Customer Reviews

An Essential Introduction to Maya Character Rigging with DVD

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is a great book. I've been rigging for 10+ years and have read almost every rigging book out there (including Body Language, (just ok)). This is the best book I've read for rigging beginners. I am reviewing the rigging section specifically. The way this book differs from all the rest is that it's structured like a class which is incredibly valuable. Key concepts are introduced clearly and concisely at first and then we proceed to a step by step tutorial applying the concepts to a character you are rigging throughout the book. Foundation level rigging know-how is introduced in a very clear and methodical fashion. Basic rigging concepts that beginners need but most lack. The book has excellent and clear screenshots, superior printing quality, flowcharts, illustrations, it's well written and has color coded pages. It would function well as an instructor guide as well as a self contained course. The student work and anecdotes are a great touch. I'm sorry but based on this book I think Cheryl (I don't know her) knows what she is doing as both as an educator and as a rigger. Good attention to detail and a patient easygoing style of writing. I felt compelled to write this after reading the "riddled with flaws" review which is inaccurate and seems to carry a hint of personal animosity. This is a great book and I've finally been able to recommend a book about learning to rig to my coworkers and friends who always ask. This one. Encore!

The only good thing about this book is that it goes over every little detail on what to do with rigging. It's basically a very descriptive walkthrough. You don't even have to understand what you're doing. That of course is also one of the bigger flaws of the book, but the biggest one is that it's obvious from the start that this book was not edited by anyone, at least anyone who knew what they were doing. I go to SCAD and am taking the rigging class with another professor who has to use this book, and he spends the whole class revising what she said and having to re-explain it to us. Pictures are out of place, object names are suddenly changed back and forth, and she'll even refer to the wrong object, like the shoulder joint instead of the forearm joint. It's as if she worked from two different projects and copied and pasted the scenes and documentation where she thought necessary. She should have at least spent an extra quarter testing the book out on the students, and having them circle all the errors. Instead, it's now the first book you see when you type "maya rigging". This is apparently the only maya 2008 rigging book so far, but the only difference I've seen in 2008 is the IK/FK blend switch. My recommendation: get a maya 8.5 rigging book and search online for tutorials on the new rigging features in 2008. I doubt the second edition will be coming out any time soon.

I don't feel like the title is misleading like a previous reviewer. The book is INTRODUCTION to Maya rigging and it does just that. It's a light read and the concepts are perfect for beginners. I do agree that a little too much of the book is spent on modeling. Perhaps a better title would have been "Introduction to Complete Character Creation". You might not get much out of it if you are already proficient with common Maya Character Setup methods. I always recommend this book to animators that don't have much interest in rigging nor do they care about the actual explanations of concepts but want to rig their own creations for the purpose of animating them.

If you are looking for deeper content like creating "stretchy" limbs, Maya Muscle, and setting up multiple character pipeline workflow tips, pickup BODY LANGUAGE: ADVANCED CHARACTER RIGGING.

I've purchased this book for a class that I'm taking at school. I'm currently on the last chapter, and feel comfortable to give a full review.

PROS:
-Great step by step tutorials for each milestone
-Gets you in a good habit of saving different versions while you work so you can go back easily if you make a mistake
-Pictures help to show where you go in the menu system
-Creates a very clean system that makes it easy for someone else to animate if needed

CONS:
-Outdated for newer versions of Maya, and there are some corrections that need to be taken into account
-I really recommend not following their version of creating a character. Yes, it's a simple way to make one, but it is not the best for creating a character that will deform correctly, or look good for that matter.

This will definitely be a book I keep for reference. Memorizing how IK and FK works will take a little time, and this book is wonderful in explaining to you how each will work and affect different joint systems in the skeleton. I highly recommend it!

This book is fantastic. Clear, easy to use. Cheryl walks you through rigging a bi-ped character and explains everything along the way. It's not just a tutorial book, but it's not just a theory book either. She covers both theory and application. I used this book in school, and now that I'm at my first job in the industry, I'm still using it! Yes there are a few printing errors (not nearly as many as previous reviewers have insinuated), but you can go to the book's website for a list of corrections:


Maybe Cheryl's editor wasn't the best, but Cheryl certainly is! The few printing errors don't come close to lessening this book's value to me. Like I said, I still use it! Thank you Cheryl Cabrera for being a wonderful teacher. Please write more books =)

This book provides a wonderful starting point to learn rigging. It goes through detailed step by step instructions on rigging a biped, but instead of just providing a paint by numbers approach, it also covers the theory behind rigging. This foundation should provide you with the skills to not only rig another biped, but also be able to problem solve your own unique rigging challenges.

This book is great if you are just starting out in rigging. It has step by step instructions and pictures to go along with them. I have used this book for all of my rigs! It is definitely worth reading.

When I bought this book my expectation was a book that dealt mainly with rigging (as the title implies). This however is not the case. To be fair there is a large portion of the book that is all about rigging, however the first half of the book deals primarily with character design and modeling (with a small portion on texturing).

With that said, this is a good book for beginners who would like to start from the beginning, go through all the steps, and create an animated short. The text is easy to follow with enough pictures to make following along easy.

If you are familiar with Maya and already have knowledge about modeling, I would recommend something a little more advanced.

I am student at the Savannah College of Art and Design where Cheryl teaches and had her for 3D Character Setup and Animation which is essentially rigging. I used these exact intructions to create a fantastic rig and I love that it is now in book format. Cheryl's intructions are the basics of rigging and are really great for the beginning animator. If you've never rigged and always worked with other people's models, get this book and try it out. Many students discovered quite quickly whether they liked rigging or hated it, but even those who swore they wuld never rig again were still able to create good rigs for their characters. This is awesome book and a great foundation for all 3D animators. Thanks Cheryl!

April Hoffman