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Step 4 - Using Kerbal Character Rigs

Overview

To bring life to your scenes and animations, you can add Kerbal character rigs to your project. These rigs allow you to pose and animate Kerbals with fully controllable bodies, faces, and equipment.
The rigs used in this tutorial were originally created by Peter Edwardson on the Kerbal Space Program forums. Because they were created independently from the game, they are free to download and share.
The versions provided in this tutorial have also been modified to include additional features such as improved facial controls and alternate suit colors.

Downloading the Kerbal Rigs

Getting the Rig Files

Before using the Kerbal characters in Blender, you will need to download the rig files.
The rigs are available through the download link provided with this tutorial. Two versions of the rig are included.
Download the files and save them somewhere easy to access on your computer. You will import or append these rigs into your Blender project later when setting up your scene.

Large screenshot showing:

Download page or file folder containing the rigs

Features of the Kerbal Rigs

What the Rigs Include

These rigs are designed specifically for animation and include several built-in features that make posing and animating Kerbals easier.
Some of the included features are:

Fully rigged bodies for posing and movement
Facial controls for expressions and animation
Jetpack rigs for EVA-style scenes
Suit variations, including the classic orange Kerbal suit
Additional controls such as eyelids for more expressive characters

These features make the rigs flexible enough for a wide range of animation styles.

Large screenshot showing:

Kerbal rig controls
Armature visible in Blender

Modified Versions Used in This Tutorial

Additional Improvements

The rigs used in this tutorial are slightly modified versions of the originals.
The changes include:

Improved eyelid controls
Alternate suit color variants
Minor adjustments to make animation easier

Kerbal rig linkThese additions help make the characters more expressive and easier to work with when creating animated scenes.

Using Kerbal Rigs in Your Animations

Preparing for Animation

Once downloaded, the Kerbal rigs can be added to your Blender project alongside your imported spacecraft.
Using these rigs, you can:

Pose Kerbals inside or outside ships
Animate EVA scenes
Create cinematic moments involving characters

Combined with the ships and environments you imported earlier, the rigs allow you to create complete Kerbal Space Program animation scenes inside Blender.

Result

At this point in the tutorial you should now have:

Imported and parts from Kerbal Space Program
Cleaned and organized your craft models
Adjusted textures and materials
Downloaded Kerbal animation rigs

You now have everything needed to begin building scenes and creating animations in Blender.