Animation with Maya (5 cr)

Objective

You learn the fundamentals of character and mechanical rigging.
You learn various weight painting techniques to improve your character skinning.
You learn about blendkeys.
You learn how to setup constraints for you rigs (aim constraints, IK, FK etc).
You learn how to setup a facial rig with custom controllers and control bones for inverse and forward kinematic (IK/FK) setups.
You learn manual keyframe animation.
You learn how to bring in motion capture data, setup character definitions and perform retargeting.
You learn how to manipulate existing animation data with timeline clips and additive and override layers.
Advanced: You get introduced to programming based rig generation.

Content

What are the fundamentals of character and mechanical rigging in Maya?
How do you weight paint and skin characters effectively?
What are blendshapes, and how are they used in character animation?
How do you set up constraints such as aim, parent, and inverse and forward kinematic (IK/FK) for animation control?
How do you build a facial rig using custom controllers and support IK/FK switching?
How do you animate using manual keyframing, and what are the principles behind it?
How do you import and work with motion capture data, retarget it to characters, and enhance it with animation layers?

Course material

Learning materials
– Lectures and demonstrations (with accompanying downloadable documentation for reference when relevant).
– Downloadable Work sheets and exercises when applicable
– Links and tutorials on Learn.

Study forms and methods

You will attend classes according to the given schedule. The course will be run as a hybrid, so you may also join in remotely, but the primary focus will be on the students in the classroom. In addition to class exercises, there will be independently assigned homework tasks.

RDI and work-related cooperation

RDI may be intergrated where possible

Timing of exams and assignments

Deadlines:
– In order to benefit from the dedicated feedback
sessions students must have at least partially completed the assignments
on review at that time.
– If a student misses the deadline for an
assignment feedback session, no assurance of feedback at a later date
can be given. Current works take precedence.
– If a student can not achieve a required deadline the lecturer must be informed and an extension will be negotiated.
– Unauthorized late return of course assignments will have an effect on final grading. (Between 1 and 2 points deducted)

Student workload

In class, student will complete instructive exercises and then receive feedback to deepen their expertise.
Students will also complete assignments independently outside of class

Course part description

The student will learn about the following topics:
- fundamentals of rigging
- character rigging
- facial rigging
- mechanical rigging
- bone constraints in general
- IK and FK constraints
- control bones
- retargeting workflows
- graph editor
- timeline editor
- additive and override animations
- intro to code based rigging

Further information

Further information
– Demonstrations and lectures provide relevant theoretical content.
– Students complete a series of 3D-graphics related assignments independently with the help of instructions provided on Learn.
– Students will receive dedicated feedback sessions on their assignments at regular intervals

Evaluation scale

1-5

Assessment methods and criteria

Assessment methods and criteria
Peer review and self-evaluation
Register of Attendance
Adherence to schedules and deadlines
Activity Checklists
Performance Rating scale for classroom and homework assignments

Assessment Criteria
Students ability to develop ideas, logical thinking, creativity, ability to communicate one’s ideas both verbally and visually, quality of work, ability to follow instructions, ability to work to deadlines, level of attendance, activity and contribution to class, evidence of improvement in technical/design/aesthetic skills.

Grading. Fail, Incomplete, 1:pass, 2:pass+ 3:Commended 4:Highly commended 5:Distinction
Assessment scale 1-5