Automated Fish Rig & Bracelet
Software: Maya | Python
"Lavender Haze" & "Bejeweled" Taylor Swift Music Videos
Rigged the fish and props as seen in the demo. For the fish rigs, I created an automated IK spline swim setup to save the animator's time. Instead of having to keyframe each part of the spine, animators could easily tweak swim speed, amplitude, wavelength, and start position. FK controls were also added to give animators extra precision within the rig, making for a blend of automated movement and FK movement.
Necklace & bracelet props were also created with a similar method, blending IK & FK controls for automated movement and precision controls.
Diamonds were also rigged via a tool I wrote. Animators were able to select all diamond geometries, run my tool, and a simple FK rig would be applied to each diamond.
Matrix Math Rigs/ Robot Character
Eric The Robot
The Eric Bot is an enemy robot from our game "Rage Quit". On the outside, this is a simple rig, but under the hood it has some interesting work. The entire rig was created using matrix math in Maya, meaning that NO constraints were used in the making of this rig. I wanted to challenge myself by making a full rig using matrices and for our game, I got to take the plunge. Learning matrix math opened my eyes to the underlying reasons why rigs work the way they do. The relationship between 3D space and the objects within it was something that fascinated me and was a joy to learn more about.
Full breakdown here:
Software: Maya | Unreal Engine
First Person Hammer Rig
First Person Character and Hammer Rigs
In our game "Rage Quit" we see the perspective through the eyes of the character. Like the Eric Bot, the entire rig was created using matrix math. What is neat about this rig is the addition of 3D smear frames! To achieve the 3D smear effect, I duplicated the hammer geometry, skinned it differently to a different set of joints, and would unhide it when I wanted it to be used. The result was a customizable smear for the hammer, adding an extra layer of detail to the swings in the game.
Full breakdown here:
Software: Maya | Unreal Engine
Pure Math Ribbon Rig
An updated take on ribbon rigs
After creating the matrix based rigs for the robot characters, I wanted to spend more time learning how to use math nodes to create more complicated setups. In this rig, I learned how to recreate NURBS ribbon behavior by only using math nodes. It showed me a lot about how Maya evaluates efficient math nodes compared to inefficient legacy nodes. In the article I wrote on this, I go in depth to describe and prove how my ribbon is parallel evaluation friendly and runs very smoothly.
Full breakdown here:
Software: Maya | Unreal Engine
VFS Student Tools
Animation & Rigging Tools For Maya
After graduating from VFS, I was tasked with creating tools for students in the Game Design program to speed up production. My tools are written with Python and are designed to be student friendly in Maya. The current tools cover a range of motion capture animation modification, keyframe animation mirroring, and controller layout tools. These tools are being updated often, and if you would like a full breakdown with examples of every tool I created, please check out the article below.
Full breakdown here:
Software: Maya | Python
Daddy Goro Feet
Goro Goro
Rigged "Daddy Goro's" feet, the main portrayal of his character in our short film, inspired by old cartoons. The fun challenge about this rig was how I was supposed to rig this so that just the feet could portray whole emotions and reactions that we were aiming for. This was not a simple foot rig, rather it was designed to be expressive and detailed. A lot of time was spent sculpting out blend shapes for the feet so that specific poses could be achieved while still looking appealing. Anklets were also rigged with an IK & FK blend, so the entire anklet could be animated with ease and with specific controls just in case.
Software: Maya
Face Rig
Abby Face Rig
Abby was rigged using a combination of blend shapes, joints, and live blend shapes. It was a lot of fun getting to study the different expressions that had to be made, and it was inexplicably confidence boosting to watch her come to life with every step!
Software: Maya
Autorigger WIP
Autorigger WIP
This is my old autorigger that I wrote while I was learning how to rig using Python. In my first autorigger, I was able to make a full biped character with IK/ FK switching, stretchy IKs, infinite spine twist, and foot roll. This rig is very outdated but I wanted to keep it on my website to show progression.
Software: Maya | Python
Body Rig Example
Max
This is a fully rigged biped character from my Fall 2021 rigging class. Retopology and rigging was done by myself. It has a lot of neat features too, like space switch, bendy via nurbs ribbons, infinite spine twist and foot roll. Most of the rig was also created in Python too!
The only aspects that aren't scripted yet are features like the foot roll and the nurbs ribbons in the limbs.
Software: Maya | Python
Quadruped Rig
Cody
This is a dog rig from a quadruped rigging class I took early 2021. The dog character has features like IK/ FK switch, bendies via nurbs ribbons, infinite spine twist, and foot roll. This rig follows the same rigging method as the biped rig.
Software: Maya
Snufkin Rig
Snufkin
"Snufkin" from the Moomin cartoon series. All modeling, rigging, colors, lighting, posing, and rendering done by myself.
This is one of my first completed rigs, made in early 2020.
Software: Maya | Substance Painter, After Effects