Character Rigger | Torchora

🎯 Role Definition

The Character Rigger is responsible for designing and implementing robust, production-ready rigging systems and deformation frameworks for characters and creatures across film, TV, and game projects. This role focuses on building flexible FK/IK rigs, facial systems, blendshape workflows, corrective shapes, muscle and skin deformation solutions, and toolsets that empower animators to produce high-quality performances efficiently. The ideal candidate combines artistic sensitivity for anatomy and motion with technical fluency in scripting, pipeline integration, and real-time constraints to deliver scalable rigs that meet animation, performance, and engine requirements.

Keywords: Character Rigger, 3D Rigging, Skinning, Deformation, Maya, Python, MEL, Houdini, Unreal Engine, Unity, Technical Artist, Rigging Tools, Facial Rigging, Blendshapes.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

Junior Rigger / Rigger Apprentice
Technical Artist (Junior)
3D Generalist or Character Modeler with rigging focus

Advancement To:

Lead Character Rigger
Character Technical Director (Rigging TD)
Head of Character/Animation Technical
Technical Art Director

Lateral Moves:

Character Animator
Technical Artist / Pipeline TD
Tools Engineer for Animation/Rigging

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

Design and implement production-ready skeletal rigs and control systems (FK/IK, spline IK, constraints) for humanoid and creature characters that meet animator workflow and performance targets.
Create robust facial rig systems using blendshapes, joint-driven rigs, pose-based corrective shapes, sculpted targets, and muscle simulation where appropriate to achieve subtle and expressive facial animation.
Perform high-quality skinning and weight painting, including iterative refinement and creation of corrective blendshapes, to ensure deformation fidelity in extreme poses and animations.
Build modular, reusable rigging frameworks and templates to maximize consistency, speed, and scalability across character pipelines and multiple productions.
Develop and maintain custom rigging tools, scripts, and plugins using Python and MEL (and/or C#/C++ as required) to automate repetitive tasks, enforce pipeline standards, and speed up the rigging process.
Integrate rigs into the production pipeline, ensuring compatibility with asset management, version control (Perforce/Git), animation export/import workflows, and the requirements of target engines (Unreal, Unity).
Optimize rigs and deformation systems for real-time performance, organizing LODs, reducing drawcalls, and ensuring stable results under engine constraints and game runtime.
Collaborate closely with character modelers, animators, and VFX artists to provide rigging reviews, recommend topology changes, and implement changes that improve deformation and animation performance.
Implement retargeting, motion capture cleanup, and mapping systems to ensure animations transfer cleanly between rigs and across characters with different proportions.
Troubleshoot and fix animation, deformation, and export issues in collaboration with QA and animation teams, responding to bug reports and rapidly iterating on fixes.
Design and implement anatomy-driven deformation solutions (muscles, corrective systems, joints, sliding skin) to improve believability for complex movements such as shoulders, hips, and facial transitions.
Create rigging documentation, best-practice guides, and training materials to onboard animators and junior riggers while documenting tool usage and rig conventions.
Support mocap workflows by building retargeting rigs, constraints, and cleaner tools for motion capture data processing and integration into animation pipelines.
Work with technical artists and engine programmers to implement runtime rigs, procedural animation controls, and blueprint/interface integrations for gameplay-driven characters.
Establish and maintain naming conventions, scene organization standards, and file structures for rigging assets to ensure predictable and scriptable pipelines.
Lead rig reviews and provide constructive feedback to ensure rigs are animator-friendly, production-stable, and meet the visual and technical goals of the project.
Prototype new rigging techniques using simulation, machine learning-assisted weights, or Houdini procedural workflows to push deformation quality and production efficiency.
Develop unit tests and automated validation checks for rigs (e.g., zero transforms, locked controls, weight thresholds) to catch regressions before artist handoff.
Mentor junior riggers, delegate rigging tasks, perform code/tool reviews, and foster growth in technical and artistic rigging competencies within the team.
Collaborate with art leads and producers to plan rigging schedules, scope complexity, and estimate development time while ensuring on-time delivery of rigging milestones.
Ensure rigs comply with animation constraints for cinematics, cutscenes, and gameplay such as root motion handling, IK retargeting, and networked animation requirements.
Convert cinematic/film-quality rigs to optimized game-ready rigs, preserving essential deformation fidelity while meeting engine budgets and technical limitations.
Participate in cross-disciplinary reviews with animators, character artists, and pipeline engineers to align on asset handoff, export settings, and animation bake procedures.
Continuously improve rigging processes by incorporating feedback, analyzing performance metrics, and iterating on automation and tool support.

