Advanced Rigging

Mirroring Controls

Introduction

No, there is no easy way to do this... scripts do exist to make this easier, but often times they are more trouble than they are worth. So get excited, because we are going to enforce the concepts we just learned by repeating the process for the right side!

Tutorial

Mirroring the the Arms

1. Mirror the leg skeleton. Select l_upLeg_joint and then go to Skeleton > Mirror Joints Options.  Use the following settings and then click "Mirror".
       Mirror Across: YZ
       Mirror Function: Behavior
       Search for: l_
       Replace with: r_
2. r_upLeg_joint chain will be created, but you will notice that the geometry for it is all messed up.  We don't need that geometry, so we can go ahead and delete it.
   Now, lets take r_upLeg_joint out of the all_anim hierarchy so  that it'd be easier to work with.  Use Shift - P or just drag it out from the outliner.
3. We have to now create the geometry and hook it up to the joint chain like we did for the left side.
   Next, we need to duplicate the IK foot controls.  Select l_foot_anim, and duplicate it with a standard duplicate command.  Edit > Duplicate.  Now, group the new l_foot_anim1 to itself. A new group named group1 will be created.  Select that group, and duplicate that group with a scale of -1 for the x direction to flip it over the yz plane.
4. Delete group1, and pull group2 out of the all_anim hierarchy.  Take the new l_foot_anim1 out of the group by selecting it and hitting shift+P and delete group2.
5. Using the Grep Rename tool, select all the l_foot_anim1 and all the objects underneath it.  Replace l_ with r_.
   Now we need to delete the following that's under r_foot_anim:
       r_leg_ikHandle
       r_foot_ikHandle
       r_toe_ikHandle
6. Those IK handles were originally created for the left leg, so they will not work anymore. The locators will still come in handy, so you won't have to repeat that process.
7. Now, freeze transformation on r_foot_anim1.
8. Finally, rename r_foot_anim to r_foot_anim.
9. Unfortunately, we cannot duplicate the FK controls.  They are hooked up in a way that won't allow us to duplicate them.  Luckily, they are easy enough to remake.
10. That's all we can do in terms of duplicating things over.  You will now have to set up the right leg like you did for the left leg.  Make sure to remember that expressions will have to be created again and they will have to correspond to the right leg's naming schemes.

Mirroring the the Arms

1. Duplicating the arms over is exactly like duplicating the legs.  You mirror the l_clavicle_joint chain and the l_upArm_joint chain
   Be sure to delete anything that's not a joint (geometry, null groups, constraints, etc) from those new joint chains.  Drag it out of the all_anim group to make it easier to work on.
2. You'll have to unhide the geometry for the right side of the body and segment it like you did for the left side.
3. Duplicating the IK controls is done exactly the same as duplicating the leg IK controls.  Select l_arm_all_anim_grp, duplicate it, group it onto itself, duplicate the new group with a scale of -1 for the x axis, and then unparent it from the hierarchy. Do the same thing with l_clavicle_anim.
4. Use grep rename as you did for the leg, delete all ik handles, constraints, and parented joints.
5. Again, we can't duplicate the FK controls, so we'll have to make those anew.