The goal of this thesis is to develop and construct a repeatable, scalable, and portable rigging solution for the skeletal limbs of ungulates, maximizing functionality while streamlining intuitive interface controls for a feature film production pipeline. The research presents a methodology for breaking down character reference materials commonly available to feature film productions like artwork, anatomical drawings, photographs, and client provided performance criteria. It then presents a modular methodology and approach for successfully evaluating and applying the character reference to the construction of skeletal limbs using ungulates as the primary example. Each limb is broken down into modules that more easily translate into the digital world. The methodology then further defines how to combine and apply digital rigging tools such as constraints and inverse and forward kinematic techniques in a layered and modular way in order to achieve a robust character rig. The resulting ungulate limb rig provides an efficient, intuitive, and robust solution capable of replicating the given performance criteria as well as an example of a scalable approach applicable to non-ungulates. In application of the repeatable modular approach presented, huge efficiency gains have been realized in feature film production pipelines. Animation studios are under increasing pressure to create larger quantities of work, at higher quality, with shorter timetables, and smaller relative budgets. This methodology successfully meets those criteria.

No description available.

La Belle’s rigging assemblage has provided a rare and valuable source of knowledge of 17th-century rigging in general and in particular, French and small-ship rigging characteristics. With over 400 individual items including nearly 160 wood and iron artifacts, this assemblage stands out as one of the most substantial and varied among all available rigging assemblages and currently is the only assemblage of 17th-century French rigging published. Furthermore, French rigging in general has not been as well defined as English rigging, nor has the 17th century been as well researched as the 18th. As such, La Belle’s rigging assemblage has provided a valuable source of knowledge whose research will hopefully provide a valuable foundation on which future studies can be built. Specifically, this project has attempted to catalogue these artifacts and reconstruct a plausible 17th-century French rig. This project has further attempted to define the differences between the better known English rigging features and those more characteristic of the French and Dutch. The reconstruction is based on the specific details derived from La Belle’s artifacts as well as contemporary French and other continental sources such as rigging assemblages, ship models, treatises, and nautical dictionaries. Together, these have suggested that La Belle probably carried a relatively simple rig with decidedly seventeenth-century characteristics and a Dutch influence.

Digital birds are used in computer graphics to replace live animals both for the safety of the animal and to allow for more control over performance. The current treatment of avian wings in computer graphics is often over-simplified which results in a loss realism due to the incorrect form and motion of the feathers. This research attempts to address this problem by using the structure and motion of real bird anatomy to inform the creation of biologically accurate kinematic motion for wings. The hypothesis of this thesis is that a wing rig which follows biological accuracy will appear realistic in motion and facilitate efficient animation. This thesis describes the creation of a rig generation tool, called WingCreator, usable in 3D animation software to guide the construction of biologically accurate wings while maintaining a range of artistically-driven variability in form. The control system for the kinematic motion rig is designed to provide animators with intuitive control over wing behavior intended to result in efficient re-creation of realistic wing action including flapping and folding. WingCreator was tested by two riggers and one animator to gain feedback on the tools efficacy. The user feedback indicates that the resulting rig provides a control system that facilitates efficient animation while maintaining artistic control over the wing. Users reported that realism, however, could not be judged due to the numerous contributing outside factors, such as animation, lighting and texturing, that affect the perception of realism. WingCreator and its creation methodology is intended to be placed in the public domain for use by anyone and will add to the currently slim body of knowledge for creating realistic avian wings. Once placed in the public domain it is expected that this rig will be appropriated by animators who wish to create more accurate bird wing motion and by riggers who may use the biologically-driven methodology as a model for further exploration into depictions of other animals exhibiting complex form and structural motion behaviors.

