Maya Character Rigging

On June 2, 2020

Release date:2012, February 16

Author:George Maestri

Skill level:Intermediate

Language:English

Exercise files:Yes

Character Rigging in Maya provides a basic introduction to rigging theory, and delves into the details of how to create professional, realistic 3D characters. Instructor and animation veteran George Maestri shows how to combine Maya’s skeleton, inverse kinematics (IK), and constraint tools to create a basic rig for a character, and how to attach the character mesh to the skeleton using Maya’s skinning tools. The course also explores advanced rigging controls such as IK switches and facial animation and how to create a control panel to manipulate the character’s expressions. Exercise files accompany the tutorials.
Topics include:
Understanding the basics of rigging
Creating skeletons
Modifying joint attributes
Working with inverse kinematics and constraints
Rigging characters
Using Maya’s new HumanIK skeletons/rigs
Setting up an FK/IK switch
Creating custom facial rigs
Binding skin using Smooth Bind
Painting and editing skin weights
Using expressions to rig a character’s mouth controls
Controlling eye direction
Finalizing a rig

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01 Rig a character from scratch in Maya
02 Make the most of the exercise files
03 Rigs and interface design
04 Basic rules of rigging
05 Creating joints
06 Rotation order and joint flipping
07 Creating constraints
08 Connections in the Node Editor
09 Offset nodes
10 Offset Parent Matrix
11 Setting up the character
12 Drawing the leg chains
13 Drawing the spine
14 Adding ribs to the skeleton
15 Positioning arm bones
16 Creating hand skeletons
17 Finalizing the skeleton
18 Positioning the foot control splines
19 Setting up IK leg chains
20 Rigging the heel and toe controls
21 Controlling the hip
22 Controlling knee direction
23 Organizing control rigs
24 Aligning the body controls
25 Connecting body controls
26 Setting up the spine controls
27 Connecting spine controls
28 Creating shoulder controls
29 Understanding FK and IK rigging
30 Creating control skeletons
31 Constraining the control skeletons
32 Connecting the main skeleton
33 Creating floating controls
34 Wiring up the FK and IK switch
35 Hiding and showing controls
36 Setting up offset nodes
37 Setting up finger FK controls
38 Creating custom attributes
39 Getting the fingers to curl
40 Controlling finger spread
41 Preparing the skeleton for skinning
42 Applying the skin modifier
43 Adjusting skinning via paint weights
44 Fine tuning weighting
45 Mirroring weights
46 Next steps