Glossary

Maya Rigging
Glossary Maya Rigging

A
Axis, Axes
The reference for describing the origin and position of an object in space, displayed by intersecting
straight lines. By using two axes, a plane is determined; for example, the XY plane is defined by placing
the X and Y axes so that they intersect at the global center (point of origin). Three dimensions are
determined by using three axes: X, Y, and Z.

B
Blend Shapes
A blend shape, or morph depending on your 3D application, allows you to change the shape of one
object into the shape of another object. When rigging, a common use for blend shapes is to set up
poses for facial animation. This might be lip sync poses or more complex expressions like a smile
or frown. You can tie all these new poses into the original face mesh and have it operate all on one
control slider.

C
Child
Any node in a hierarchy that is attached to another node.
Center of the World
Is the absolute center of a 3D space, represented by X, Y, and Z points (0, 0, 0). Also referred to as
the Origin.
Center Point
A point that represents the center of an object. This point is used in some programs for a point of
reference for rotation and position. The center point of a polygon is where the line representing the
normal comes out from.
Constraints
Constraint is a special type of controller that can help you automate the animation process. You can
use constraints to control an object’s position, rotation, or scale through a binding relationship with
another object.

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Glossary Maya Rigging

Control Curves
Control curves are created by the rigger to assist the animator in manipulating joints within the rig.
Typically a rig consists of many components that need to be manipulated to move the character in the
desired pose. This can be very difficult to do without control curves because the animator would need
to hide the mesh to see the skeleton within the character and try to determine which joint manipulates
the elbow, for example.
Control curves are typically simple NURBS curves placed outside of the character so the animator
can easily select the curve to position the character instead of the actual joint.

D
Deformers
There are many different deformers/modifiers depending on your 3D application which can be utilized
to enhance your rigs. Deformers are often used among modelers but they are also extremely helpful
for riggers as well. Deformers contain algorithms that can move large sections of vertices on a model
to produce organic shapes. For example, when rigging a character you can utilize something like a
cluster deformer that allows you to manipulate a large section of vertices by using just one single control.

F
FK (Forward Kinematics)
Forward Kinematics means your character rig will follow the hierarchal chain. This means more control
over your chain, but also means you’d need to position each joint in your chain independently of each
other. For example, with FK if you positioned the character’s hand the rest of the arm wouldn’t follow
like it does with IK.
Instead you would need to position each joint independently, starting with the upper arm, the elbow and
then the wrist. This obviously takes more time than IK, but can give the animator much more control of
the poses. Most times riggers will incorporate both FK and IK into the rig to meet the animator’s needs.
Freeze Transformations
Freeze transformations makes the current transformations on the selected objects be the objects’
zero position.
Facial Rigging
When creating complex character rigs the facial rig setup is often a whole different monster. A typical
joint or bone setup doesn’t work well for a facial rig other than having a joint for the jaw bone because
facial movement often requires very stretchy and organic motion. Instead of a normal joint setup, facial
rigging usually requires deformers and blend shapes which was discussed previously.

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Glossary Maya Rigging

G
Geometry
This term is commonly used to define all polygonal objects in 3D Software. Also called mesh.
Grouping
A hierarchy is a collection of nodes or objects that are connected together to form a unit for some
purpose. Hierarchies are useful for describing how the objects within them share similar characteristics
or attributes; move, scale, rotate for example.

H
Hidden
Any element that is not shown in the current rendering of the scene but still exists.
Hierarchy
A list of things that are linked together in a certain order. A family tree is used as an analogy to help
describe the parts of the hierarchy. However, the hierarchy tree traditionally hangs upside down, to
make it easier to read and to use. At the top of the tree is the root, and all things are attached to it.
Every object in the hierarchy is called a node. The connections between the nodes are called links. A
node linked to another is called a child, and the node the child is linked to is called a parent.

