Using the Laplacian Deform modifier and Hooks

One of the last modifiers introduced in Blender, the Laplacian Deform modifier shouldn't actually be considered as an effective tool to rig a character, but more as a tool to modify, change, or refine a default pose. Anyway, if set and used smartly it can often give interesting results, so it has been included in this chapter as well.

Getting ready

First, let's prepare the scene:

1. Open the Gidiosaurus_rig_from_scratch_01.blend file.

2. Select and then delete the Armature in Object Mode; then. select the Gidiosaurus mesh and delete the Armature modifier too in the Object Modifiers window.

3. In the Outliner, hide the Eyes object.

4. Press the Z key to go in the Wireframe viewport shading mode.

How to do it…

Now let's go with the Laplacian modifier setup:

1. With the Gidiosaurus mesh still in Edit Mode, select all the vertices of the hands, feet, hip, head, plus the boundary edge-loops where the mesh is missing (look at the following screenshot).

2. Go to the Vertex Groups...