Need to build a flexible 1 and 2 handed weapon rig

Rigging
1

Hi

Im trying to rig an axe to a warrior rig that would be flexible enough to how a human being would be able to hold it with one or both hands (on either left or right side) So far I only reached a limited functionality.

What Ive done so far (2 ways)

  1. Two handed (one wrist driven, one wrist slave to weapon)

  2. Both hands follow

  3. Driven by master hand

  4. Slave hand is still able to move up and down

  5. Weapon able to slide or leave hands (constrain to world)

  6. One hand (or dual wield)

  7. Either hand can be the driver

  8. Only one hand is the driver, cannot have slave (no two handed hold)

  9. Space switching to world

  10. Slot for a shield in free hand

What is needed (a hybrid solution)

  1. Either hand can be the driver
  2. Slave hand either left or right can join and become a slave to the weapon and follow along like for a two handed weapon and vice verse.

So I need to build a better option nr. 2, but if I create a zero group for the wrist controller (so it could become a slave to weapon locator) the controller freaks out and starts sliding and poping uncontrollably when master hand is moving. Sort of like double transforms, but still constrained.

Any ideas would be appreciated.

2

I make both hands slaves to the weapon with space switching to the world. No issues so far.

3

That way I would lose FK control over the arms and left with only IK method of animation whenever hes holding a weapon.

4

I haven’t tried it out, but here’s how I would approach it:

  1. Make a parent constraint option on the axe that could space-switch between either hand’s FK control. This way, you just select on the axe which hand you want it to follow, so you can animate in FK.
  2. Have a locator at another point on the axe shaft, with limited keyable mobility up and down the shaft if you want. Then, on each of the warrior’s IK arm controls, create a space-switching parent constraint option to follow that locator.

So ultimately, you could select the axe and tell it to follow “right hand”, and have it one-handed. To make it 2-handed, change left arm to IK and set the IK control to follow the axe. You would animate the whole thing with the right arm’s FK, which I think is what you want. And since the arm->axe constraints are on FK and the axe->arm constraints are on the IK controls, I don’t think there would be any cyclical constraint issues, which could be behind your controller freaking out.

I hope I understood your needs correctly, let me know if that helps.