I
IK (Inverse Kinematics)
Inverse Kinematics means that the child node within your rig’s hierarchy can influence the movement of
its parents. For example, if you use IK for your character’s arm you can position your character’s hand
and the rest of the arm chain will be calculated. This allows the animator to animate independently of
the chain’s hierarchy. Because of this IK is great when needing to have a character’s arm stay planted
on something. For example, pushing against a wall or swinging on a bar.
IK Solvers
IK solvers are the mathematical algorithms behind the IK handles. IK solvers calculate the rotations
of all the joints in a joint chain controlled by an IK handle. The effect an IK handle has on a joint chain
depends on the type of IK solver used by the IK handle.

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Glossary Maya Rigging

J
Joints
Sometimes called bones, you can think of joints for rigging in the same way you think of joints in a
human body. They basically work in the same way. Joints are the points of articulation you create to
control the model. For instance, if you were to rig a character’s arm you would want to place a joint for
the upper arm, another joint for the elbow and another joint for the wrist, which allows the animator to
rotate the arm in a realistic way.

K
Kinematics
In animation, a method of simulating body mechanics by setting up and animating skeletons. The two
main types of kinematics are forward kinematics (FK), and inverse kinematics (IK).

L
Local Coordinate System
The local coordinate system is the coordinate system that relates specifically to the selected object.
Each object has its own local center and coordinate system as defined by the location and orientation
of the object’s pivot point. The local center and coordinate system of an object combine to define its
object space.
The direction of the object’s X, Y, and Z axes depend on the current transforms of the object. Contrast
with the world coordinate system.

O
Origin
A coordinate system assigns an arbitrary point in space as the origin, and sets each axis at that point
to zero.
In the world coordinate system, numbers increase from the origin to the right along the X axis, upward
along the Y axis, and away from you on the Z axis.
Numbers decrease (-1, -2, -3, etc.) to the left along the X axis, downward along the Y axis, and toward
you along the Z axis. The distance between each number is called a unit of measurement.
You can combine the measurements of all three axes to mark specific locations in 3D space. The
combined measurements are called coordinates. Thus, at the origin, the coordinates are X: 0, Y: 0, Z: 0.

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P
Parent
Any node in a hierarchy that has another node attached to it.
Parenting
Parenting is the term used when placing a node beneath another in a hierarchy so it becomes the
child of the node above it (its parent) in the hierarchy
Pivot Point
A pivot point is a specific position in 3D space that is used as a reference for the transformations of
objects. All objects (curves, surfaces, groups) have pivot points.

R
Rigging
The process of making an object ready for animation. This does not have to be just characters; it is
the same for all objects. Rigging involves creation and implementation of bones, hierarchies, clamps,
weight maps and sliders.

S
Skinning
Skinning is the process of taking the joints or bones of the rig and binding them to the actual 3D mesh.
When the joints are bound to the 3D mesh it allows you to move the joints and the mesh will follow.
Without skinning the mesh to the joints the joints will have no influence on the actual 3D model.

W
Weight Painting
Weight painting is a vital step once the skeleton has been created. Even though the bones are put
into place, it doesn’t mean the 3D model will be able to deform exactly how you want. When a mesh
is bound to the skeleton, the computer doesn’t know how much influence each joint should have over
each vertex, so it averages the weight out based on the distance from the joint to the mesh.
Basically painting weights allows you to manually set how much influence a joint has on a particular
area of the model and correct the deformations on the 3D mesh. For example, if the leg joint has too
much influence on the model it might affect the torso area giving you unrealistic results.

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World Coordinate System

The coordinate system for world space or the model space as a whole.
World space is the universal coordinate system for all objects in the scene. When you look at the
home grid in the viewports, you see the World Space coordinate system. World space is constant
and immovable.
In the world coordinate system seen from the front, the X axis runs in a positive direction to the right,
the Y axis runs in a positive direction upward, and the Z axis runs in a positive direction away from you.

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