Create a Character Rig and Start Animating with Unreal Engine Control Rig

What will you learn in this guide?

Unreal Engine’s Control Rig system lets you rig and animate characters directly in the engine. According to Epic’s documentation, this approach can reduce the need for external tools for rigging and animation in some workflows; you can create controls and animate a character in Sequencer. The system can also be used alongside other animation tools.

This guide covers two ways to create a Control Rig asset: starting automatically from a Skeletal Mesh, or creating the asset manually and importing the skeleton hierarchy. The following steps also cover general Control Rig use cases and points to check during setup. Since the source documentation does not provide detailed node-by-node instructions for building a complete character rig, this guide does not promise a specific rig configuration or animation result.

Requirements and preparation

This workflow requires Unreal Engine and a character Skeletal Mesh Asset. Epic’s relevant documentation does not specify an Unreal Engine version, hardware requirements, or a particular account requirement. Rather than make assumptions about the project version, continue with your installed Unreal Engine setup and confirm that the asset types named in the source are available in the interface.

The first method creates a Control Rig from an existing Skeletal Mesh Asset. The second involves creating the Control Rig asset manually, then assigning the Skeletal Mesh using Import Hierarchy in the Rig Hierarchy tab. If the project does not yet have a suitable Skeletal Mesh, the sources do not explain how to create or import one. This guide therefore does not cover mesh preparation.

Keep in mind that the Control Rig is the core asset, while the Control Rig Editor is the workspace used to edit it once opened. Epic’s general documentation also links to more advanced topics, including rig creation, animation, modular rigging, bones and controls, Full-Body IK, spline rigging, pose caching, and Python scripting. These are not all prerequisites for getting started.

Step-by-step: Create a Control Rig asset

1. Start from a Skeletal Mesh

In the Content Browser, find the character’s Skeletal Mesh Asset. Right-click it and choose Create > Control Rig, as specified in the source documentation. This creates a Control Rig Asset in the same directory, with the _CtrlRig suffix. Double-click the new asset to open it in the Control Rig Editor.

This approach provides a starting point where the mesh and rig asset are related. Checking the name and location of the new asset makes it easier to keep track of which character you are working on in the project. However, the source does not recommend a specific naming convention or folder structure.

2. Alternatively, create the Control Rig manually

Instead of creating the asset from a mesh, click an empty area in the Content Browser. Then follow Animation > Control Rig. In the window that opens, select ControlRig and click Create. Open the new asset to enter the Control Rig Editor.

This method creates the Control Rig Asset separately. However, do not assume that a manually created asset will automatically recognize the character’s Skeletal Mesh. The next step described by Epic is to import the skeleton hierarchy and specify the mesh to use.

3. Import the mesh hierarchy

After opening the manually created Control Rig, go to the Rig Hierarchy tab and select Import Hierarchy. Specify the Skeletal Mesh to assign to the Control Rig. This defines the skeleton structure the rig will operate on.

This step is not described as part of the same process as creating an asset from a mesh: the source document presents these as two separate methods and specifically notes that the hierarchy must be assigned to a manually created asset. Make sure you select the intended mesh in the interface; the sources do not provide details on choosing between multiple meshes or resolving compatibility issues.

4. Get familiar with the Control Rig Editor and rigging concepts

Once the asset is open, the Control Rig Editor is the primary workspace for building your rig. Epic’s documentation lists controls, bones, and nulls among the basic elements used in rigging, along with different solving approaches and modular rigging tools. Since each of these is a separate learning topic, start by confirming that the asset is linked to the correct mesh and opens in the editor rather than trying to apply everything at once.

For more advanced needs, you can explore Full-Body IK, spline rigging for long joint chains, pose caching to store poses and states, or customizing control shapes. These are topics covered in Epic’s documentation; this guide makes no additional claims about how to set up each feature or which characters they suit.

5. Move the rig into an animation workflow

Once the Control Rig asset is ready, you can move on to animation. Epic documents animating with Control Rig in Sequencer and using the system with other Unreal Engine animation tools. Animation Mode, using Control Rig in Animation Blueprints, FK Control Rig, constraints, and space switching are also covered as separate topics in this workflow.

The goal here is not to solve every animation need with one method, but to identify which tools to explore at each stage. For an initial test, complete the asset creation and character-to-rig setup steps. Then move on to the Sequencer documentation for animation. If you need to dynamically reparent controls or create location, orientation, or scale relationships between objects, consult the relevant documentation for constraints and space switching separately.

Common mistakes and checklist

A basic mistake is assuming that a manually created Control Rig Asset is automatically linked to a Skeletal Mesh. If you used the manual creation method, complete the Import Hierarchy step from the Rig Hierarchy tab and specify the mesh. Another common source of confusion is expecting the _CtrlRig suffix with every method; the source describes this suffix for assets created from a mesh.

Another mistake is thinking that creating the Control Rig asset also completes the animation. Rig creation and character animation are treated as separate stages in the documentation. You also need to learn the workflows for Sequencer and other relevant tools to animate. Finally, avoid making assumptions about version, hardware, or menu details that are not covered in the sources; verify them in your project’s interface and Epic’s current documentation.

Here are the key things to check:

• Are you working with the correct Skeletal Mesh Asset?

• Was the Control Rig created from a mesh or manually?

• If it was created manually, was the hierarchy imported and the mesh assigned?

• Does the Control Rig Editor open?

• For animation, have you consulted the Sequencer or relevant animation documentation?

Impact on architecture, interior design, and archviz workflows

Control Rig may be relevant to archviz teams and students who want to prepare character animation in Unreal Engine. The sources do not offer a use case specific to architectural visualization projects; however, character rigging and animation can be considered tools for handling character movement within a real-time scene workflow. This does not mean that every character used in an architectural scene needs to be created directly with Control Rig.

A practical starting point for studios is to validate the asset creation steps in a small test using an existing character mesh, then identify animation requirements separately. The sources provide no information about hardware, licensing costs, or version compatibility, so this guide cannot be used to make purchasing or system-upgrade decisions. Check separately that your project version and in-house workflow are compatible with Epic’s relevant documentation.

Next steps

After the basic asset creation steps, Epic’s Control Rig Quick Start and Animating with Control Rig documentation are useful starting points. As your rigging needs expand, you can explore modular rigging, using the Control Rig component in Blueprints, extending rigging and animation workflows with Python, debugging, and Animation Blueprints. These topics can be covered separately as needs arise.

For team projects, keeping a record of which mesh is used for each character and how its rig asset was created can simplify asset tracking. This is not an Epic requirement, but a practical project organization suggestion. Before expanding the technical implementation, verify that the basic connection is correct; then assess the animation tools against the project’s goals.

Sources and license

This guide is adapted into Turkish from Epic Games’ general Control Rig documentation and its “Rigging with Control Rig” document. Both sources are listed as freely licensed. The examples and explanations in this text have been rewritten rather than translated directly from the source wording.