Intuitive Rigging Exploring and refining the process of 3D character rigging by building an advanced 3D character animation rig is the essential element of 3D character animation.

Introduction Rigging is a process requires a 3d character rigger to provide controls over a 3d character model for 3d character animator Early traditional rigging were only apply to physical puppets Proto character rigging techniques for puppets: i) String puppets ii) Puppets on stick iii) Shadow puppets iv) Hand puppets

Traditional Technique Comparison of the traditional technique (i.e. string and wooden joints) Quite efficient- managed to bring drama to the audience in a miniscule sense Supported by the imagination of the audience and good story telling skills of the puppet master Pros Simple yet effective method Crude material but extremely fine craftsmanship Cons Limited movement Cannot portray complex movement and expressions, Plain give away with the supportive structure and controllers

Stop-motion Technique The invention of film gave rise to the invention of animated effects, such as stop-motion King Kong, 1933, pushed the stop-motion technique to a new high. Pioneered by Willis O'Brien Ray Harryhausen continued to utilize stop-motion technique in many films i.e. The 7 th Voyage of Sinbad, Jason and the Argonauts

Pre-rigging: Modeling The methodology of good 3d modeling- defining contour and topology Modeling methods: NURBS(patch modeling), polygon and subdivision Different modeling techniques require slightly different binding approach

Rigging: The principles Visually recognizable control selections Easy to select Unbreakable Scripting and expression Basic deformation controls(procedurally implemented to the rig)

Intuitive Rig Controls are at the hand of the animator The 3d character can be easily selected and manipulated Customizable animation attributes to provide wider range of movement and poses Several levels of controls -locomotion, facial expression and secondary motion The more flexible the rig is, the more successful the animation will be

3D Joints Most fundamental element in rigging Methodology of muscular system, the mechanism that moves us Joints method is used in 3d rigging to facilitate the controls of animation More viable approach, less computational needs

Network of Joints Breaking down into different division of the joint network Various region of the body require different rigging techniques More flexible deformation on the character require more joints

Representational Approach Implementation of the selectable controllersselectable controllers Strategic joints are linked by visually recognizable shapes Whole network is divided and influence by different controllers Expression added to drive the joints Additional expression for muscular deformationmuscular deformation Procedures are written for repetitive processes (recursive process) Basic dynamic control is implemented i.e. Jim’s semi-soft body paradigm

Direct Selection Approach Implementing the low-res model itself for selectable controllersselectable controllers The character model is detached into different region of the body Joints are parented to the correspondent body parts So far only FK technique can be used with this techniqueFK technique Consideration of having IK and FK switch Expression and real-time basic dynamic are implemented

Character Binding Process of assigning each and every single vertices or CV’s to the joint system Hand tweaking and weight painting are required Deformational shapes are added before the binding Other deformational influences will be employed for better deformation Much more complex simulation are passing down to dynamics TD’s (I.e. hair and cloth) The bound character is vigorously tested

Conclusion Shadow puppet as a metaphor for intuitive character rigging Character TD’s will have to go through many phrases of testing of the rig These days it’s viable to employ complex real-time dynamic with much more powerful machines An intuitive and efficient rig will ultimately smoothen the process of animation Real-time character dynamic will provide a better feedback for the animator Will further explore a hybrid rig which implement both direct and representational selection rigging approach