The Setup Machine 3

The Setup Machine 3 is a commercial auto-rigging plugin for Autodesk Maya that allows users to bypass much of the difficulty of the rigging process.

Rigging (the process of setting up a character for animation) in Maya or any 3D animation package can be tedious and repetitive when things are going smoothly, and can grind production to a standstill when it does not go smoothly. When creating characters for games, some rig issues might not be discovered until late enough in the pipeline that a significant amount of work can be made useless, or days might be lost trying to retain it.

The Setup Machine makes correct initial character setup painless, makes going back and making changes after the fact trivial, and prepares files for export to game engines with the click of a button. The Setup Machine 3 allows users who are experienced with rigging techniques to quickly move past initial character setup, and build anything else they might want on top of a solid rig. It also opens rigging up to artists who know less about the intricacies of character rigging.

I worked as project lead on the product, taking primary responsibility for getting it up and running and out the door.