3D Rigging
A closer look at the arm setup that I created for the Gary rig. I utilized both an IK and FK setup to give animators more control over his arm positions depending on each shot. Each finger has three assigned controls, and there is a wrist, elbow, and shoulder control for each arm.
Gary
This rig was created for the short student film, "As Luck Would Have It". It features IK/FK controls for the legs, with additional controls for the heel, ball, and toes on the feet. His spine uses FK multiple FK controls. His arms have IK/FK controls and multiple controls for the fingers. For his face, I have given him multiple controls for his eyebrows, nose, and mustache so that he may be more expressive. His hair comes with a built-in control connected to a blendshape for scenes in which he is wearing his headphones so that his hair does not clip through.
A closer look at the facial setup that I created for the Gary rig. Gary has limited facial features, but I still opted to give him controls on the nose, eyebrows, and mustache in order to convey his emotions to the viewer within each animation. Because the eyebrow and mustache models are separate from his face model, I also opted to give them controls that would allow them to move independently of the face. Lastly, because some shots feature him wearing headphones, I added a blendshape to his hair that can be turned on and off via the large hair controller, so that the hair model doesn't clip through the headphones model while animating.
A closer look at the leg setup that I created for the Gary rig. I utilized both an IK and FK setup to give animators more control over his leg positions depending on each shot. Each leg has a hip, knee, ankle, ball, and toe controller within the FK setup. The IK setup features additional rotation controls nestled within the foot control, allowing animators to swivel the foot and leg along the heel, ball, and toe positions.
This video goes into some detail on the bird's wing rig. I used FK joints in the main body of the wings, as an IK setup was not necessary for our student film. They allow the animator to rotate the wings and the shoulders to any position required for each shot. I also included deformers for the feathers, including both individual joints for each feather and controls that would bend all feathers at once. Lastly, the bird contains a wing tuck control, so animators may be allowed to tuck in the wings without worrying about the position of the feathers or the main wing body.
This video goes into some detail on the bird's face rig. The bird comes with some basic facial attributes, as he was not intended to be an especially expressive character. The beak opens and closes and contains a tongue object, which the animator can move and bend if necessary. He also contains an eye control, allowing his eyes to rotate if necessary, and a blink control that is connected to a basic blendshape.
Bird
This rig was created for "Quest for the Key", a SCAD student film directed by Kat Nowak. The bird has IK/FK legs, with feet controls that allow the toes to be posed. His wings are FK controlled and a wire deformer for the feathers, as well as an automatic wing tuck control. His facial controls include an eye aim, beak, and multiple tongue controls. His spine is an FK control, with multiple controls allowing for flexible movement of his body.
This video goes into some detail on the bird's wing leg/foot rig. The bird comes with both FK and IK controls, useful for both when the character is standing and when he's in flight. He has a number of individual toe controls, which are all FK no matter which mode the overall leg rig is set to. His claws can move independently of the rest of his foot.
Rover
This rig was created for "Rovin' Rover", a 3D exploration game made during Global Gam Jam 2021. It features the main character, Rover. The legs have IK/FK controls, with joints to manipulate different parts of the toe, ball, ankle, and heel of the foot. His spine has an FK setup, including root and clavicle controls, as well as a hip wiggle control. His tail has working FK/IK controls. His face contains ear, tongue, jaw, and nose controls.
This video goes into some detail on Rover's front leg rig. He has both IK and FK joint setups for his front legs, and I had to account for the unique skeletal structure of canine animals when creating this rig. Rover contains some swivel controls in feet, as well, allowing animators to manipulate the toes, heels, and ball joints of the leg when animating in IK mode.
This video goes into some detail on Rover's hind leg rig. Similar to the front leg rig, Rover's hind legs contain IK and FK controls, as well as various swivel controls in the feet when in IK mode. The joint setup is slightly different when compared to his front legs, due to the different skeletal structure of canines between the front and back legs. One of the difficulties I had was making sure each joint rotated properly and did not remain stiff when manipulating the leg in IK. I believe I found a setup that allowed for proper rotations, allowing for realistic movement in the character.
This video goes into some detail on Rover's spine rig. I utilized both an IK and FK setup for Rover's spine. Both of them can be manipulated to allow the animator to bend the spine into any position necessary for the shot. The spine operates independently of the tail rig, so the spine can be manipulated without changing the tail's joints.
This video goes into some detail on Rover's tail rig. Much like the rest of the body, Rover's tail has both an IK and FK setup. The FK is useful when the character needs to wag his tail or wave it around according to the movement of the rest of the body. Additionally, the IK setup can be used to hold the tail in place when the rest of the body is in motion, or if it needs to be stuck into a particular spot.
This video goes into some detail on Rover's face rig. Because he is an eyeless character, an eye rig was not necessary for this character. I gave Rover ear joints, allowing him to express his emotions through his ears. Because dogs often utilize their nose and tongues in their movement, I gave Rover a number of controls for both these body parts.
Atlas
This rig was created for the short student film, "Brake", directed by Aja Weary. I helped rig the dog character named Atlas, specifically his front and back legs, so that the body may rotate in a natural and appealing way. The video to the right demonstrates the setup I created for the front legs and all related joints/bones.
The video to the left demonstrates the rigging setup I created for Atlas' back legs. Each set of legs have a similar but separate setup applied to them, though both feature FK/IK controls. They also include additional rotation attributes in each part of the feet and ankle region to allow for more flexibility in the rig, so that an animator may bend them into any position necessary.
Kuma
This rig was created for the short student film, "Brake", directed by Aja Weary. I worked on the facial controls for the bear character Kuma, which are driven by blendshapes. They are controlled through a picker located on the side of his head, which stays in place no matter where his body moves. He has individual blendshapes for his eyes, eyebrows, nose, and different parts of his mouth, providing the animator with multiple ways to change his expression.
This video contains a more in-depth look at how Kuma's face rig works, the appearance of the control panel, and how each blendshape is rigged to the control panel to allow for expressive facial movements in the character. Because Kumo is a very expressive character within the short film, I gave him multiple controls for his eyes, mouth, and nose so animators can create any expression necessary for each scene.
3D Animator
Jackie Geiger
