Auto Rig Body

This class will show you how to setup Rapid Rig Modular for bipeds. We’ll find out how RRM works and delete the head as the “neck top” joint is actually the head jnt. Add twist joints and learn how to tweak the fingers and place pivots. Finally we’ll skin the mesh and custom some skin sets for easy tweaking later.

This page covers the basics of skinning in Maya. We’ll cover all the main tools like assigning skin weights, the paint weights tool and component editor, and the editing of skinning in general.

In this class we’ll get more into the preferred skinning workflows in Maya. We’ll use a few scripts to really get the most out of Maya’s skinning functionality and explore the more advanced topics of rigging. Copy skinning between meshes, between topology, using the magic smooth skin tool. Lores to Hires mesh workflow, heat and geodesic skinning and more.

This class will really free up the rigging process by allowing us to rebuild rigs quickly. Mistakes and tests will always find little issues with our rigs. So we need to be able to rebuild fast and be able to go back to the Rapid Rig Modular proxies and tweak pivots/number of joints etc. This class supports the rebuilding of rigs whilst maintaining skinning, blendshapes and the drag and drop facial rig as well.

In this class we’ll explore how to build modification such as custom FK joints and controls. RRM in particular has very heavy FK chains (arbitrary chains) which we’ll want to avoid. Using follicles we’ll able to parent controls to vertices on meshes for appendages and clothing which is handy in certain circumstances. The first half of the class we’ll learn how to build everything manual, then we’ll find how we can build the controls easily with off the shelf scripts.

This class will explore corrective blendshapes for deformation with the Braverabbit SHAPES 2.0 plugin. We’ll explore all sorts of correctives targeted at body deformation, with both automatic driven key setups and “pose space deformation” known in SHAPES as “weighted drivers”. We’ll also quickly cover “animation finaling” a technique that can be a lifesaver in jobs that need to get out the door fast. SHAPES has a free personal learning edition so you’ll be able to get started easily.

This class is a short class on how to reuse skinning to skin other bipeds very quickly. We’ll use a modded skeleton and transfer the skin weights from this lo res mesh onto our new characters. Be sure to be familiar with Rapid Rig Modular and skinning workflows before watching this class.