Introduction to Character Rigging in Maya
In this series of tutorials, you will gain a solid foundation in the character rigging process. Software required: Autodesk Maya 2014.
What you'll learn
In this series of tutorials, you will gain a solid foundation in the character rigging process. We'll get started by first learning how to create a skeleton that is clean and that will deform well. We'll then bind our character to our skeleton and cover some time-saving weight painting techniques. After that, we'll set up controls that are user-friendly. Along the way, we will also learn how a control object's Rotate Order can help to prevent Gimbal Lock interpolations, how to export skin weights using MEL, as well as how to mirror Blend Shapes and use Blend Shape targets to correct deformations. By the end of this set of tutorials, you will have the understanding needed to rig your own characters. Software required: Autodesk Maya 2014.
Table of contents
- Starting on the Skeleton 11m
- Finishing the Left Leg Joint Chain 13m
- Adding a Hip Bone and Mirroring the Leg Chain 9m
- Adding Joints for the Spine, Neck, and Head 8m
- Setting up Joints for the Eyes 6m
- Creating a Joint Chain for the Left Arm 4m
- Building Joints for the Left Hand 11m
- Mirroring Our Arm Chain and Rigging the Tail 4m
- Skinning the Character 17m
- Weight Painting Techniques 17m
- Utilizing the Component Editor and Exporting Skin Weights 11m
- Inverse Kinematics and Organizing Our Rig with Groups 6m
- Creating Reverse Foot Bones 7m
- Setting up the Foot Controls 12m
- Choosing a Rotate Order for Your Controls 5m
- Creating Custom Attributes 5m
- Utilizing Driven Keys to Automate Movement 7m
- Rigging the Knees 10m
- Creating Torso Controls 7m
- Establishing a Center-of-gravity Control 5m
- Adding Controls for the Neck and Head 5m
- The Eye Controls 8m
- Building Arm Controls 4m
- Setting up Elbow Controls 4m
- Starting on the Finger Controls 10m
- Finishing the Finger Controls 10m
- Setting up Tail Controls 10m
- Finalizing Our Rig 11m
- Utilizing the Blend Shape Deformer to Correct Deformations 9m
- Mirroring a Blend Shape 5m
- Finishing Our Corrective Deformations 7m
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