Following up, the next step was selecting the perfect rig.
After testing several options, I landed on the incredible "Bloody Young Samurai" rig.
I love the design; it's fun and engaging, which will help keep my momentum for the next 3-4 months. Most importantly, I’ve successfully imported it into Unreal Engine to check the compatibility. While the model is in, I haven’t tested any animations or movements on it yet, so I’m looking forward to seeing how it performs once I start the cycles.
Note for UE users: The rig works great in UE5, but since the current materials are for Arnold, they won’t display correctly yet. The creators mentioned an update with compatible materials is coming soon, so keep an eye out if you're using Unreal!
Massive credit to the creators for this generous free work:
- Modeling: Khaled Ibrahim
- Rigging: Khaled Hussein
The rig is available for free on Gumroad.