Course

10207140 Technical Skills 3
Course Information
Description
This course covers core concepts and skills required to build animation rigs. Topics include skeletal creation, deforming meshes, custom attributes, node-network workflows, scene organization, and various transform constraints. Content creation is focused on production pipelines that target real-time applications.
Total Credits
2
Course Competencies (Course Outcomes)
  1. Construct virtual skeletons with joints that behave like their real-world counterparts
    Assessment Strategies
    Project
    Criteria
    Joints are positioned inside the volume of the mesh
    Joint pivots are anatomical correct
    The bi-normal of all two-joint chains exist on the same virtual plane
    The forward-vector of a parent joint points to its child joint
    All joint orientations have zero rotation values
    Joint rotation orders are properly defined

  2. Manipulate vertex weighting to deform 3D geometry based on skeletal animation
    Assessment Strategies
    Project
    Criteria
    Vertex weighting minimizes inner-mesh penetration
    Vertex weighting maximizes mesh volume
    Vertex weighting smoothly transitions between neighboring joints

  3. Optimize animation rigs for use in real-time applications
    Assessment Strategies
    Project
    Criteria
    Data is decoupled between content for export and content for animating
    Export data has a consistent naming convention
    Vertex weights are less than 5 joints per vertex
    Scene namespaces and file referencing are used

  4. Apply node network-based approaches to rigging
    Assessment Strategies
    Project
    Criteria
    End-user accesses custom attributes to change rig functionality
    Character rig contains IK/FK switching
    Some rig elements are driven by "Set-Driven-Key"

  5. Provide animation controls to the end-users that are intuitive and easy to use
    Assessment Strategies
    Project
    Criteria
    Animation controls show and hide based on driven attributes
    All animated controls are selectable from NURBS curves
    Animation icons are consistent in style and easy to decipher

  6. Enhance basic rig functionality with automated and layered controllers
    Assessment Strategies
    Project
    Criteria
    A subset of controllers provide global and local space settings
    Character rig contains macro and micro controllers
    A subset of joint transforms are automated with a layer of animatable offsets