things it shouldn't... or nothing will move at all.
- Forgotten Freeze Transformations: In Maya, for example, if you don't do Freeze Transforms before skinning, the rig will behave strangely. In Cinema 4D, something similar happens if you don't apply Reset PSR to the objects before doing the binding.
Local Coordinates Failure
The tutorial might be working in World mode and you are in Local, or vice versa. This greatly affects the positioning of bones and controllers.
Object Scale or Misplaced Pivots
Sometimes, a simple detail like the object's scale or a misplaced pivot can cause the entire rig to collapse.
How to Diagnose the Problem Step by Step
The best way to solve this is to go step by step:
- Check that your hierarchy is exactly the same as the tutorial's.
- Verify that all bones are correctly oriented before doing the binding.
- Make sure you have applied the correct Skin or Weight.
If it's Cinema 4D, use the Weight Manager to verify that each vertex is only influenced by the bones you want.
If All Else Fails...
Export your scene to FBX, import it again, and redo the rig. Yes, it sounds like a 3D plumber's solution... but sometimes it works 🔧.