What you'll learn

Welcome to Volume 3 of Quick Start to Rigging in Maya, a series of specially constructed tutorials meant to be followed in sequence and interspersed with valuable exercises to reinforce learned concepts. In this volume, we'll build on the concepts covered in volume 2. We'll start by learning how to create a skeleton that would be suitable for creatures. We'll cover weight painting techniques. We'll learn how to work with Maya's Spline IK solver and how to build our very own IK/FK switch. We'll add a custom channel to control the resolution of our character, and even get into a bit of MEL scripting and learn how it can be used to parent shape nodes. Ultimately, we'll focus on cleanliness throughout the entire construction of the rig. These courses are designed to be taken in sequence so we really encourage you to start with Volume 2 before continuing with this section. We also encourage you to take advantage of the assignments that follow each volume. These assignments will allow you to take what you've learned and apply those tools and techniques to your own projects. Software required: Autodesk Maya 2014.