A folding chair looks simple: we've all seen it countless times, and many of us probably even have one at home. But when it comes to animating a chair, setting up the rig, and creating smooth motion, things get complicated.
Nikodem "DemNikoArt" Bredlich, whose awesome mechanical rigs we've featured many times, has published a tutorial that takes you through his process. He explains how to set up bone chains, use IK to automate movement, and troubleshoot common problems that arise when a model's proportions don't perfectly match the rigging logic.
The artist uses Blender 5.2 LTS for the project, and this free file includes both rigged and unrigged setups, so you can follow along with the tutorial and examine the finished rig.
You can get DemNikoArt's mechanical rigging course for Blender here, and check out his other Blender tutorials on YouTube:
