Looking for a rigging mentor

prinn

Hi everyone!

I've been mainly pursuing vfx for the last year or so, but lately I've been wanting to make the jump into 3D --specifically rigging and animation with Maya. While there are many tutorials out--too many, in fact--it would help me tremendously if there was someone who could guide me on a path. What I'm mainly focused on now is rigging and learning Python in Maya to help with rigging.

When I started learning 3D, I had originally wanted to only learn animation. While this was fun for me for a while, it also meant that I was very limited in the amount of models I could use. So I decided to start learning how to rig before diving any deeper into animation. Furthermore, while learning how to rig, I heard that learning how to use Python/Mel was very important to automate processes and create custom tools for rigging. It's just getting to a point where I think I need some help if I want to concentrate and get something done.

I know that it's a tall order to ask for other artists' time, but I figured that I would give it a shot. There are a bunch of really great videos and tutorials out that like Animator Friendly Rigging and Pluralsight, but it's starting to become a bit overwhelming for me what I need to pursue next. 

Also, I'm sorry if General is the wrong place to make this kind of post. 

carvuliero

I can suggest few tutorials till you find mentor :

The Art of Rigging its old but cover everything you need to know about rigging and mel coding  + a lot of scripts you can learn from

CGcircuit - The Base Skeleton /CGcircuit - Biped Skinning

Gnomon Character Rigging Axel/The Gnomon Workshop - Creature Rigging for Production

prinn

carvuliero said:

I can suggest few tutorials till you find mentor :

The Art of Rigging its old but cover everything you need to know about rigging and mel coding  + a lot of scripts you can learn from

CGcircuit - The Base Skeleton /CGcircuit - Biped Skinning

Gnomon Character Rigging Axel/The Gnomon Workshop - Creature Rigging for Production

I've heard about The Art of Rigging but never gave it a shot because I didn't know how outdated it would be. I'll give it another look.

I'll also have to take a look at the CGcircuit and Gnomen ones you mentioned. Thanks a bunch for the material!

carvuliero

I don't know what is your current experience level with rigging is but if you want something more advanced and complex you can check Farley Chery stuff , he have few tutorials with digital tutors

Also CGcircuit - Skinning with nCloth Part I and II

prinn

Actually, I would absolutely love to hear how people self-taught themselves how to rig. Just getting an idea of what you guys went through would help me tremendously!

Edit: Posted this before I saw your comment, Carvuliero. I don't think I've seen the Farley Chery tutorials yet? Would you recommend them over the tutorials that Delano has on Pluralsight? It seems like Delano has a monopoly on rigging tutorials at Pluralsight, but I find it very hard to concentrate when listening to him.

Also, I've never heard of skinning with nCloth before. How does it compare to using Bind Skin with weight painting?

carvuliero

nCloth it simulate realistic fat and skin deformation it for cinematic so you might wont need it for a while just be aware it exist

Farley Chery rigs are fairly complex so you might want to master basics first , if you are not happy with Delano I can suggest 3DMotive - Bipedal Rigging Series Part 1-2 as alternative

I dont know how other people self though rigging but I can tell you how I did it : Back then I was working full time as character/creature artist so I set a goal for myself to study rigging during weekends ,I want to enhance my toolkit also knowing how to rig help you understand how model should be build .Basically I would get a tutorial and do exactly what teacher is doing - > learn the basics then get similar character/creature/prop out of my own models and rig it using same technique then you get a new tutorial and repeat so for about 3 month I was in pretty good shape after 6 month I was able to do complex rigs .If you serious about rigging and do it full time for few months you will be pretty good

prinn

carvuliero said:

I dont know how other people self though rigging but I can tell you how I did it : Back then I was working full time as character/creature artist so I set a goal for myself to study rigging during weekends ,I want to enhance my toolkit .Basically I would get a tutorial and do exactly what teacher is doing - > learn the basics then get similar character/creature/prop out of my own models and rig it using same technique then you get a new tutorial and repeat so for about 3 month I was in pretty good shape after 6 month I was able to do complex rigs .If you serious about rigging and do it full time for few months you will be pretty good