Secondary Functions

Assist pipeline engineers in integrating rigging tools into CI/CD pipelines and build systems for automated asset validation and export.
Support release readiness by preparing rigging assets for milestone deliveries and participating in QA/tech-dogfood sessions to validate runtime behavior.
Provide on-call support during crunch milestones to troubleshoot rigging-related blockers in animation, cinematic, and gameplay contexts.
Help define rigging-related technical requirements for RFPs, vendor assets, and outsourced rigs to maintain consistent technical quality across partners.
Participate in cross-team knowledge sharing, lunchtime demos, and documentation updates to disseminate rigging best practices and new tool capabilities.
Maintain asset libraries, rig templates, and a reusable set of animation controls to reduce turnaround time for new character builds.
Advise on character topology and UV layout best practices to facilitate optimal deformation, weight painting, and texture-driven blendshape workflows.
Contribute to performance profiling and optimization sessions to identify rigging bottlenecks and propose engineering solutions.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

Expert-level proficiency in Autodesk Maya rigging (control rigs, deformers, constraints, skinCluster) and familiarity with Maya node-based workflows.
Strong Python scripting for Maya (PyMEL/Python API) and practical experience with MEL scripting to build automation and custom rigging tools.
Deep understanding of skinning techniques, weight painting, corrective blendshapes, dual quaternion/linear skinning, and deformation troubleshooting.
Experience building facial rig systems: blendshape-driven rigs, joint-based facial rigs, pose space deformation, corrective morphs, and muscle systems.
Knowledge of FK/IK switching, pole vector handling, stretchy limbs, spline IK, and advanced constraint setups for animation-friendly control systems.
Experience optimizing rigs and assets for real-time engines (Unreal Engine and/or Unity), including skeletal export pipelines and engine constraints.
Familiarity with version control systems (Perforce, Git) and asset management practices for studio-scale productions.
Proficiency with additional tools: Houdini (procedural rigging/character workflows), Blender, 3ds Max, and experience with DCC interoperability pipelines.
Ability to develop and deploy plugins or compiled tools (C++, C#) is a plus for advanced pipeline integrations and performance-critical tools.
Strong understanding of anatomy, biomechanics, kinematics, quaternions, and matrix math as applied to rigging and stable rotation handling.
Experience integrating motion capture pipelines, retargeting systems, and cleanup tools to produce animator-ready source data.
Knowledge of shader/deformer interactions and how skinning and blendshapes interact with cloth, hair, and muscle simulations.

Soft Skills

Excellent collaboration and communication skills to work effectively with animators, modelers, tech artists, and engineers.
Strong problem-solving mindset with the ability to diagnose complex deformation issues and propose pragmatic technical solutions.
Detail-oriented with an eye for subtle deformation artifacts and animation-friendly control ergonomics.
Adaptability to shifting project priorities and the ability to estimate and manage tasks under tight production schedules.
Teaching and mentorship ability to guide junior riggers and help evangelize pipeline improvements.
Proactive documentation and knowledge-transfer discipline to create clear, searchable rigging guides and onboarding materials.
Ability to accept artistic direction and iterate quickly while balancing technical constraints and performance tradeoffs.
Time management and organizational skills to handle multiple rigging tasks and coordinate with upstream/downstream departments.
Constructive feedback delivery and the ability to lead rig reviews in a collaborative, non-confrontational manner.
Creative mindset to prototype new rigging approaches that improve animation quality or speed.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

Bachelor's degree in Animation, Computer Graphics, Computer Science, Fine Arts, or equivalent industry experience.

Preferred Education:

Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Animation, Computer Graphics, Computer Science, or related technical art field; specialized rigging/technical animation training or certificates are a plus.

Relevant Fields of Study:

Animation / Character Animation
Computer Science / Software Engineering
Computer Graphics / Visual Effects
Fine Arts / Illustration with 3D focus
Game Development / Interactive Media

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range: 3–8 years of professional rigging experience in games, film, or VFX pipelines.

Preferred: 5+ years for mid-level roles; 7+ years for senior or lead positions with demonstrable shipped titles or productions and a strong rigging/tooling portfolio.