Control Rig

Understanding IK Weighting and Locking in HumanIK

Working with the IK weighting and locking system in Maya’s HumanIK rig was unexpectedly challenging. While posing the character, I struggled to get the limbs to behave as expected, only to realise it was due to how the IK effectors were locked or weighted. Learning to adjust these settings correctly, such as switching between FK/IK blending and unlocking specific joints was crucial to achieving clean, poseable results.

Thoughtful Controller Parenting

Initial I parented my controls to the wrong  place and ended up with weird movement as I tried to pose my character. Thanks to this, I learned the importance of carefully considering how controllers are parented within the rig. If they’re set up incorrectly, the rig can behave unpredictably and controllers might drift, flip, or affect unintended parts of the model. By organizing the hierarchy logically and consistently, I ensured the character could be posed intuitively and reliably by an animator.

Using HumanIK to Create a Basic Control Rig

I started by generating a basic control rig using Maya’s HumanIK system. This provided a strong foundation for body movement and simplified the initial rigging process.

Creating the Mouth Controller

I created a NURBS shape for the mouth controller, positioned it appropriately, and constrained it to the mouth joint. I froze transformations and locked any attributes that shouldn’t be adjusted by the animator, ensuring clean and predictable controls.

Creating the Eye Controllers

Separate NURBS shapes were created for each eye and positioned correctly. Aim constraints were applied so each eye could track its control target. I then grouped both eye controllers under a master controller, allowing for either individual or simultaneous control. The grouped controller was parented into the main rig for consistent movement.

Creating Blendshape Controllers

Two blendshape controllers were made, one for the face and one for the body. I used simple NURBS shapes and added custom attributes using the Add Attribute function, with appropriate min/max limits. These were connected via the Connection Editor to the respective blendshapes on the face and wing meshes, allowing easy manipulation of expressions and deformations.

Adding Tail and Spurs Controllers

NURBS controls were created for both the tail and the spurs. These were moved into position and properly oriented. Parent constraints and orientation constraints were applied to give the animator intuitive control over these areas. The tail controller worked especially well for dynamic posing and added flexibility to the character's silhouette.

Side Note: I was initially unsure how to control the ibis' spurs (located on the feet), so I first attempted deformation-based control. However, after testing, I found it was much more effective to simply use a bone and controller setup, which gave more direct and manageable results.