How do I apply a simple armature that I made to a model?

Question

I have a simple model that I want to animate for a short film. How do I attach an armature to a model? I want to be able to move the armature, which will control the model, and pose the model for animation.

Answer 1

In object mode right click the model than right click the armature with Shift after selecting both the model and the armature set the parent by Ctrl-p and choose the option with automatic weights.

^{object mode}

Finally you can change the armature in pose mode and the model will deform.

^{object mode}

To change the weights (how much a region of the model is influenced by the position of a particular bone) you can enter the weight paint mode and use the brushes to assign different weights.

For rigging a human character you should learn about Rigify which must be enabled in the user preferences / addons section.

^{weight paint mode}