FK IK matching with a node network

Lately I've been exploring some of the applications of metanodes in rigging, and I came up with this setup for fk/ik matching. Using nodes to connect to the components of the arm rig allows me to run a very compact matching script with essentially no redundant code, and I can switch states with any control in the arm selected. The best part is, the node connections are direct, so the script will still work even if parts of the rig are renamed  or the rig is referenced. This sort of setup will work across any limb that is set up similarly, so even if you have a rig with four (or more!) arms, the same script will work for any of them. I'm looking forward to figuring out even more uses for metanode networks.

Almost done

Here's a little preview of something I'm wrapping up. This is the foot setup for the character rig I'm working on for the Frogasaurus Mech team's game. The rig is in the final stages of completion, and I'm preparing to write some ik/fk matching and export utilities.

Zbrush Final

Been working on these two projects for quite some time now. Finals are done with now, so it's time to lay these to rest and get a move on my other projects.

The first project was a human character in the style of an existing video game, in this case, it's Assassins Creed 2.

The second character was a quadrupedal creature that was either domesticated by humans, or fought them.

I chose to make a giant lizard that carries a barge across the desert.

mr_motionTrail

Finished up a python script I've been writing for Maya. It extends the functionality of Maya's built in motion trails to track the motion and spacing of animated controls from any point--you can easily track arcs on a character's nose, fingers, props, etc. It also keeps track of the trails in the scene and allows the user to edit the settings of existing trails.