Efficient Character Rigging Basics with Maya and Python by Baek Hoon

Learn character body rigging in Autodesk Maya from the ground up and supercharge it with Python: across 23 videos (about 24 hours 55 minutes) you place joints, build controllers and constraints for the waist, neck, head, arms, hands, legs and feet, skin with Paint Skin Tools and ngSkinTool, test and export the rig — then write Maya Python scripts that automate and modularize the whole process.

🎯 What you’ll learn

• Rig a full character body in Maya: joint placement, controllers, constraints and utility nodes
• Rig body regions methodically — waist, neck, head, arms, hands, legs, feet — plus cleanup and space switching
• Skin characters with Paint Skin Tools and ngSkinTool for natural deformation
• Test rigs, apply motion capture, and export rigs to a game engine
• Write MEL and Python scripts for Maya: variables, dicts, conditionals, loops, functions and returns
• Apply Python to real rigging tasks: file search and JSON data management, attaching objects to curves/meshes/surfaces, converting animation to Set Driven Keys
• Automate and modularize rigging (waist-rig module: guide module, script writing, rig testing)
• Prepare a 3D rigger job portfolio and plan for employment

✅ Requirements

• Skills: No coding experience needed — Python is taught from zero with beginner-friendly core syntax and examples; rigging is built up step by step from the basics
• Tools: Autodesk Maya (course uses Maya 2020), Visual Studio Code, ngSkinTool; 5 Maya rigging script files and 5 Python rigging script files are provided as class benefits (character model itself is not provided)
• Hardware: A PC capable of running Maya; each video runs about 30–60 minutes, lifetime streaming (online VOD)

📝 Description

Rigging — planting an armature into an object so a character can move with lifelike quality — is the bridge between character modeling and animation, and demand for 3D characters keeps growing with metaverse platforms, games and animation. This is a rigging plus coding class: instead of finishing one body region only to dread the next, you learn to write Maya scripts with Python that automate and modularize rigging, saving hours of repetitive work.

The first half builds rock-solid fundamentals with Maya’s core features: joints and skin clusters, controllers, constraints and utility nodes, then region-by-region body rigging (waist, neck, head, arms, hands, legs, feet), cleanup, space switching, skinning with Paint Skin Tools and ngSkinTool, rig testing, motion-capture application and engine export. The second half adds coding: MEL vs Python, Python basics (variables, dicts, conditionals, loops, functions), three hands-on Maya Python examples from real production work, and a full waist-rig modularization project — concept, guide module, script writing and testing.

The positioning is explicitly career-driven: Maya rigging is a must-have for overseas game-company jobs and is now also preferred by major domestic studios such as Krafton and NCSoft, and the course closes with how to assemble a 3D rigging portfolio that gets you hired as a 3D rigger. Includes lecture materials and 10 rigging script files.

🧑‍🎓 Who this course is for

• Beginners meeting rigging for the first time or aiming at a rigging job
• 3D artists, animators and modelers who want Maya rigging plus Python automation skills
• Working riggers who want to manage their time better through scripting and modularization
• Job seekers building a 3D rigger portfolio (final videos cover employment prep and portfolio method)

🧑‍🏫 About the Author

Baek Hoon is a 3D rigging artist and rigging supervisor (Newmatic) with 10 years of experience across games, animation and interactive content. His project credits include HYBE’s TinyTAN animation and clip face rigs, Naver Z (Zepeto), Afun Interactive’s Seven Knights 2 Ren virtual live, Redrover’s MegaRacer and ToonBox’s Nut Job 2. He teaches the condensed practical knowledge of a working rigger: essential rigging theory, Maya’s core features, and script-based efficient workflows.

🏁 Final Result

• A finished, tested full-body character rig (waist, neck, head, arms, hands, legs, feet) with clean skinning, space switching and a turntable presentation
• A reusable Python waist-rig automation module plus three applied Maya Python scripts for your toolkit
• A job-oriented 3D rigging portfolio demonstrating both rigging craft and scripting efficiency

📢 Guys, this is a Group Buy campaign, check the GBC forum thread to get access

You can find the course preview in the download section below.