I wanted to share some feedback on the Auto Rigger, as I think it has a lot of potential for Cinema 4D users. Overall, I was quite impressed with the initial rigging process within AccuRig itself – it felt very intuitive.
However, I encountered a few issues when bringing the rig into Cinema 4D that I wanted to highlight as areas for potential improvement:
*Head Joint Hierarchy: I noticed that the head joint isn't parented to the neck joint. In a typical Cinema 4D setup, this parent-child relationship is standard.
*Arm Structure: The implementation of a double joint in the upper arm (with one seemingly dedicated to rotation and only partially extending) is different from the conventional upper arm and forearm bone structure commonly used in animation and motion capture workflows. This also applies to the leg setup, where a double upper leg bone is present. Standard motion capture data usually works with a single upper arm and forearm bone.
*Finger Joints: While the bone structure for the fingers appears correct in AccuRig's preview, upon importing to Cinema 4D, the joints seem to stop at the second knuckle, with the remaining finger being controlled by a null object rather than proper joints extending to the fingertips. This deviates from the typical joint structure for detailed finger animation.
*Pose-Morph Targets: I'm currently unsure of the intended functionality of the Pose-Morph targets in the Cinema 4D import, as they don't seem to have any immediate effect.
From a Cinema 4D user's perspective, a more standard Biped or Advanced Biped bone structure might be more immediately compatible with existing workflows, controllers, and motion capture data. As a plugin developer for Cinema 4D myself, I understand the complexities involved in development. My initial excitement with AccuRig was significant, as it feels like a more advanced solution compared to something like Mixamo in terms of rigging quality within its own environment.
The same applies to the toes. Since the toes are included but have no weighting, you could simply omit them and create a completely normal biped setup: Feet joint, toe, and toe end, as done in a biped rig or as exported from Mixamo.
Perhaps an option could be considered during the export process to generate a more conventional bone structure for users who intend to build custom control rigs or primarily work within the standard Cinema 4D animation paradigm.
Thank you for your hard work on AccuRig. I believe with a few adjustments to the Cinema 4D export, it could become an even more invaluable tool for the community. I hope this feedback is helpful as you continue to develop and improve the software."
