PANEL:

The panel is shown in 3D view > Sidebar > Free Walk for Rigify when the armature is in pose mode:

[ SET layers ]

This button turns ON only the Rigify layers that will be used. The others will be turned OFF.

REFERENCE:

For the addon to work properly, it is necessary to calibrate the program because each character has specific measurements. So select all bones, reset all transformations and place the character in the pose shown bellow:

[ GET reference ]

This button captures the reference pose to memory.

MOVEMENT:

The panel offers some controls to customize the walking animation:

[ Type ]

Only walk_normal available yet.

[ Man <> Woman ]

0.00 <> 1.00

[ Swing ]

0.00 <> 1.00

[ slow ] [ normal ] [ fast ]

Walking speed selector.

MOVE_CYCLE:

It plays movement in a repeating loop:

[ Preview Cycle ]

This button starts the walk preview. The processing is repeat 12 times per second, however the animation is updated only at key points.

[ ABORT ]

This button aborts the preview. The character’s pose is restoured and the scene is updated.

[ Create Cycle ]

This button converts the preview into an action. The frame rate of the scene is considered for time preservation. The values of the controls are recorded in the action name.

MOVE_FREE:

It plays movement in a free sequence. Be careful, this process writes keyframes to the current action, so make sure the correct action is selected before using it.

[ L ]

This button starts the process with the left leg foward.

[ R ]

This button starts the process with the right leg foward.

After clicking on [ L ] or [ R ] button, the addon adds an Empty to the scene, it is possible to rotate it to direct the movement on its y-axis:

[ ABORT ]

This button aborts the process.

[ Complete_? ]

This button generates the movement, step-by-step, while inserting the keyframes. It is possible to adjust the positions of the bones at each step. The program considers the new positions before completing the movement, however the keyframes must have been replaced.

CENTRALIZE:

It centers the root. Just go to the last keyframe and choose the desired option. The addon insert all necessary keyframes. Be careful, make sure the correct action is selected before using it.

[ Centralize ]

This button starts the centering process.

After clicking on [ Centralize ] button, the addon adds an Empty to the scene. The root is centered according to its position and rotation.

[ ABORT ]

This button aborts the centering process.

[ Root ]

This button only centers the root.

[ All ]

This button centers the object and the root.

how to install:

Copy the .py file into the blender installation folder (example, blender > 3.1 > scripts > addons), or start the Blender, open the Preferences > Add-ons and click on the Install button to select the .py file. The addon will be listed and you can enable it by pressing the checkbox:

limitations:

The addon only works with modern versions of Rigify rigs (0.6.5 or later). It is necessary to maintain the original names of the bones and layers (or change the variables and commands in the script):