Free Anatomically Accurate Skeleton Rig for Blender.
by Vicente C.
Published |
55
How accurate can a rig get when you try to follow real anatomy? 3D artist Chris made a fully rigged male skeleton in Blender based on how real bones move, with every bone separated, named, and set up to move like a real skeleton.
The model has 199 individual objects, clean topology, UVs, and a procedural shader. After reaching out, Chris shared a bit of the process behind it.
The starting point was simple: match the structure of a real skeleton.
Chris began by recreating the placement of the bones using armature bones, then adjusted their positions so rotations felt correct. A lot of this came down to trial and error, checking references, and even using his own body to understand how joints actually move.
From there, the rig was split into control bones and deformation bones, with separate IK and FK chains for the arms and legs. These can be switched depending on how the character is posed.
Some parts needed more specific solutions. The forearm is a good example.
In a real forearm, the radius is the one that rotates, while the ulna stays more stable. In the rig, Chris limits the ulna and lets the radius do the movement, so the hand follows that rotation.
A similar idea is used in the legs, where the way the tibia and fibula move affects how the foot moves.
The spine is controlled using three main sections:
- Lumbar
- Thoracic
- Cervical
Each section affects the bones around it a bit. That way the spine bends more naturally and doesn’t feel stiff.
The rib cage was one of the more complex parts to get right, since each rib has to be linked to the spine so it follows the correct vertebra, while the sternum stays positioned between them using constraints. This allows the chest to flex and even simulate breathing.
Chris mentioned this part took a lot of trial and error before settling on a simpler solution that actually worked.
On the other side, hands, fingers, and toes use control bones and modifiers to help create the rotation.
To make the rig easier to work with, Chris added a custom UI using the Bone Manager addon, along with a script for anyone who doesn’t have it installed.
The whole project started as just a way to learn rigging, but ended up getting a lot of attention online. If you want to see more of Chris’s work, you can check the link below.
- ArtStation: https://www.artstation.com/awaywardwaffle
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