Advanced Character Rigging in Maya
In this series of Maya tutorials we will learn advanced character rigging techniques in Maya. Software Required: Autodesk Maya 2013.
What you'll learn
In this series of Maya tutorials we will learn advanced character rigging techniques in Maya. We'll start by creating a modular rig we can insert into our skeletons for flexibility and speed. We'll learn how to create and utilize custom tools to work smarter. We'll learn how to create IK FK systems, and learn how to enhance these systems to produce more exaggerated results. We'll even explore ways we can create non-flipping twist rigs that do a great job at holding volume. By the end of this tutorial, you'll have a solid grasp of rigging characters and be able to use the techniques on your own characters. Software Required: Autodesk Maya 2013.
Table of contents
- The Flexi-plane 5m
- Starting on the Flexi-plane 9m
- Controlling the Flexi-plane 14m
- Finishing the Flexi-plane's Translation Controls 9m
- Organizing and Transforming the Flexi-plane 10m
- Setting up the Joints and Twist Control for the Flexi Rig 12m
- Finalizing the Flexi-plane 15m
- Preparing Tools and Custom Scripts to Make Our Workflow More Efficient 20m
- Starting on the Spine 8m
- Animation Controls for the Spine 11m
- Adding a Center-of-gravity Control 8m
- Rigging the Neck and Head 6m
- The Head Control 4m
- Dynamically Parenting the Head to the Chest 4m
- Connecting the Neck's Flexi-plane to the Head Control 10m
- Troubleshooting and Progress Check for the Torso 5m
- Rigging the Legs 11m
- Creating Systems for Ik/fk Legs 11m
- Finishing the Ik/fk Systems for the Legs 7m
- Starting on Our Leg Controls 9m
- Finishing the Reverse-foot Rig 12m
- Animation Controls for the Ik Legs 7m
- Creating Custom Channels to Control the Feet in Ik Mode 12m
- Fk Leg Controls 8m
- Connecting the Fk Joint the Animation Controls 10m
- Swapping the Visibility of Our Ik/fk Controls 5m
- Foot Bending Controls 5m
- Creating a Stretchy System for the Ik Legs 6m
- Making the Ik Legs Stretchy 14m
- Stretchy Fk Legs 6m
- Connecting the Stretchy Ik/fk Systems to the Primary Leg Chains 7m
- Connecting a Flexi-plane to the Left Thigh 5m
- Creating Counter-twist Rigs to Hold Volume 10m
- Finishing the Right Thigh's Rig 10m
- Adding Flexi-planes to the Shin 4m
- Finishing the Flexi-planes Connected to the Shins 12m
- Bend Controls to Stretch the Knees 11m
- Troubleshooting and Progress Check for the Legs 6m
- Rigging the Arms 5m
- Creating Joints for the Hands 3m
- Finger Joints 11m
- Ik/fk Systems for the Arms 7m
- Animation Controls for the Ik Arms 7m
- Creating Fk Arm Controls 12m
- Swapping Between the Ik and Fk Arm Controls 2m
- Adding Clavicle Controls 7m
- Creating Finger Controls 12m
- Finishing the Fingers 9m
- Stretchy Ik Arms 12m
- Stretchy Fk Arms 3m
- Connecting the Primary Arm Chains to the Stretchy Ik/fk Systems 4m
- Attaching Flexi-planes to the Shoulders 8m
- Connecting Flexi-planes to the Forearms 9m
- Bend Controls for the Arms 8m
- Troubleshooting / Progress Check: The Arms 9m
- Binding the Legs and Knee Preservation Joints 15m
- Binding the Arms /Elbow Preservation Joints 11m
- Binding the Head 7m
- Skinning the T-shirt 9m
- Skinning the Shorts 6m
- Rigging the Shoes 9m
- Troubleshooting and Progress Check for Skinning 12m
- Rigging the Head to Squash and Stretch 8m
- Finalizing the Rig 7m
- Using Ncloth the Animate the Flags 7m
- Improving the Counter-twist Systems Connected to the Character's Legs 9m
Course FAQ
To really get the most out of this intermediate level may rigging tutorial you need to be using Autodesk Maya version 2013.
This maya rigging training is for ADVANCED level digital animators with some strong familiarity in Maya 2013 and it's expansive toolset.
This advanced Maya tutorial will help you learn character rigging techniques including how to rig a skeleton and other advanced character rigging techniques like:
- How to create a Modular Rig
- How to create IK FK systems
- How to create non-flipping twist rigs
About the author
Delano works avidly as an animation author at Pluralsight. Starting his career at animation studios like Shilo, Delano has developed a strong passion for his talents. His animation and rigging background help him teach and create some of the most-watched training on Pluralsight. A few of his favorite projects that he has contributed to include: Character Interaction in Maya and in Softimage, Rigging the Human Face in Maya, Rigging Sea Creatures in Maya, and Rigging and Animating Transforming... more