CGMA – Character Facial Rigging for Production

Bring characters to life through face rigging

Learn how to rig character faces and bring them to life! Upon completion of this 8-week class, students will have a full understanding of how to create a functional, animator-friendly, character face rig that’s ready for a close-up on the big screen! Less

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COURSE FORMAT: Standard

LECTURE TYPE: Pre-recorded

FEEDBACK: Individual recordings

DURATION: 8 weeks

ASSIGNMENT: Due each week. Expect to spend 10-20 hours per week viewing lecture videos, participating in Q&As, and working on assignments

Q&A: Once a week

MATERIALS: Autodesk Maya

SKILLS LEVEL: Intermediate to Advanced

PREREQUISITES: Basic knowledge of rigging

• Week 1 | Introduction
• Teacher introduction | Facial expressions | Facial rigging and different types (cartoon, realistic, games, shape-based, deformer-based) | Maya Basics and useful Tools
• Week 2 | Topology and FACS
• Face Topology Overview | Checking our Model | Maya Modelling Toolkit for Retopo | FACS and AU in detail
• Week 3 | Joint Skeleton & Controls
• What’s the plan? | Getting the jaw pivot right | Skeleton Layout | Control Layout | Skinning
• Week 4 | Blendshape Modelling
• What Shapes are we going to do? | Maya to Mudbox & ZBrush | Shapes Modelling | How to Export back to Maya | How to Make Symmetrical, Mirror, Flip or Split Shapes
• Week 5 | Importing and Connecting the Shapes
• Import Shapes into Maya | Organize Shapes | Get Left & Right Side for each Shape | Connect Blendshapes into our Rig
• Week 6 | Blendshape Control Setup
• Create a Base Control to Drive Shapes | Control Layout and Connection to Shapes | EyeLook Control Setup | Mouth Position Control
• Week 7 | Eyelid Setup
• Eyelid Concepts | Simple Joint Blink Setup | Full Cartoon Rig Eyelid Setup
• Week 8 | Finishing the Rig + Extras
• Lips & Eyebrow Rig Setup | Jaw Corrective Shape | Sticky Lips | Lattice | Test Animation