Graphics Programs Reference
In-Depth Information
Summary
In this chapter, you extended your experience with animation and learned about rigging
techniques and automation. Starting with a simple block man, you learned how to set up
a hierarchy for Forward Kinematics animation to create a walk cycle. Then, you revisited
the hand model and used a skeleton to rig the hand for animation. Next, you learned how
to bind the geometry of the hand to the skeleton using rigid and smooth binds and how
to edit the binding. You also learned how to create an IK system to drive the joints in the
block man for an IK walk-cycle animation. After that, you learned how constraints can
be used in rigging and how to set up driven keys to create easy controls to animate the
hand. Finally, you put all these rigging tricks together to rig the wheels of the locomo-
tive to automate the animation of that complex system with a single control based on the
middle wheel.
The true work in animation comes from recognizing what to do in the face of certain
challenges and how to approach their solutions. Maya offers a large animation toolset,
and the more familiar you become with the tools, the better you'll be able to judge which
tools to use in your work. Don't stop with this chapter; experiment with the features not
covered here, and see what happens.
Animation is about observation and interpretation. The animator's duty is to under-
stand how and why something moves and to translate that into their medium without
losing the movement's fidelity, tenacity, or honesty.
