Animating Next-Gen Characters in Maya
Learn a production workflow for game animation and time-saving methods for creating game-ready characters rigs, non-linear animation, and adding appeal. Software required: Maya 8.0 and up.
What you'll learn
Learn a production workflow for game animation and time-saving methods for creating game-ready characters rigs, non-linear animation, and adding appeal. Contains over 6 hours of project-based training for artists learning character animation for next-generation games. Popular highlights include: Rigging Techniques for Games; Scene Organization; Custom Shelves; Creating Control Objects with MEL; Constraints; Advanced Spline IK Twist control; Alias Attributes; Binding Techniques; Rotation Order; Follow-through; Exaggeration; Arcs; Timing and Spacing; Weight; Cycling Animation; Animated Transitions; Character Sets; Trax Editor. You may use Maya version 8. 0 and up to follow along with the training. X-Ray Joints is the only feature that we discuss that is available in Maya version 2008 and up only. Software required: Maya 8.0 and up.
Table of contents
- Building a Custom Shelf 3m
- Creating MEL Buttons to Generate Control Objects 11m
- Constructing the Character's Legs 11m
- Setting up Control Objects for the Legs 10m
- Finishing the Leg Controls 7m
- Building the Spine 6m
- Rigging the Spine Using the Spline IK Tool 5m
- Establishing the Hip and Chest Control Objects 12m
- Finalizing the Spine Controls 6m
- Efficiently Controlling the Neck and Head 6m
- Finishing the Head Rig 10m
- Building the Left Arm 10m
- Controlling the Left Arm 9m
- Custom Attributes for the Fingers 7m
- Rigging the Right Arm 8m
- Setting up the Forearm Twist via the Connection Editor 3m
- Controlling the Shoulder Pads 7m
- Manipulating the Back Hoses 8m
- Utilizing Global Scale 8m
- Adding Character and Sub-character Sets 7m
- Binding the Character to the Skeleton 7m
- Adding Influence to the Chest Plate and Shoulder Pads 7m
- Painting Weights on the Hip 7m
- Fixing the Deformations of the Fingers 11m
- Adding Falloff to the Right Arm's Hose 11m
- Modifying the Weights of the Back Hoses 8m
- Choosing a Suitable Rotation Order for Control Objects 5m
- Starting the Run Animation / Posing the Contact Position of the Run 9m
- Animating the Peak Position of the Run 10m
- Cycling the Run / Fine-tuning the Flow of the Lower Body 13m
- Finalizing the Legs 12m
- Shifting the Hips in the Z Axis 7m
- Keeping the Upper Body Balanced Throughout the Run 5m
- Adding Follow-through to the Upper Body and Head in the X Axis 8m
- Animating the Twisting of the Upper Body and Head During the Run 6m
- Wrapping up the Upper Body 5m
- Starting on the Arms 11m
- Finishing the Arms 10m
- Animating the Shoulder Pads 9m
- Adding Follow-through to the Back Hoses; Finishing the Run Cycle 8m
- Upper Body Recoil for the Point Animation 4m
- Enhancing the Planted Foot During the Point Animation 3m
- Creating Arm Jiggle to Show the Weight of the Weapon 5m
- Creating Animation Clips to Quickly Retrieve Animation Data 12m
- Other Animation Examples 8m
- Bonus: Animating Transitions 5m
- Bonus: Removing Attributes from Character Sets 2m
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