CGCookie – OFF-ROAD: Rig and Animate an RC Monster Truck in Blender

Starting with a pre-made Monster Truck model, learn how to create a vehicle rig in Blender. No modeling involved, just 100% vehicle rigging and animation skills.

In the second part of the course, we will animate the truck, make it loop around and do a jump with freehand animation.

 The best part: this course will give you the skills for *any* vehicle rigging and animation project in the future.

• start with a ready-made Monster Truck model
• get a quick primer into rigging (perfect if you are just starting out)
• rig the car springs and use drivers to make the wheels go around
• rig the truck

• you will make the Monster Truck drive around a loop path
• then, you’ll do freehand animation: make your truck jump!

•  Python scripting (made easy) – Scared of code? Don’t be: the complex wheel movement is already pre-done for you and I will explain the rest step-by-step. For example, you’ll create a script that runs the wheels and calculates which way they spin. You can use it to make your own rigs in the future.
•  How to use drivers – Drivers are the glue that attaches the script to our rig. I will demystify drivers and you’ll see it’s just a single line Python expression, used in a powerful way. 
•  Simple mathematics – Don’t worry, we’ll take it slow. I will explain all the terminology like what is a ‘matrix’ and ‘vector’ to give you a deeper understanding of the rigging process.
•  Rigging a mechanical model – The Monster Truck is just the beginning. After this course, you’ll be ready to take on a project that is fully your own.