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Rigging Human IK Characters for Mocap in Maya and Motion Builder 2016

by Mark Butler

Autodesk's HumanIK control makes rigging characters for motion capture easier. This course will teach you how to set up a character, put it through a range of motion, and refine polygon deformations. Software required: Maya 2016, MotionBuilder2016.

What you'll learn

Setting up characters is complex and subjective, and often unique to the particular character. Character rigging is one of the least understood areas of animation, even for expert Maya artists. Getting good character rigging results takes practice and commitment. In this course, Rigging Human IK Characters for Mocap in Maya and Motion Builder 2016, you will be using both Maya and MotionBuilder 2016 to rig a human character using HumanIK controls. After discovering how to complete the initial rigging, you will learn how to apply motion capture data, and you'll also learn how to begin testing and refining the character's rigging and weight mapping. After viewing this course, you will have a solid understanding of rigging using Autodesk HumanIK controls, and you will be able to apply motion capture data easily to your own rigged characters. Software required: Maya 2016, MotionBuilder2016.

Table of contents

Course Overview
1min
Fundamentals and Character Evaluation
18mins
Joints, Skeleton Definition, and Characterization
29mins
Range of Motion, Data Exchange, and Weight Mapping
22mins
Rig Refinement, Hand Poses, and Scene Import for Production
18mins

About the author

Mark has over 15 years professional experience animating and creating 3D assets in Maya, MotionBuilder, and other CGI software for real-time broadcast and video games. His focus is on character animation, rigging, and motion capture for body, face, and hands. Mark is a pioneer in real-time live performance animation and avatars, using markerless motion capture as well as wireless inertial body suits and gloves. Mark was a part of the Emmy-award winning animation team on NBC’s “Heroes”, and ... more

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