Animating skeleton of a dog

[analysis-feel]

Hello,

I have started animating a composite skeleton made up of individual dog bones. I am not yet particularly experienced in animation and am therefore encountering a few problems. Unfortunately, I can't find many videos/tutorials on this specific topic.

At first, I wanted to rig the skeleton myself, but I had problems with the IK chains (how do you create linked IK chains when five fingers extend from a single point at the wrist joint?).

Then I tried using the quadruped character. I have now placed all the joints and binded the bones to them. Now I'm trying to weight them. On the one hand, I don't quite understand how it makes the most sense with individual bones. For example, if I have the upper arm bone (humerus), is it then weighted 100% to one joint at the joint surface from scapula to humerus or 50/50 with the joints (shoulder and elbow)?

In addition, some joints don't seem to have any effect on the bones. For example, it works on the head, but the joints in the neck and spine down to the pelvis don't move at all.

Does anyone have a rough idea of how this could best be implemented, or are there any tips on weighting and subsequent animation (c-motion?)

And sorry, as I said, I'm not very experienced in this area and am trying to find instructions/tutorials or somehow figure it out.

Thanks in advance

[Dr. Sassi]

Hi analysis-feel,

Let's try to make this enjoyable Please note, that Character Animation is complex, so please take your time. The basics are important, knowing those makes this top level discipline fun.

Here is an introduction to those basics:
https://cineversity.maxon.net/en/series/hands-on-with-maxon-intro-to-rigging-in-c4d?tutorial=hands-on-with-maxon-intro-to-rigging-part-1-of-6

I will split the term bones into bones (a pair of joints) and real-bones (like an object that is moved by joints). In Character Animation it started with a Bone Object, later that was replaced by Joints, and those Joints build the Bone now. Just in case you find some older tutorials.

IK setups are run on Goal Nulls. Those can be grouped under a Parent Null if all need to move in the same way.
Hands are often run either by Pose Morph or with the Pose Library. Both have no data by default, as it needs to be designed for your needs.

The setup of joints is the creation of "Bones" to use an older term for it. While you like to add real-bones, if I understand this right, as joint-based constructions, create the old Bone idea, which doesn't require any Weighting. Real-bones ideally follow the Joint setup. At the same time, those represent the skeleton in total. With this in mind, the Hierarchy of a Joint setup follows the logic of a skeleton. The upper arm defines the lower arm. The question of how a real bone is weighted is answered with 100% based on the joint higher in the Hierarchy.

To make that clearer, the whole idea of Joints is based on deformer setups: A joint moves points, and if 100% it moves the point 100%. That works for real, Bones, as otherwise the real-bones work bends.
Where we need a mix of influence, meaning anything other than 100%, is, for example, the area like a Neck, where many small real bones move and shape the skin accordingly. This mix creates a natural change in the skin position.

If you like real bones to be moved, they can sit under a Joint as a child and move already along with the joints, no weight needed. In fact, if that is the only need, real bone objects can be set up as joints.

A human skeleton can be found in the Asset Browser, based on the Character Object.

All the best