Best Rigs for Animation in Maya

Morpheus - endlessly flexible

What are the best rigs to use when creating your own animation in Maya?

There are many excellent free rigs and sets provided by Maya enthusiasts for student use, and many others available for just a few dollars. 

So what are the very best freeware rigs, and how can you find them?  Below is a list of some of the best, and how to get the best out of them.

Why Animators Need to Storyboard

Storyboard by Anastasia Gurova

One of the most common mistakes made by junior animators is to have too many cuts, and for relatively simple exercises to become overly complex with multiple cuts and camera moves.

The trick in the beginning is to keep it simple. If you do want to cut, or move the camera, it is important to do a rough storyboard first so that you figure out well in advance what the best shot structure is. 

Should you start with a close-up? Or a wide shot? sketch it out in advance, and figure out what the shot order should be.  Best of all - keep the camera still, and don't cut. 

 

How Monty's Eyebrows Work

How do you animate Monty's eyebrows? One of the many rigs that we recommend for student use in the early stages of learning animation is the Monty Rig, created back in 2007 by Raveen Rajadorai, and free for download at CreativeCrash.com.  Monty's brow controllers are Nurbs surfaces. If you tick Nurbs Surfaces under the Show tab in your Viewport, the brow controls will pop up as five small spheres running across his forehead.  You can individually select and rotate them to get various brow expressions.  Watch the short video above to find out how Monty works. For more on how to use Monty, read this blog post. 

Charlie & Yip Wins Best Trailer at Dreamachine

I'm delighted to announce that my short film "Charlie and Yip" has won another festival award -  Best Trailer at the Dreamachine International Film Festival.  

Charlie and Yip is a short film about a kid who takes his pet to school for Show and Tell, which turns out to be a bad idea.

The short is really a teaser/trailer for my indie feature film project "My Haunted House", which is still in development. 

New Year Classroom Starts 4 Jan 2021

Alien animation by Jeton Lakna

Our New Year classroom is now taking applications, and the new class begins on Monday 4 January 2021.

It's not too late to book a place; all you need to do is visit the main Animation Apprentice site and go through a few simple steps.

If you want to learn 3D animation to a professional level, and start your new career as an animator - your journey starts here.

Charlie & Yip Best Animation at Krampusnacht

My short film "Charlie and Yip" has won another festival award -  Best Animation at the Krampusnacht Freeky Film Festival.  

Charlie and Yip is a short film about a kid who takes his pet to school for Show and Tell, which turns out to be a bad idea.

The short is really a teaser/trailer for my indie feature film project "My Haunted House", which is still in development. 

Belgis Al-Mahdiova Animator at TikTokRobot

Many congratulations to Belgis Al-Mahdiova who has landed a job as an animator at TikTokRobot, a UK animation studio.

Belgis took our 30 week course at Animation Apprentice, developed her demo reel, and then applied for positions as an animator. 

Belgis also attended industry events in London, learning from animation professionals and building up her own network.

Victoria Bailey Releases "Turtley in Love"

Many congratulations to Animation Apprentice graduate Victoria Bailey, who has just published her new book: "Turtley In Love", a short animated story for children.

"Turtley In Love" was written and animated by Victoria through her new publishing venture Wonky Pictures.

Join Tommy the Turtle as he battles the elements and journeys through the unknown in his quest to find Celia, his one true turtle love.