Rigging is the process of placing a skeleton (bones) inside a 3D model so that you can pose it and give it movement. Think of it as the groundwork that turns a stiff, frozen 3D model into a "moving model" that can walk around or wave its hand.
Note: Figmee currently lets you upload a drawing or illustration and generate and download figurine-style images and 3D model data (GLB / 3MF). Sales of physical 3D-printed pieces are in preparation (Coming Soon).
What is rigging? Threading bones through a doll
It helps to picture a doll with a wire armature inside. Without the wire, its posture stays fixed; with the wire in place, you can bend the arms and legs however you like. A 3D model works the same way: right after it has been built, you cannot change its pose. Rigging is the step that threads a skeleton through the inside so the model can bend at its joints, and the bones play the role of that "wire."
Let's sort out the three basic terms you will meet in rigging.
- Bone: A bone placed inside a 3D model. The whole skeleton made by connecting several bones is called an "armature" (or skeleton). The official Blender manual also describes an armature as something that "resembles a real skeleton," made up of many bones, and explains that when you move the bones, the parts attached to them move and deform in the same way (source: Blender Manual: Armatures, as of July 2026).
- Skinning: The work of binding the skeleton (armature) to the outer appearance (mesh). The official Blender documentation calls the process of "linking" an armature to a mesh so that it can be deformed "skinning" (source: Blender Manual: Skinning, as of July 2026).
- Weight (weight painting): The "influence" setting that decides which bone moves which part of the mesh, and how strongly. If this distribution is off, bending an arm will pull the shoulder or clothing in unnatural ways.
When you need rigging and when you don't
Whether you need rigging comes down to one question: do you want the 3D model to move? If you don't plan to move it, rigging is not always necessary.
When rigging is needed (for moving the model)
- Creating animations such as making a character walk or run
- Putting a character into a game so it moves in response to the player's controls
- Using it as a VTuber avatar that moves in real time to match your own movements
This kind of "moving from the joints" expression is impossible without an internal skeleton.
When rigging is not needed (for models that stay still)
- Rendering it as a single still image (exporting it as a clean picture)
- Spinning the model a full 360° to show it from every direction
- Exporting it as data for 3D printing (if you only want to produce a physical shape, joints are unnecessary)
For example, a "3D model made for showing," like the ones described in What Is a 3D Model?, works perfectly well without rigging. 3D models generated with Figmee can also be rotated 360° right in the browser and viewed from every angle, so you can present them as finished work without any rigging.
What you can do with and without rigging
Even with the same 3D model, what you can do changes depending on whether it is rigged.
| What you can do | Without rigging | With rigging |
|---|---|---|
| Rotate 360° to show it from every direction | Yes | Yes |
| Export a clean still image | Yes | Yes |
| Export data for 3D printing | Yes | Yes (movement data is not used) |
| Change the pose freely | No | Yes |
| Animations such as walking or waving | No | Yes |
| Control and move it in games or as a VTuber | No | Yes |
The key is this division of roles: if you only want to "show" it, you don't need rigging; if you want to "move" it, you do.
The basic rigging workflow
Here we use the free 3D software Blender as an example to outline the general flow of rigging. The actual operations run deep, so treat this strictly as a big-picture overview.
- Add bones (an armature) (rough guide: 30 minutes or more) Place bones inside the model's body to match its skeletal structure. Prepare one bone for each joint you want to move, such as the spine, arms, legs and fingers.
- Bind the bones and mesh with skinning (rough guide: a few minutes or more) Select the mesh and the armature and set up a parent-child relationship. Blender has an "Automatic Weights" feature that automatically assigns how much the selected skeleton influences the mesh, and starting there is the usual approach (source: Blender Manual: Skinning, as of July 2026).
- Adjust the weights (rough guide: tens of minutes to several hours) Automatic weights are only a starting point, and left as is, the joints often bend unnaturally. With weight painting, you paint in which bone moves which part, and by how much, to fine-tune the result. This is the make-or-break stage that decides the final quality.
To be honest, this process tends to be the first real hurdle for people who are not used to 3D. Adjusting weights in particular takes patience, and the official Blender manual also notes that automatic weights are a good starting point but often need fine-tuning afterward.
Auto-rigging as an option
If the manual work of "adding bones from scratch and painting weights" feels like too high a bar, you can use an auto-rigging service instead.
A leading example is Mixamo, a free web service provided by Adobe. When you upload your own 3D character, it automatically recognizes each part of the body, sets up bones (a skeleton), and lets you apply any of its large library of ready-made animations. You can use it for free with an Adobe account (sources: Adobe Mixamo official site, Adobe Mixamo FAQ, as of July 2026).
For humanoid characters, auto-rigging like this can greatly reduce the effort rigging takes. However, supported model requirements and the quality of the results differ from service to service, so check each service's official information when you actually use it.
Frequently asked questions
Can I move a 3D model made with AI as is?
In most cases, no. A 3D model generated by AI may have its appearance (mesh) finished, but it almost never has a skeleton inside. If you want it to walk or wave, you need to add rigging afterward. On the other hand, if you only want to spin it around 360°, turn it into a still image or use it as data for fabrication, you can use it without rigging. The workflow for editing AI-made models is explained in How to Edit a 3D Model Made with AI.
Can I present my work without rigging?
Yes. Rigging is a process for "moving" a model, so you don't need it for ways of presenting that don't involve movement. Showing the model from every direction with a 360° rotation, or exporting still images from any angle you like, works as finished work even without rigging.
Do I have to do the rigging myself?
Not necessarily. For humanoid characters, you can use an auto-rigging service like Mixamo, mentioned above. Either approach is fine: adding Blender bones one by one by hand, or leaving it to auto-rigging.
Does Figmee have a rigging feature?
Figmee currently lets you generate and download figurine-style images and 3D model data (GLB / 3MF) from drawings and illustrations, and it does not include a rigging feature itself. If you want to move a generated 3D model, the workflow is to export the data as GLB or a similar format, bring it into an external tool such as Blender or Mixamo, and do the rigging there.
Summary
Rigging is the process of placing a skeleton (bones) inside a 3D model so that you can pose it and give it movement. The skeleton itself is made of bones, binding it to the mesh is skinning, and tuning how strongly each bone influences movement is done with weights.
What matters is the division of roles: if you only want to "show" it, you don't need rigging; if you want to "move" it, you do. Rigging is essential for uses that involve movement, such as walking, games and VTubing, but if you only want to spin the model 360°, create still images or use it as data for fabrication, it stands perfectly well as finished work without rigging. If the manual work feels too difficult, you can also turn to auto-rigging such as Mixamo. Rather than getting too hung up on movement at first, start by creating a 3D model and showing it off with a full 360° spin. If you can't decide whether to begin with "moving" your illustration or "making it three-dimensional," we also have a separate article that compares four approaches, along with what you need to prepare and how long each takes.
