Constraints & Rigging
Rive's rigging system lets you build character rigs and complex control setups using bones, meshes, and constraints. Rigging means building a control system — a skeleton of bones and handles — that lets you pose and animate a character or graphic without drawing each frame by hand. A constraint links one object's movement to another — so repositioning a single control object automatically moves everything attached to it.
Bones
A bone is an invisible guide object that drives how a mesh deforms. Press B to activate the Bone tool. Click on the Stage to place bone joints and build a bone chain. Bones can be parented to other bones or to groups.
Binding a mesh to bones lets you deform a shape by moving the rig instead of editing individual vertices. This works well for character limbs, cloth, or any surface that needs to flex and bend.
Meshes
A mesh turns a shape into a deformable grid of vertices — like a flexible rubber sheet. Bind the mesh to bones, then move the bones to deform the shape naturally.
To create a mesh: select a shape, open the Inspector, and click Create Mesh.
Constraints
A constraint links one object's position, rotation, or scale to another object. Think of it like a puppet string: move the control object, and the constrained object follows automatically. This lets you build rigs where one control drives secondary motion — for example, a hand bone driving a sleeve, or a joystick controlling a character's head rotation.
Inverse Kinematics (IK) — a technique where you move the end of a chain (like a hand) and Rive automatically figures out how to bend the joints (like the elbow and shoulder) to reach that position — is one of the most powerful constraint types available.
Constraint Types
Lock or copy an object's X/Y position to a target.
Lock or copy an object's rotation angle to a target.
Copy or limit an object's scale based on a target.
Maintain a fixed distance between two objects.
Copy the full transform (position, rotation, scale) from a target.
Inverse Kinematics — position the end of a bone chain; Rive calculates the joint angles automatically.
Attach an object to a path so it moves along the curve.
Link an object's position to a scroll value, enabling parallax or scroll-driven motion.
Adding a Constraint
- Select the object you want to constrain.
- In the Inspector, click + next to Constraints.
- Choose the constraint type.
- Set the Target — the object this constraint reads from.
- Adjust the Strength (0–100%) to blend the constraint's influence with the object's own transform (an object's position, rotation, and scale combined).
Joysticks
A joystick is a high-level control that maps 2D pointer movement to any number of animated properties. Think of a joystick as a single handle that controls a marionette — moving it in 2D automatically adjusts multiple parts of your graphic at once. It builds on top of the animation and constraint system, giving you a single handle to drive complex motion.
Set up a joystick to drive head rotation, IK targets, or any animatable property.