The new Blender Rigging Fundamentals series (”Rigging isn’t Scary”) is progressing nicely. Stay tuned – Early Access info is coming very soon! 🚀

Now, to the topic of this post:

You may want to learn rigging but find yourself asking a perfectly valid question:

Will I be wasting my time?

Let’s explore that.

Automatic rigging has been around for a long time now, and some might think it makes manual rigging unnecessary. Why bother learning something if tools like Rigify and Auto-Rig Pro can do it for us, right?

On top of that, we now have generative AI. Not a day goes by without a demo of the latest “make something cool” app. Surely, those will make rigging and animation obsolete, right?

Automatic Rigging

Let’s start with the easier of the two: Auto Rigging.

Auto Rigging has been around for decades, but Manual Rigging is still relevant.

So, does Auto Rigging fully replace Manual Rigging? — Obviously not 🙂

Auto riggers are truly amazing… until you need something they don’t offer.

Or maybe you want to tweak something in your auto-generated rig. Auto riggers use Blender constraints and drivers under the hood, so with some understanding of the fundamentals, you might be able to make it work for your needs.

Without understanding the fundamentals, though, you’re out of luck.

That’s why I believe everyone can benefit from solid Rigging Fundamentals—even if they use an auto rigger.

But hey, if Rigify, Auto-Rig Pro, or some other tool covers all your needs 100%, then you’re golden. You don’t need Manual Rigging.

I just think that’s not the case for many Blender users.

What about AI?

Ah, AI – the elephant in the room!

Love it or hate it, Generative AI is a force to be reckoned with, and it will likely change how we do things in the future.

I’m not going to pretend I have the answer here. It’s a new technology, and we don’t know which way it’s going to go. This unpredictability causes fear and uncertainty.

But let’s look at the facts.

Does AI really make 3D Rigging and Animation obsolete?

I’d say not yet—not by a long shot.

Currently, AI can produce impressive demos, but that’s about it.

Let’s even put the legal and ethical issues aside for a moment.

The problems start when you try to get AI to produce exactly what you had in mind.

If you just want something, AI can give it to you. If you want something very specific, that’s when it gets tough—especially for animation. The longer the animation, the harder it is for AI to stay consistent and coherent.

It can be done, but it requires plenty of effort, technical knowledge, and resources. That’s far from the “make something cool” button AI is often marketed as.

Here’s my prediction:

It will take AI tools another 3–5 years to reach mass adoption.

AI won’t completely replace current tools but will instead merge with them. Human tools will continue to do what they’re good at, and AI will do what it’s good at.

Human tools will control the vision, and AI will provide the final polish when necessary.

Pure AI tools will also be used by entry-level creators who just want to throw something together.

Conclusion

So, the real issue isn’t what AI can do—it’s what people imagine AI will be able to do… not now, but definitely tomorrow, lol.

If I’m right, it will take a while for AI to become truly usable for most people. And even then, it will likely be used to complement human-generated content.

So, investing in your Rigging and Animation skills will not be a waste of time. In fact, it could help you stand out in the future.

Since many people are disillusioned, frightened, or discouraged by what they imagine the future holds, they won’t take action to learn fundamental skills today.

But if you do, you’ll have a significant advantage!

And last but not least: will you wait around for a future that might never come?

I won’t! 🙂