Question on creating a Skeleton rig for a Soldier character

kunglao

Hi Guys, Need some advise on building a skeleton / rigging for a character that has separate apparel items on him.
I'm comfortable enough creating skeletons and rigging for characters,However My new character has a lots of apparel attached to him (Rucksack, Holster, pouches etc) and unsure on how to build the rig with them in mind
I have seen some skeletons that have extra bones coming from the spine for instance that would be used to weight a ruck sack on the back. 
I have attached a screen grab from Naughty Dog Last of Us  anim demo. Which implies that their rigs had extra bones for items that can be attached. Any advice/tips would be great.

Hito

yep, you got it right. extra bones are added as attachment points for things like weapons, packs, whatever. They are really just a way to mark the position relative to the root so the game engine knows where and what orientation to stick things (anything, even other characters) during run time. you block out areas on the character where things could get attached. after that any object that fits the general size and shape will work more or less.

Those 4 joints around the waist are most likely attachment joints; the shoulder and back are probably extra deformation joints to keep the shoulder from collapsing at extreme poses. joints along the chest and belly could be either. In game though you can attach anything to anything else really. another Joel sticking out from the belly like Total Recall? no problem!

kunglao

Hi Hito, thank you very much for your reply. Great info.
PS - Not planning on adding Kuato to my character although now you mention it does sound tempting