How to add control rig to blueprint class

How do I add my control rig to my character? I created a modular blueprint class character with separate clothes and body parts. That all works fine. I also created a control rig for that character’s main skeletal mesh. But now how do I add the control rig to the character’s blueprint class?
As of now if I drag the control rig itself into the scene it is just the base mesh with the control rig and none of the blueprint class modular parts attached. And vice versa if I add the blueprint class character to the scene there is no control rig. How do I add the control rig to the blueprint class?

Hey @celestia!

I think there may be some confusion here… a control rig is added to a Skeleton. Then the Skeleton is given a mesh and then that is attached to the character as a component. So if the skeleton has its rig, you should have access to it on the character BP.

Could you give some more details? Thanks! :slight_smile:

My skeletal mesh has a skeleton. Everything is rigged correctly same as the UE4 skeleton. The animation blueprint is using the skeleton. Every tutorial I’ve seen shows them creating the control rig for the skeletal mesh.

I don’t think I would have been able to create a control rig at all if I didn’t have a skeleton and if my character was not already rigged. The problem is I don’t know how to add the control rig to my blueprint class character

Don’t worry, you shouldn’t have to! If you have evidence that it’s not accessible from the Character BP, we can work from there, but if it’s on the skeletal mesh, and that skeletal mesh is attached to the character, then by transitive property the rig should be on your character BP! :slight_smile:

So you’re saying it should automatically be assigned to the blueprint class? I don’t see it in the sequencer when I add my blueprint class character to the scene

Ahhh, I didn’t know you were working with sequencer for this goal here.

Did you add the Character Blueprint to the Animation Sequencer yet? You may have to add one to the level to reference it, if you have not done so!

Once you do that you should be able to click the +Track button, and there should be a skeletal mesh option! That is your rig reference. :slight_smile:

To use Control rig inside your BP, here are two ways I found.

  1. using control rig component.
    Detailed Instructions: Control Rig in Blueprints in Unreal Engine | Unreal Engine 5.5 Documentation | Epic Developer Community (epicgames.com)
    In the BP containing your skeletal mesh component add a control rig component.
    In CR component set the CR class to your CR class.
    Add the On Pre-Initialize Event of the CR component in the event graph and from it call the Add Mapped Skeletal mesh. Set arguments appropriately.
    Now the skeleton bones should follow the corresponding bones in the control rig in the CR component.
    You can programmatically manipulate the CR control transforms. Should be able to animate in the sequencer too but haven’t tried it.

  2. using anim BP
    Detailed instruction:-https://youtu.be/IKLSLMCTEeY?t=515
    create an anim BP asset for your skeleton.
    In the BP graph, get the pose and run it through a Control rig node and then into the output.
    In the CR node details, you can set your CR class and expose the control variables in your CR as arguments.
    Create the corresponding variables in you anim BP too, to set them from you Actor BP. Feed those variables into the control rig node
    In your actor BP, set the anim class of you skeletal mesh to the one you just created.
    You can now get the anim instance of your skeleton and set the variables in it to manipulate the contol rig elements.

1 Like