What you'll learn

In this Maya tutorial, we will learn about a wide variety of useful tools and techniques for rigging a human face. Throughout the tutorial we will focus on providing animators with the control they need to create natural expressions with a control rig that computes fast. We will also creatively explore several techniques and tools that can be used to create realistic deformations. Step by step, we will construct a facial control system that is robust and animator-friendly. We will learn everything from how to create a reverse-jaw rig, rigging with curves for flexibility, how to create sticky controls, fleshy eyes, and we will also cover how to set up preset expressions for fast animation. Software required: Maya 2011 and up.