Course Content and Outcomes Guides (CCOG)

CCOG for MM 254 archive revision 202404

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Effective Term:
Fall 2024 through Winter 2025

Course Number:
MM 254
Course Title:
Character Rigging and Animation
Credit Hours:
3
Lecture Hours:
30
Lecture/Lab Hours:
0
Lab Hours:
0

Course Description

Presents advanced 3D character rigging and animation techniques. Covers the creation of a professional bipedal character armature and body and facial animations. Audit available.

Intended Outcomes for the course

Upon successful completion of the course students should be able to:

  1. Produce an armature of joints for 3D character models incorporating forward kinematics and inverse kinematics.

  2. Apply the principles of animation and their implementation at a beginner level.

  3. Render facial animation at a beginner level.

  4. Prepare advanced rigged and animated 3D digital characters.

Course Activities and Design

Materials will be presented via lectures, demonstrations, and assignments. Students will learn and demonstrate their abilities through hands-on assignments. Professional examples from recently completed work will provide students with exposure to the local professional 3D community.

Outcome Assessment Strategies

Student fulfillment of expected outcomes will be assessed using:

  • Rigging and animation assignments.
  • Professional and peer critique.

Course Content (Themes, Concepts, Issues and Skills)

The following technologies, skills, and concepts will be covered and/or demonstrated:
1. BIPEDAL SKELETON CONSTRUCTION
1.1. Joint creation.
1.2. Joint orientation.
1.3. FK hierarchical understanding.
1.4. Practical skeleton construction.
1.5. Naming conventions.


2. IK CHAINS
2.1. IK chain creation
2.2. Spline IK chains
2.3. IK/FK switches.
2.4. Proper integration into bipedal rig.


3. AUTOMATED RIGGING PROCESSES
3.1. FBIK system
3.2. Other options


4. ADDITONAL RIGGING
4.1. Adding unique controllers
4.2. Introduction to drivers
4.3. Using the Connection Editor to control parts.
4.4. Constraints


5. SKINNING
5.1. Attaching the rig to the model.
5.2. Painting the skin weights.
5.3. Advanced skinning theory and techniques.


6. DEFORMERS
6.1. Blend Shapes
6.2. Clusters/ Vertex groups
6.3. Jiggle
6.4. Influence Objects


7. CHARACTER ANIMATION
7.1. The principals of animation.
7.2. Practical animation workflow
7.3. Pose to pose and straight forward animation
7.4. Lip-syncing and facial animation

7.5  Easing and animation curves

8. DELIVERY/PRODUCTION
8.1. Professional quality compositing and rendering.
8.2. Current portfolio examples.