Griffin's Nest

Is it true? #mce_temp_url#

I just picked up “The art of Game Design” by Jesse Schell. If you are interested in video game design or if you are a seasoned veteran looking for some new ideas, this may be just the book for you. I am only a few chapters in so my final review is pending. I will say that so far this is a compelling read. The table of contents weaves a tapestry of potentially useful and inspiring information. I will provide a more elaborate review once I am finished reading.

I am honored to have obtained my Purple Belt before leaving for Christmas break.  I have been learning so much about myself, and the mechanics of motion and look forward to a lifetime of practice.

Creating a great rig takes a lot of time and patience to create.  It is important that you examine the needs of the animator and tailor your design to provide a fast, friendly and efficient rig.  On that note, I have been toying around with a lot of simple rigs so I can discover what I think works best.  Earlier I released the ball and tail rig which is an examination into what comprises a great tail setup.  Now I present “Bucket Head”.  I started this rig with several purposes in mind, but it is primarily an opportunity to refine my leg rigging techniques.  The rig is functional, however this is by no means my finished version.  Currently the legs only feature stretchy IK as I intended to use this rig for some simple walks.

As always, feel free to use this rig and report back with any questions or comments.  I will likely be updating the rig as my leg rigging experiments continue.  There is an excellent chance that my updates will crush any animation you did on previous versions.  So use the rig at you discretion and don’t get to attached because improvements are sure to come.

Get the rig here.

I just finished up my first version of a ball and tail rig. I know a million of them must exist out there, but I wanted to try my own spin on the concept. The rig is designed to be simple yet functional. Feel free to use the rig for animation exercises, for use in the classroom, or for virtual science experiments on primitive rodents. If you make a million dollars with this rig feel free to send half the $$$ my way, otherwise just have fun. I appreciate any tips concerning how I could improve the rig.

Get the rig here.