Select (Bones) by...... 'weird' Bone Data Property(ies) or characteristics
Hello, Blenderfellows.
So, there's been lots of improvements lately on the UI regarding Skeletons, notably on handy ways to Select Bones. Examples below:
However, did you know that this could be improved further in order to cover other Bones qualities that are usually related to the art of making more elegant Rigs, more confortable to build (Rigging) and more versatile during the Animation process (since Bone Selection solutions can usually work on the Bones for both Edit Mode and Pose Mode)?
Here is a small list of additional Bone Data 'Properties' or characteristics, that I believe, if added as ways of Selecting Bones (maybe, putting those in the category "Selected Grouped" [ Shift+G ] would be optimal):
■ Bendy Bone (i.e., the Bone IS a true Bendy Bone: it has got at least 2 Segments)
■ Bone Display Type (i.e., Ochtaedral, Stick, B-Bone, Envelope, Wire)
■ Bone Constraint (i.e., the Bone is the Owner of a specific type of Bone Constraint; any Bone Constraint can be searched and accessed that way; e.g., the Stretch To Bone Constraint is a good example, because this kind of Bone Constraint is very annoying to maintain in Rigs, for example, if we change and Apply the Scale of an Armature Object, the Stretch To Bone Constraints break and so it's very useful to be able to catch in the whole Skeleton the Bones possessing this kind of problematic Bone Constraint; there would be 'happier' examples of course, this is a 'scary' one)
■ Driven Bone (i.e., the Bone, in its Bone Data somewhere in the UI, possesses a Driver)
■ Custom Shape / Widget (i.e. the Bone has got a Target Custom Shape; doesn't matter which is the Target Object, as long as it is a valid one)
■ Custom Shape / Widget (Same Object) (i.e., more like a Sub-Option of the previous case, but the user can define a specific kind of Target Object, such as all Bones using the "WGT-Cube" Widget)
■ 'And so on and so on...'
Basically, there are so many 'weird' Bone Data characteristics which can be useful in handling more compound, complicated Rigs, that certainly I cannot make a full, precise list. But at least I'm providing here some curious possibilites of improvement, to which anyone with at least some basic or intermediate Rigging experience in Blender can relate to I hope.
Feel free to suggest more of such characteristics; I should be able to update them in here as well.
Finally, as you can perhaps conceive and visualize (on the Viewport screenshot), Bone Collections are sometimes not sufficient on their own to handle all sorts of organizational or managerial requirements of both Rigging & Animation. Sometimes, we need more spontaneous ways of making good Selections. Furthermore, Selection Sets are also insufficient, for the same reason; please note that, both Bone Collections and Selection Sets have the same problem: the user must still search, catch and categorize them Bones, Manually, FIRST OF ALL, Assigning them to Bone Collections or to Selection Sets. And what if there are zounds of Bones in the Skeleton, and we can't categorize them with a few clicks? That's a bit like a paradox; that's why we need more Bone Selection methods imo for better, more versatile and spontaneous Rigging & Animation experience in Blender.
"I suppose it's the old chicken and egg question... you must appear noble to gain wealth and respect, but you must have wealth and respect in order to appear noble." (as said by wise NPC Judge Gray, from some in some oldschool game; in the context of the game, the player is a party of wanna-be "lords" of a small kingdom, struggling to become relevant).
1 Comment
First thing you should think about why you need to select them. Why the animator or rigger even select all deform bendy bones, especially they already been put in a deform collection? or some constrainted bone, drivers. Like why a proper rig with controllers need to select them?
Second thing, "Am I introducing unnecessary complexity", multiple cases? What happen if you select a pose bones with multiple drivers on it...