🗻Rigging: Break Free from the Valley of Confusion (Report #4)

Welcome to another Report in the development of Rigging isn’t Scary: a course in Manual Rigging in Blender.

Early Access is around the Corner

The Early Access release of the course is almost ready! It will include two of the three full sections: “Level 1: Beginner” and “Level 2: Novice.”

The final section, “Level 3: Intermediate,” will be added as soon as it’s complete (tentative release date: late December 2024 to early January 2025).

Early access will likely be time-limited, so stay tuned for more details in the next day or two.

Languages and Subtitles

I know many of you would like access to subtitles, including translations into other languages. I’m happy to share that accurate English subtitles will be available!

However, despite advancements in technology, creating high-quality machine translations for subtitles is still a challenge. And human translations are unfortunately beyond my budget.

That said, I’ve found a service that provides good subtitle translations, and I’ve prepared the following languages: Chinese (Simplified), Spanish, German, Japanese, and Russian. These are the most popular languages within the CGDive community based on my observations.

Would you like me to add another language? Let me know! 😊 If there’s enough demand, I’ll do my best to include it.

Also, if you know of a reliable service that produces high-quality subtitles in your language, please let me know! I’d greatly appreciate it.

Beyond the Valley of the Suck / The Valley of Confusion

You might have heard me mention the “Valley of the Suck” or the “Valley of Confusion” in my previous reports. But what exactly is it?

Whenever you set out to learn something complex—like rigging—you often find yourself in this valley. It’s that stage in the learning process where nothing seems to make sense.

You’re unsure where to start, don’t know which buttons to click, and when things get “messed up,” you can’t figure out why.

So, what is in the Valley?

The Fundamentals.

These are the unglamorous, often-overlooked building blocks of rigging. They’re not the flashy techniques that grab attention, and many teachers shy away from them because they don’t generate the most views. But here’s the thing:

The Fundamentals are what make rigging make sense.

They’re the gateway to mastering advanced rigging techniques.

Rigging isn’t Scary: Beyond the Valley

This is exactly what Rigging Isn’t Scary is all about—helping you navigate through the valley and out the other side as quickly and efficiently as possible.

Yes, there are quite a few rigging concepts you need to understand and pitfalls to avoid, but the journey doesn’t have to be overwhelming.

Thanks to the feedback I’ve received over the past five years from the awesome CGDive community, I’ve identified the exact tools and techniques you need to make the fastest and most effective progress.

Not just for Rigging

The “Valley of the Suck” isn’t exclusive to rigging—it’s a concept that applies to learning anything difficult.

For example, I recently started exploring Unreal Engine Blueprints. Despite their reputation for being “easy,” I found them surprisingly challenging at first. But keeping the “Valley of the Suck” in mind helped me push through the initial confusion.

I focused on mastering the essential nodes for movement and interaction, diving deep into just those basics. After a week or two, the fog began to clear, and working with Blueprints started to make sense.

I’m not a pro yet, but I’m no longer confused by UE Blueprints. That clarity has unlocked the freedom to build my skills much faster.

While the concept of the ‘Valley of the Suck’ might seem negative at first, embracing it can serve as a framework for mastering complex skills.

So going through Rigging Isn’t Scary will hopefully be more than just a rigging course—it will be a demonstration of that framework in action.

End of Report 4!