University
Rigging Mechanics, Tools and Techniques
A university rigging project focused on building an animation-friendly Maya rig with clean hierarchy, intuitive controls and reliable deformation.
CONTEXT
University project
MY ROLE
Character rigging, skinning, controllers and deformation testing
TOOLS & SOFTWARE
Autodesk Maya
ngSkinTools
Process & exploration
Rigging workflow
Rigging prepares a model for animation by building a joint structure, adding controls, binding the mesh and testing how it deforms. This project documents that workflow in Autodesk Maya, from scene setup and joint placement through skinning and pose refinement.
Core setup
The work covers joint orientation, controller placement, skinning and binding, plus tests to refine the rig. Maya’s grid was changed from centimeters to meters before rigging.
Create a joint hierarchy and orient the joints
Place controllers and connect them with constraints
Bind and skin the model
Set up IK/FK and set-driven keys
Test the rig in extreme poses and refine deformations
Outcome & reflection
Final renders
The project concludes with pose renders used to demonstrate deformation. The rig was tested in multiple poses, including extremes, and the set-driven keys were checked as part of the final refinement.
Have a project in mind? Let’s talk ↗
More ideas. More possibilities.
NEXT PROJECT
A 10-second 3D product advertisement for a fictional energy drink, developed through Houdini simulations, procedural workflows and compositing.