54408 Context: Animation Character Rigging Advanced
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particular session, location and mode of offering is the authoritative source
of all information about the subject for that offering. Required texts, recommended texts and references in particular are likely to change. Students will be provided with a subject outline once they enrol in the subject.
Subject handbook information prior to 2025 is available in the Archives.
Credit points: 6 cp
Result type: Grade and marks
Requisite(s): 82321 Context: Animation Character OR 54407 Context: Animation Character
These requisites may not apply to students in certain courses.
There are course requisites for this subject. See access conditions.
Anti-requisite(s): 82420 Context: Animation Character Rigging Advanced
Description
This subject builds upon skills and competencies learned in 54407 Context: Animation Character and introduces the technical complexities and creative possibilities of character rigging for professional production. Students engage in a series of in-depth, practical lab-based assignments, designed to help them build more complex character assets for digital animation. Students balance their use of imaginative creative approaches with demonstrating technical competence. The subject approaches the learning of technical disciplines with the same exploratory, open-ended attitude as conceptual projects. To support the subsequent studio project, students are introduced to a character design brief for a narrative project.
Subject learning objectives (SLOs)
| a. | Research and develop an original character asset in response to a set brief |
|---|---|
| b. | Demonstrate an understanding of the process of creating a rigged 3D character for various uses in a production pipeline including operational performance controls |
| c. | Demonstrate a capacity to absorb complex technical information to serve a creative outcome |
| d. | Practise professional approaches to asset revisioning, file structures and naming |
| e. | Manage workload resources and time to meet deadlines |
Course intended learning outcomes (CILOs)
This subject engages with the following Course Intended Learning Outcomes (CILOs), which are tailored to the Graduate Attributes set for all graduates of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences:
- Apply fundamental and higher-level animation and cinematic principles with understanding and professional proficiency. (1.1)
- Demonstrate a high level of craft and production value across multiple methods, aesthetics and techniques of the animation process (1.2)
- Apply theoretically informed processes to production practice including managing complexity and collaboration, incorporating research into development, active iteration and critique, clarity in communication, delegation, and resource management. (1.3)
- Contextualise work within current and historical animation practice and theory. (2.3)
Teaching and learning strategies
Learning activities include weekly lectures and lab-based tutorial workshops. Lab projects are focused on a combination of instructional technical teaching and problem-based learning. Tutorial workshop sessions are designed to be flexible in response to whole-class progression across semester. Content is concentrated into modules of learning that introduce new concepts through case studies, demonstrations and discussion that challenge the student’s adoption and application of new skills and concepts to their assignment tasks. Students are encouraged to take initiative to seek their own solutions through self-initiated study, research, and iteration, offering their progress to their peers in class for reflection. Students participate in tutorials and presentations throughout the semester and as individual desktop engagements with the studio leader or demonstrator.
This subject includes active learning experiences, where ongoing feedback is provided on a weekly basis during all on-campus sessions.
Content (topics)
This intermediate level subject develops the application of fundamental principles, history, techniques and practices of character rigging for animation. Students explore topics such as the design of animator interfaces and controls, facial performance, fit for purpose complexity, understanding ranges of motion, asset naming, versioning and testing, look development and layout. The lifecycle of a character asset and its dependencies found in shot production pipelines are introduced, including post-animation processes such as caching, shader assignment techniques and rendering for compositing using a renderfarm.
Assessment
Assessment task 1: Character Design and Rapid Prototype of Basic Layout Rig
| Objective(s): | a, b, c, d and e | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weight: | 40% | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Length: | One cleaned and labelled original scene file containing the final version of the student’s character asset. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Criteria linkages: |
SLOs: subject learning objectives CILOs: course intended learning outcomes |
Assessment task 2: Final Production Character Asset
| Objective(s): | a, b, c, d and e | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weight: | 60% | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Length: | A 500 - 750 frame animated movie file with sound. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Criteria linkages: |
SLOs: subject learning objectives CILOs: course intended learning outcomes |
Minimum requirements
Attendance at classes is essential in this subject. Classes are based on a collaborative approach that involves essential workshopping and interchange of ideas with other students and the tutor to build capacities towards meeting the subject learning objectives. A roll will be taken at each class (whether on campus or online). Students who have more than two absences from class will be refused marking of their final assessment (see Rule 3.8).
Required texts
There are no required texts for this subject. Recommended readings will be available via UTS Library and through the subject site.
Recommended texts
Berger, J. (1972) Ways of Seeing, Penguin.
Blair, P. (1994) Cartoon Animation, Walter Forster Publishing,
Briggs, C. (2021). An Essential Introduction to Maya Character Rigging. CRC Press. https://doi.org/10.1201/9781315771403
Maestri, G. (2020). Maya: Facial Rigging. linkedin.com.
Maestri, G. (2015). Rigging a Cartoon Character in Maya. lynda.com.
Parr, P. (2016). Sketching for animation: developing ideas, characters and layouts in your sketchbook ([First edition].). Fairchild Books, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc.
Liu, Y. (2018). 3D Cinematic Aesthetics and Storytelling. Springer International Publishing AG.
Hans Bacher. (2012). Dream Worlds: Production Design for Animation. CRC Press. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780080926926
Brine, K. G. (2020). The art of cinematic storytelling?: a visual guide to planning shots, cuts and transitions . Oxford University Press.
O’Hailey, T. (2019). Rig it right!?: Maya animation rigging concepts (2nd edition.). CRC Press, Taylor & Francis Group.