Check out the training videos by Exocortex Species on character setup in softimage using sculpted models from zbrush. Feel free to go through all of the videos…
Ok! Here comes my latest mini tip and tutorial on how we can extract facial shapes from existing facial rig to quickly and efficiently create facial rigs! The video also covers on setting up a quick brow rig driven by facial deformation.
Cheers 🙂
Check out these video tutorials by Brave Rabbit. Good stuffs to give you a Head-Start in rigging. Go through all the videos on vimeo 🙂
“This video provides a technical explanation of how aim constraints work. The purpose is to develop an understanding of fundamental ideas that power more advanced rigging solutions.”
“This video provides an explanation of how to create an effective twist structure for a forearm using an aim constraint. The result is compatible with IK and FK animation, and is not subject to Gimbal locking.”
Useful and informative video tutorials by Adam Mechtley!
An in-house tool for facial rigging developed by Alfred Imageworks for there work Freestyle2 The Movie. Simple setup with intuitive joystick based controllers rigged in a matter of minutes; implemented for games 🙂
Check it out!
Tutorial on setting up a hand roll system by Jeremy Ernst. Useful setup to articulate hand pressing or pushing against a surface!
Very good insights on making of a transformer animation! You can try out similar techniques to make your very own Transformer 🙂
The above image has nothing to do with this post, it’s just a bit of a humor I say!
Like any other form of art and technology, rigging is constantly evolving. As a character rigger need to adapt to evolve. What I think, is keeping stuff simple and organized! We shouldn’t miss out reference (live, image, video, etc), after all rigging or building a puppet is a way to mimic the natural organic or inorganic world as close as possible and this includes a study of art and building tools to ease the workflow.
A proper naming convention, structured rig hierarchy, directory structure, skeleton layout and orientation (understanding the anatomy) are some of the crucial factors. Creating a clean, fast and functional rig in time demands a clean rig layered with base rig, deformation, automation and dynamics as needed and art directed.
Rigging being a bridge between modelling and animation; during production, there tends to be some back and forth between each departments that deals with aritistic and technical changes and it’s a challenge for the rigger to keep the flow and this includes efficient workflow, tool building and referencing. Working closely with modeller, animator and every other department is vital to deliver better output. There will be many challenges and hurdles, as a rigger we need to stand up to it and that’s how we learn and avoid problems.
Cheers 🙂
Bird rigging demo by Wesley Schneider. Lovely character design and beautiful rigs!
