Hey guys, I'm trying (just for fun) to make a new kind of rabbit- a http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jackalope! I envision it as a sort of necromancer's taxidermy project, or maybe an avatar of Hircine.

To make things easier, I've included pictures of what I've done. Screens are a little small for some reason, not sure why Photobucket scaled them down, but you can make out everything important.

I've got the model (http://i101.photobucket.com/albums/m43/danburite/000JackalopeScreent.png), and I've done the following:
1. Made a new http://i101.photobucket.com/albums/m43/danburite/aaaaJackalopeCreature.png, with a custom http://i101.photobucket.com/albums/m43/danburite/aaaJackalopeRace.png.
2. Made a new http://i101.photobucket.com/albums/m43/danburite/aaaaJackalopeArmor.png item.
3. Made an http://i101.photobucket.com/albums/m43/danburite/aaaaJackalopeArmorAddon.png for the Armor.

But for some reason, it still shows up as a normal rabbit!

So, what steps have I missed here?

Was the new piece (helmet) rigged to the rabbit skeleton?

Well, it's attached to the rabbit model, which is rigged to the skeleton.

You *might* need to rig it for it to show up. Or maybe add it as a node on the 3D model and make it a child to the rabbit as a parent.

I'm still new to this stuff though so I might be wrong.

It is a child to the rabbit parent, actually. I'm not really savvy with the proper terminology for this type of thing.

But how would I go about rigging it to the skeleton?

Well if I'm following this correctly (half asleep) then you don't need to rig the skeleton. Rigging is the act of setting up a skeleton for movement. I think what you're asking for is how to weight the mesh to the skeleton. Which makes the mesh move with the skeleton. You would need to learn how to weight paint. Depending on the 3d app you're using it may be named differently. I'm not sure if this is what you're looking for but It would be some good research if you're into custom made creatures. Just Google weight painting tuts and you should find some vids on the subject. Hope this helps and happy modding. ~Shock

Is it really that complicated? I've Frankensteined creatures in Nifskope before (in Oblivion and Fallout), and they've worked just fine. I'm thinking there must be something else that's related to how Skyrim handles creature meshes. Something in the Armor Addon or something like that.

If you added new geometry to the original mesh then that has to be weighted to the skeleton or the mesh won't work. Also idk if you did this but make sure the ck is pointing to your mesh you created. The reason meshes like swords and armor can be added via nifscope and have them show up without weighting is because the actors use a node system. You are essentially using all the vanilla weapon or armor data (like collision) and faking it for your items. If you type out the steps you took I might be able to help better. Like I said half asleep.

Argh, this isn't worth the headache. Now I can't open the damn thing in Blender.

Would anyone be willing to get this mesh working for me? I give up.

Never give up! Trust your instincts!

Might see if can set up as an outfit in the Ck that the rabbit can then wear ... just getting into this with the Draugr and found that for them to wear hair/beards/helmets need to set up 'outfits and assign in the actor templates .. may not work for the rabbit but could be another way to get at it.

I like the idea, reminds me of Red Dead.