1.) Create BlendShapes. (Different facial expressions as well as any different geometry deformation during animation).
2.) Create a Skeletal Rig. ( The bones and controls to animate the character)
3.) Bind the Rig and BlendShapes to the model. (aka Skinning, assigning vertices of your geometry to the skeleton)
A skeletal Rig in Maya is predominationly built using joints. (Animation -> Skeleton -> Joint Tool)
Each appendage is its its own joint hierarchy. And they will be controled seperately. So separate chains have to created for Hands, Arms, Legs, Foot, Spine etc... These are then parented together into one big hierarchy.
The skeletal Rig should be believable and and functional. As in reality, the position of the joint is important to have the character move in a believable manner.
We will need to understand how Joints and Local Space work in order to better understand the rigging process.
Each appendage is its its own joint hierarchy. And they will be controled seperately. So separate chains have to created for Hands, Arms, Legs, Foot, Spine etc... These are then parented together into one big hierarchy.
The skeletal Rig should be believable and and functional. As in reality, the position of the joint is important to have the character move in a believable manner.
We will need to understand how Joints and Local Space work in order to better understand the rigging process.
