Hi there I am trying to rig an arm where it bends sharp in the front and smooth in the back. I have painted the weights the best I could, but I was wondering if there is anyway to prevent the geo from overlapping? I would prefer not to use blend shapes because I want to use IK arm rigs. Thanks for your help!!!!
First off, your elbow pivot should be in the middle of those edge loops that are close together, not at the bottom of them.
You won't be able to get the result you want with a single elbow bone and skinning. You'll need to use blendShapes (which work with FK and IK arms, so don't worry about that) or helper joints.
Helper joints are joints that are attached to the elbow, and have a little bit of weight painted on them. When you bend the elbow the joints get pushed out to make the bending deformation look better.
