Character Rigging

[StiKxx]

I was wondering if someone could point me in the right direction or some kind of tutorial relatd to character rigging. I've been interested in become a character rigger for video games/ movies, but haven't found any websites or books that can start my path in becoming a pro. Thank you in advance.

[Elcura]

You could try uhh, digital tutors, gnomon or eat3d and see if they have what you're looking for.

[AcrobatFly]

You have to let us know what app you use. Rigging can be such a program specific thing.

The basics are fairly universal. Starting with the root at the pelvis, drop in the joints for the skeleton, which are arranged hierarchically. Bind the skeleton to the mesh. Paint the weights so that each joint corresponds to a specific part of the body. That stuff is pretty much the same across the board, regardless of whether we're talking about Maya, Cinema4D, Lightwave, or whatever.

Where it gets complicated is when you have to start setting up complex constraints and controls. The core elements of a control might look the same, sliders and splines, but the underlying stuff that drives the control is where it becomes very program specific. For Maya, that might be a chunk of MEL code. For Cinema4D, it'd be code-based COFFEE, node-based XPRESSO, or even somePython. What may be an exceedingly difficult control to build in Maya's MEL might only take 4 or 5 nodes in Cinema4D's XPRESSO. Every program is different.

Rigging is an advanced subject. It is an art by itself. Whole 8 hour DVDs and multi-DVD series have been created just to get you up to speed. If you're really serious about it, I'd probably invest in some of the ones from either The Gnomon Workshop or Digital Tutors, especially if you're a Maya user. You can skimp out and use YouTube for some quickie rigging tutorials, but you won't nearly get the same quality of presentation or in-depth exploration of the material.

If all you want to do is just pose your character for a beauty shot, a simple joint based rig with no controls will suffice. Beyond that, invest in some training DVDs. They're definitely money well spent.

[StiKxx]

Sorry, I forgot to mention I was taught basic Max and Maya(picked Maya because it felt better). I've done a very basic beauty show pose rig before, but was more interested in the higher end rigging like you mentioned( have to start at the bottom of course and truly understand edge flow of course).

Thanks for the info Acrobatfly and Elcura I'll look those vids