🔹 Torso Rig in Blender / 3D Animation<br /><br />A Torso Rig is the rigging setup (bones + controls) that allows you to animate the upper body (chest, abdomen, hips, spine) of a character.<br /><br />It’s part of the character’s armature that makes the torso bend, twist, stretch, and squash in a natural way.<br /><br />🔑 Key Elements of a Torso Rig<br /><br />Spine Bones<br /><br />A chain of bones running from the hips → chest → neck.<br /><br />Controls the bending and twisting of the body.<br /><br />Hip / Pelvis Control<br /><br />Usually a separate bone for controlling the hip rotation and body weight shifting.<br /><br />Chest / Upper Body Control<br /><br />A control bone for rotating or leaning the upper body independently of the hips.<br /><br />IK / FK Spine Setup (Advanced)<br /><br />FK (Forward Kinematics): Rotate spine bones one by one (good for arcs and smooth motion).<br /><br />IK (Inverse Kinematics): Move a chest or hip controller and the whole spine bends accordingly (good for posing).<br /><br />Advanced rigs often include IK ↔ FK switching.<br /><br />Stretch / Squash Options (optional)<br /><br />Sometimes added for cartoony rigs, allowing the torso to stretch or squash.<br /><br />🔹 Why Torso Rig is Important<br /><br />Adds realism: breathing, leaning, twisting, dancing, etc.<br /><br />Makes characters feel alive instead of stiff.<br /><br />Gives animators flexibility (hips stable while chest twists, or full-body bends).<br /><br />🔹 Example<br /><br />In a humanoid rig:<br /><br />The torso rig lets you animate a character bending forward, twisting at the waist, or stretching upward.<br /><br />Without a proper torso rig, the character would look stiff and unnatural.<br /><br />✅ In short:<br />A Torso Rig is the part of a character rig that controls the spine, chest, and hips, allowing natural upper-body movement in animation.
