What do you know about bones? Do I need a different program to make bones and stick them together? Where do I put the root bone in a human character? Tell me all I need to know about bones.
Bones are part of 3D animation, like a walking guy. Creating 3D animated models (guns, trees, orcs …) is a whole field. it’s been around long before Unity, so the best references are standard modelling sites. Anyone can do it, but good ones are difficult enough that hiring someone or buying premade isn’t a bad option.
The basic parts are: 1) use a 3D modelling program (3DS-Max, Maya or free Blender) to create a wireframe 3D object. 2) “Unwrap” it so you can draw the colors on it (it gets cut up and put onto a square, sort of like those dress-up Barbies with the tabs.)
- Create a “skeleton” of bones for every part you need to move. Not really bones: if the fingers won’t wiggle alone, make one 2-part hand bone. If the belly jiggles, make a belly-fat bone for that. 4) Animate the bones using a variety of techniques: FK rotates them; IK puts the hand somewhere, moves the body and auto-computes how the elbow bends. 5) (can swap with 4) Attach the bones to the 3D model and tweak the weights to bend nicely. If you get weird twists on some bends, go back to the model and add more to fix it.