Deekay Rigging & Motion by MDS

A focused course on building character rigs from scratch in After Effects. You’ll learn how to set up flexible controls, use expressions, and animate efficiently—without relying on third-party plugins.

🎯 What you’ll learn

• Build a complete character rig using shape layers and paths
• Use Forward Kinematics (FK) and Inverse Kinematics (IK) systems
• Create a facial rig with single-controller expressions
• Animate walk cycles and full-body motion with the Deekay Tool

✅ Requirements

• Skills: Basic knowledge of After Effects interface and layers
• Tools: 3-button mouse
• Hardware: Minimum 8GB RAM, dedicated GPU recommended

📝 Description

This course is built around practical rigging techniques you can actually use in production. Instead of showing one rigid workflow, it breaks down multiple approaches—FK, IK, path rigs, and hybrid systems—so you can pick what fits your project.

You’ll start by designing a character’s limbs and body using shape layers, then move into setting up controls that make animation faster. The lessons cover real-world problems: how to keep your rig clean, how to use expressions to automate repetitive tasks, and how to avoid common pitfalls like broken parenting or overlapping keyframes.

The later modules focus on full-body animation. You’ll rig a walk cycle, add facial expressions with a single slider, and even explore the Deekay Tool Light for one-click auto-rigging. Every technique is demonstrated with a finished animation so you can see the result before you build it yourself.

🧑‍🎓 Who this course is for

• Motion designers who know After Effects basics but want to level up their character animation
• Animators looking for a structured, non-destructive rigging workflow
• Freelancers who need to produce polished character animations faster

🧑‍🏫 About the Author

MDS is the team behind Motion Design School, a platform known for practical, project-based courses taught by industry professionals. Their instructors have worked on commercial animation, broadcast design, and explainer videos, bringing real pipeline experience to every lesson.

🏁 Final Result

• A fully rigged, animated character with a walk cycle and facial expressions, ready for portfolio use.