RigTools Beta : What is it ?

RigTools Beta is my attempt at developing a comprehensive package to aid the tedious and complicated process of Rigging human models in Autodesk Maya , using Python scripts. It is possibly my most ambitious project to date. We’ve all faced the situation when we find the perfect model for our needs , and the model comes without a rig ! How frustrating is that !

This package aims to solve that very problem. It consists of 3 tools which , IMHO , can be very useful for the same. They are :

1. AutoRigger 1.0 : A one click solution to your rigging needs. It creates a template rig at the click of a button , and binds it to your model on a click ! The rig comes complete with IK / FK controls for arms , spine , hip , shoulders and legs.
2. Control Generator 1.0 : It makes the process of custom rigging easier by one click generation of controls for different IK/FK handles. Choose from a variety of shapes and controls.
3. Renamer 1.0 : Maya has the automated ‘Prefix’ tools , which falls short of being a comprehensive solution to renaming/organisation issues (especially) during rigging. Renamer 1.0 is a better tool for adding suffix , prefix and renaming entire chains of nodes.

AutoRigger 1.0 : What is it ?

AutoRigger 1.0 is a one click solution to rigging bipeds (human) models.

This is how it works :

1. It creates a template rig when the user presses Generate.

2. The user then modifies the rig to match the model. The rig features complete IK/FK controls and Global Scale/Translation controls for accurate modification.

3. It binds the joints to the model correctly when the user clicks on Build.

Here is the screenshot of the tool :

AutoRigger 1.0 : What’s going on behind the scenes ?

Python scripting can be used to automate and even better a lot of actions that we have to manually perform in Maya. In this tools , the script basically loads a template Rig with the proper controls . Then the user moulds the rig to the model , and when the user clicks on ‘Build’ , the code makes a list of all the joints and the meshes , and connects them using the bindSkinCluster() command.

The Rig ?

The rig was created by me in 5 hours. It features all the proper IK/FK controls for the spine , arms , legs and feet. It also has a global scale/translation control . I learnt a lot about how rigs work while working on it , and the entire process helped me in understanding about the different tasks that can be automated using scripts.

AutoRigger 1.0 : The Future

1. Improving the template rig to add more (better) controls including IK/FK switching for the arms.
2. Adding facial controls and better finger controls.
3. Automating the various parameters of the rig using scripts.

Here is AutoRigger 1.0 at work :

Here is the link to the Github repo :

https://github.com/soumitrasaxena/RigToolsBeta