Rigging Tank Treads in Maya
In this Maya tutorial we will learn how to rig tank treads. Software required: Autodesk Maya 2014.
What you'll learn
In this Maya tutorial we will learn how to rig tank treads. We'll get started by setting up our initial tread, learning how to prevent flipping issues, how to have the tread move properly as we move our vehicle, making sure it flows in the right direction and cycles along its path. We'll then learn how a script can be built to evenly position treads along our path to save you a lot of time. Along the way, we'll cover topics like how to set up wheel rotations to move with the treads, how to conform the treads to follow an uneven terrain, and how to make the rig scalable. By the end of this training, you will be equipped with the skill set needed to rig your own robust tread systems. Software required: Autodesk Maya 2014.
Table of contents
- Setting up Our Scene and Adding Controls for the Treads 12m
- Driving the Initial Tread 13m
- Correcting the Tread as It Moves Along Its Path 8m
- Finalizing the Tread Control and Scaling the Rig 7m
- Cloning the Treads 15m
- Scaling Our Treads 6m
- Setting up Treads on the Other Half of the Vehicle 14m
- Controlling the Rotation of the Wheels 12m
- Constraining the Treads to Uneven Terrain 16m
- Finishing Our Surface Constraint System 7m
- Finalizing the Rig 3m
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