# Ep.0 — Why It Was Built · Squash & Stretch · The Reality of Rigging Pipelines

https://youtu.be/QIkUKj2gXl0?si=WeA7K1R26MOcZbce

## Overview

This is an introductory video explaining **why BipedPlus was built**, what **rigging and pipeline problems** repeat themselves on the ground, and **in what direction** this tool aims to solve them.  
The focus is on understanding the **background and philosophy** rather than how to press tool buttons.

## Key Topics Covered in This Video

### 1. The Recurring Foundation Work of Rigging

Working as a Technical Artist or lead rigger across many productions, the same work repeats every time you move to a new studio.

- Rebuilding rigging guidelines, naming conventions, and bone systems **from scratch**
- Repeating the climb from **the very beginning (level 1–5)** to production level (video: level 30) at startups, mid-sized studios, and large companies alike
- The experience of a fundamentally similar foundation being **reset every project** due to different circumstances

BipedPlus aims to **reduce this repeated cost** and let you start working immediately on a shared foundation.

### 2. Squash & Stretch and Korean Games

**Squash & Stretch**, the first of the 12 principles of animation, is essential for exaggeration, rhythm, and liveliness.

- Even just watching in-game footage, **the presence or absence of Squash & Stretch** makes a huge difference in expressiveness
- Overseas and global titles like Genshin Impact and Overwatch make bold use of bone deformation
- In Korean in-game footage, there are many cases where the technique was not used because **the rigging system could not support it**
- **It is not impossible because of the game engine.** It is entirely possible with the right structure

BipedPlus aims to support **Stretch/Squash/Scale expression** at the rigging stage so animators can achieve the exaggeration they want.

### 3. The Fragmented Tool Environment

The 3ds Max rigging ecosystem has many useful scripts and plugins, but they are **scattered everywhere**.

- No common standard, so knowledge accumulates only as **individual know-how**
- Difficult to find out which tools are current or recommended

BipedPlus is **not an all-purpose tool.** The direction is to consolidate the functions needed for advanced Biped-based rigging builds and animation assistance into **one package**.

### 4. Rigging Is an Important Part That Is Often Invisible

- Modeling, animation, and effects are easy to give feedback on through **visuals**
- Rigging is about **data structure, efficiency, and pipeline**, which is hard for art directors and PDs to relate to
- Even so, respecting the opinions of **1–2 animation TAs and riggers** can prevent problems like those below

#### A Real Production Case: FBX Export Hell

- **Each character had its own export method** (presence of root, axis orientation, weapon inclusion, etc.)
- **Animators rigging on their own** without riggers/TAs → impossible to unify rules
- The more scenes and characters, the more **weeks spent on manual export**
- There are cases where **80 hours → 3 hours** after automation and rule unification

**Lesson:** Even if the visuals are great, the entire schedule falls apart if the **internal pipeline** breaks down.

### 5. The Unique Traps of Biped — The Clavicle Example

In Biped's default settings, the Clavicle is set to **4 bones**, and the connection to the Spine can also be **structurally awkward**.

- **Unintended influence** propagates to neck and shoulder movements
- Once the **bone connection structure (parent–child relationship)** is misaligned and animation accumulates on top of it, it is **hard to undo**

BipedPlus aims to reduce these bottlenecks by consistently providing **bone connection structures and skin bone placements suited to game engines**.

### 6. What BipedPlus Aims For

| Goal | Description |
|------|------|
| **Engine-appropriate bone structure** | Provides connection and axis orientations for Unreal, Unity, etc. |
| **Stretch/Squash/Scale** | Expands animator expressiveness |
| **Full package** | Build, Figure, Skin, Picker, Ani Utils, and more in one tool |
| **Guideline sharing** | Provides documents at the level of **common knowledge** for naming and bone rules |
| **Raising the middle baseline** | Pulling the gap in on-the-ground rigging up to a **minimum standard** |

Regardless of company size or infrastructure level (level 5–60), the goal is to help with **practical skills you can use immediately** and **pipeline organization**.

## BipedPlus UI Preview (End of Video)

The actual tool interface is **briefly** introduced in the latter part of the video.

- **Panel docking** — Using BipedPlus attached to the side of 3ds Max
- Various expression and assistance features like Stretch/Squash **after Build**
- From ep.1 onward, tutorials proceed in order starting from the **Build tab**

## Who This Is Especially Helpful For

- Those who need to **create rigging guidelines from scratch** at every new company
- Animators and TAs working with Biped who want to use **Squash & Stretch**
- Productions where **export and pipeline** differ per character
- Teams who want to establish a standard in an **early-stage project** with no infrastructure

## To Managers and Team Leads

- **Animation Technical Artists and riggers** play the role of **lubricant** for the art team. You don't need many
- Proposals for file structure, export rules, and reference structure are **realistically applied** only when team leads and art directors understand and make decisions
- Even though rigging doesn't directly show on screen, it **supports the quality of modeling, animation, and effects**