Moom rig
Ramtin Ahmadi
(http://lesterbanks.com/2010/03/22-of-the-most-fun-rigs-for-maya/)
critique:
The clean controls that is comes with, also the overall build ( orientation, weighting, joint system ) is spot on and really helps with creating dynamic poses. The legs have RFL systems and the arms are set up with an IK-FK switching system similar to ours.
The hierarchy however is completely set up in a different manner than ours. I'm not sure if this system is better or worse but for my animation style I really think this rig would be a joy to use on a regular basis. The controls themselves are well designed and simple in shape with alot of the rig functions being held in attribute menus. One system I would like to research more on this character would be the stretchy systems that are built into the entire rig including the head system.
The Kit rig
Kürsat Savas
www.bubiworks.com
Critique:
This rig was well laid out with proper naming and a very easily understood interface. The biggest difference with this rig is the fact that it is a car. We haven't really talked much about rigs of this sort but I imagine a lot of the same theories we've been taught could apply to a rig of this sort.Considering the simplicity of this character rig I would definitely like to animated and study further with this rig.
I found the most interesting system was the facial rig. I loved how simple it was.
World Zombination Character Rig Postmortem
Sterling Reames, Senior Animator (www.proletariat.com)
(http://proletariat.com/2014/01/09/world-zombination-character-rig-postmortem/)
critique:
This rig was well laid out with proper naming and a very easily understood interface. The biggest difference with this rig is the lack of any arm IK system. We are taught to have arms that have a IKFK switch system so that the animator has the ability to do IK system motions like lifting weights or tugging on a door. I really liked this sytem beside the missing IK system. The controls were very easy to navigate with little research having to be done. I found that the arms and legs had an extra control for articulating the rotation of middle joints. These controls were somewhat annoying to work around but not detrimental to posing the character.
Considering the simplicity of this character rig I would definitely like to animated and study further with this rig. I also would like to figure out how to access the other characters that share the same rig but for some reason I think there might be compatibility issues with Maya 2015
I found the most interesting system was the facial rig. I loved how simple it was, although to get a large range of emotions might be hard because the lack of control.
Stewart rig
AnimationMentor
(http://www.animationmentor.com/free-maya-rig/)
critique:
How does this rig differ from what we are being taught?
This rig was Fantastic! I absolutely love this rig for many reasons. The first being the clean controls that is comes with, also the overall build ( orientation, weighting, joint system ) is spot on and really helps with creating dynamic poses. This rig is not to different from the rig that we are taught to build. Each side of the rigs controls are colored to indicate right from left, the legs have RFL systems and the arms are set up with an IK-FK switching system similar to ours. The hierarchy however is completely set up in a different manner than ours.
Im not sure if this system is better or worse but for my animation style I really think this rig would be a joy to use on a regular basis. The controls themselves are well designed and simple in shape with alot of the rig functions being held in attribute menus. The controls are well placed and do not seem to get in the way when posing. The only thing I did notice is the way the clavicle control is set up you are able to rotate and translate which kind of threw me off.
One system I would like to research more on this character would be the stretchy systems that are built into the entire rig including the head system.