La Belle's rigging assemblage has provided a rare and valuable source of knowledge of 17th-century rigging in general and in particular, French and small-ship rigging characteristics. With over 400 individual items including nearly 160 wood and iron artifacts, this assemblage stands out as one of the most substantial and varied among all available rigging assemblages and currently is the only assemblage of 17th-century French rigging published. Furthermore, French rigging in general has not been as well defined as English rigging, nor has the 17th century been as well researched as the 18th. As such, La Belle's rigging assemblage has provided a valuable source of knowledge whose research will hopefully provide a valuable foundation on which future studies can be built. Specifically, this project has attempted to catalogue these artifacts and reconstruct a plausible 17th-century French rig. This project has further attempted to define the differences between the better known English rigging features and those more characteristic of the French and Dutch. The reconstruction is based on the specific details derived from La Belle's artifacts as well as contemporary French and other continental sources such as rigging assemblages, ship models, treatises, and nautical dictionaries. Together, these have suggested that La Belle probably carried a relatively simple rig with decidedly seventeenth-century characteristics and a Dutch influence.

In 1953 the tangled, skeletal remains of a ship were pulled from the small harbor of Penetanguishene, Ontario. Local historians had hoped to raise the hull of a War of 1812 veteran, but the vessel pulled from the depths did not meet the criteria. Identified as H.M. Schooner Tecumseth, the vessel was built just after the War of 1812 had ended. Historical research of Tecumseth and her sister ship Newash, which remained in Penetanguishene harbor, illuminated the ships? shadowy past. Conceived and built after the war, the vessels sailed for only two years before being rendered obsolete by the terms of the Rush-Bagot disarmament agreement. Nevertheless, the two vessels offer a unique perspective from which to view the post-war period on the Great Lakes. The schooners? hulls were interpreted and analyzed using archaeological evidence. A theoretical rigging reconstruction was created, using contemporary texts and documentary evidence of the ships themselves. Architectural hull analysis was carried out to explore the nature of these vessels. From these varied approaches, a conception of Newash and Tecumseth has emerged, revealing ways in which the hulls were designed to fulfill their specific duties. The hulls were sharp, yet had capacious cargo areas. The rigs combined square-rigged and fore-and-aft sails for maximum flexibility. The designs of the hulls and rigging also reflect predominant attitudes of the period, in which naval vessels on the lakes gave way to merchant craft. Taken as a whole, Tecumseth and Newash illustrate how ships, while fluid in the nature of their work, are also singular entities that truly encapsulate a specific point in time and place.

Denna uppsats handlar om programmering av autoriggningsverktyg för Maya 2013 som skulle effektivisera animeringsproduktionspipelinen genom att spara tid vid riggningsdelen av animeringspipelinen. Vidare handlar denna uppsats om utvärdering av tiden som man kan spara vid användningen av detta autoriggningsverktyg. Verktyget är flexibelt på det sätt att den stödjer humanoida karaktärer och är användbar för mer än mänskliga karaktärer. Tiden som spenderas att manuellt rigga samma typ av karaktärrigg varierar från person till person och det kan ta väldigt lång tid, därför gjordes en enkät som delades ut till deltagare som är erfarna inom riggningsområdet. Resultaten av denna enkät hjälper vid beräkningen av tiden som kan sparas med autoriggningsverktyg i en animeringspipeline. Resultatet av undersökningen visar att man kan spara tid genom att använda sig ut av ett autoriggningsverktyg istället för att rigga manuellt. Tiden som kan sparas med detta autoriggningsverktyg är nästan sju timmar för mänskliga karaktärer och nästan 8 timmar för kentaur.

There are several different setups for facial rigs today, joint-based and blendshape-based are two popular examples, both of them fall in the category of geomtetry-based facial rigs. The goal with this dissertation is to attempt to develop a Maya muscle facial rig. Then the rig is tested to examine to see where this rig can be an improvement in relation to other rigging systems. It was possible to create a rig using the Maya muscle system. There was an attempt to reach out to the public and get some opinions but it was to weak so no real conclusions could be drawn from it. This rig was most useful when creating stylized cartoon characters. The Maya muscle rig has several substantial flaws that is weighted against several cons that reveal that this is a niche rig that is useful in some areas but should be completely avoided in the game industry.

No description available.

This paper details the design and development process for two technical projects, both of which were developed for use in Autodesk Maya to enhance the workflow processes of 3D character animation. The first project is focused on advanced character rigging using mathematical concepts and Maya nodes, while the second project is focused on plugin development in python 2.7, making full use of the PySide2 library which binds to the Qt5 user-interface framework.