Skip to content

← ArchivePaper2018

ChopRig System

Daniel S. Lima

MediumIndustrial1 descendantRigging

Blue Sky Studios technique that fragments character geometry into independently-evaluating pieces processed in parallel, then recombined via SubDeform to hit 24 fps targets.

Abstract

Describes the ChopRig system for optimizing character rig evaluation in parallel by breaking up geometry and deformer stacks across multiple processing cores. The system pre-separates character geometry and distributes deformers to chopped pieces, then combines them using a lightweight SubDeform plugin, achieving interactive performance above 24 fps.

How to read this

Category
Production technique: parallel rig evaluation
Contributions
  • Describes the ChopRig system that fragments character geometry and deformer stacks so pieces evaluate independently across cores
  • Pre-separates geometry and distributes deformers to chopped pieces, then recombines them with a lightweight SubDeform plugin
  • Targets interactive rig playback above 24 fps
Context
Relates to Blue Sky Studios' real-time rig efforts (Hallac, Achieving and Maintaining Real-Time Rigs) and the general goal of parallelizing deformer evaluation for interactive performance.Builds on: Achieving and Maintaining Real-Time Rigs
Correctness
Studio practice, not peer-reviewed; presented as a production-proven approach, so the 24 fps target reflects a specific pipeline and the chopping/recombination strategy must preserve correct deformation at seams.
Clarity
Accessible write-up (Medium article) describing the system at a conceptual level rather than a formal specification.
How to read it
Read for the chop-and-recombine concept and the role of SubDeform; one pass is enough unless you are designing a parallel rig-eval system, in which case probe how seam continuity is maintained.

Builds on

Built upon by

Related work

Keywords

This page summarises the entry and links to its original source. The archive never hosts or redistributes the publication itself.Show it in the full archive list →