That's awesome and inspiring to hear. I really appreciate the time that you've taken to answer a lot of my newbie questions. Unfortunately, I have several more to ask

• What tutorials did you use to study?
• Are they the same ones you've mentioned in this thread?
• Have you ever gone through the Animator Friendly Rigging DVDs, and if so then how would you rate it? I've heard that it's one of the best tutorials you can get for rigging, but I'm not sure if I want to shell out the hundred or so dollars to get the collection.
• How much Python/Mel is necessary to be decent at rigging? I don't mind learning Python, but I am just confused about how deep I need to go.

carvuliero

::I started with digital tutors they are good at bring you up to speed -> none to advance level range [I remember this one been fun Digital-Tutors - Quick Start to Rigging in Maya , you rig one blue guy and cartoon T-rex and bunch other stuff , either digital tutors or 3DMotive tutorial is good place to start  ] after I was more experience I start messing with the one mention above

:: Yes I study them all

:: Nope somehow I missed this one

:: I dont think you need much at the begging probably when you are at advance - professional level as you will have specific problems you have to solve which will require custom script or tool also , automation/procedural rig is a big thing you might want to investigate that . I pretty much use other people scripts , there are wide variety on the internet and after a while you be able to write your own just by using and study other people scripts , some basic MEL and python wont hurt

prinn

carvuliero said:

::I started with digital tutors they are good at bring you up to speed -> none to advance level range [I remember this one been fun Digital-Tutors - Quick Start to Rigging in Maya , you rig one blue guy and cartoon T-rex and bunch other stuff , either digital tutors or 3DMotive tutorial is good place to start  ] after I was more experience I start messing with the one mention above

:: Yes I study them all

:: Nope somehow I missed this one

:: I dont think you need much at the begging probably when you are at advance - professional level as you will have specific problems you have to solve which will require custom script or tool also , automation/procedural rig is a big thing you might want to investigate that . I pretty much use other people scripts , there are wide variety on the internet and after a while you be able to write your own just by using and study other people scripts , some basic MEL and python wont hurt

Awesome! I'll just keep at it then and go over those tutorials you mentioned, and I guess I'll put Mel/Python to the side until I feel that it's needed.

Thanks for the help and inspiration.

prinn

carvuliero said:

Farley Chery rigs are fairly complex so you might want to master basics first , if you are not happy with Delano I can suggest 3DMotive - Bipedal Rigging Series Part 1-2 as alternative

So I got a subscription to 3DMotive and am almost done with the Bipedal Rigging Series. I'm really loving the series so far as he makes sure you understand everything that's going on. I tried the Farley Chery course on Motion Flow Rigging, but I just could not seem to understand a lot of what he was doing.

Once I'm done with that, I was thinking of moving onto Pluralsight again, but I'm not sure what tutorial I should follow on there next. I was looking at the Advanced Character Rigging tutorial but am not sure if that should be the next step after 3DMotive. One thing that I have a hard time with is using blendshapes. 

Also, would anyone know if--for The Art of Rigging--just watching the videos would be enough to get general understanding of the books? A friend of mine had bought the books years ago but has since lost them and only has the DVDs. 

carvuliero

I suggest you ask in the animation section of the forum[http://polycount.com/categories/animation-showcase-critiques ] as well not sure how many people actually reading education section

I can send you art of rigging book if that's important for you

Maybe check on digital tutor Rigging Game Characters in Maya [biker character]

prinn

carvuliero said:

I suggest you ask in the animation section of the forum[http://polycount.com/categories/animation-showcase-critiques ] as well not sure how many people actually reading education section

I can send you art of rigging book if that's important for you

Maybe check on digital tutor Rigging Game Characters in Maya [biker character]

That would be amazing if I could get those books from you. And I'll check out that tutorial on DT. I don't think I remember seeing the Biker Character tutorial before.