Bundle - Advanced Body and Facial rigging workshops (Winter 2025)
Wed, Nov 05
|Recorded & Live Meet Sessions
13 -weeks of intensive workshops - Learn how to create complete character rigs for animated films. Enroll in both of our workshops together to take advantage of a discounted price.
Time & Location
Nov 05, 2025, 7:00 p.m. – Feb 25, 2026, 9:00 p.m.
Recorded & Live Meet Sessions
About the event
Dive into the world of body and facial rigging, where you'll explore both the artistic and technical aspects needed to create high-quality deformations for animated films. In this advanced course, you'll learn the skills necessary to craft appealing, expressive rigs that meet the demanding standards of animated films.
Our workshops combine flexible self-paced learning with live feedback and community support.
🎥 Weekly live sessions on Google Meet focused on review, and personalized feedback from your instructor.
📺 Recorded lessons with assigments every week in English with optional Spanish subtitles
💬 Discord community with classmates and instructor for questions and collaboration
🌍 Live feedback available in English or Spanish, based on your preference
⏳ Access to all course content for 2 years after completion, so you can keep learning at your own pace.
🧑🤝🧑 Two 3D character models included, free to use them in your practices and demo reel (or bring your own).
Attending live sessions is optional, all sessions are recorded, and your feedback can be captured in the recordings.
Instructor
Hector Abraham Torres
Is a Character Rigger at Walt Disney Animation Studios with over 10 years of experience in the industry, he also worked at Sony Pictures Imageworks and other big animation studios.
Hector also an international speaker and instructor which contributions have made him a respected figure in the animation community.
Projects worked:
- Tiana
- Moana 2
- Spider-Man Across the Spiderverse
- Monsters At Work
- Paw Patrol the Movie
- SpongeBob in the Run
- Max Stel Turbo
Overview / Syllabus
Advanced Body Rigging:
Week 0
Introduction and presentation
Live Session: November 05, 2025
Week 1
Body Anatomy (Muscles and Bone Structures)
Correct Topology for animation
Retopology tools in Maya
Marking Menus, Hotkeys, and Scripts.
Assignment: Model ready to start the rig.
Live Session: November 12, 2025
Week 2
Creation of joints and controls
IK Splines
Constraints, connections and utility nodes
Squash and Stretch
Assignment: Spine and neck rig
Live Session: November 19, 2025
Week 3
IK/FK Chains
Ribbons
Bend controls
Controls Automation
Assignment: Cartoony arm rig
Live Session: November 26, 2025
Week 4
IK/FK Chains in legs
Reverse foot control
Ribbons in legs
Assignment: Cartoony leg rig
Live Session: December 03, 2025
Week 5
Parent Switch Spaces
Mirroring
binding and weight painting
Testing
Assignment: Rig Assembling and Binding
Live Session: December 10, 2025
Week 6
Matrix Nodes
RBF Maya solver
Pose Editor
Sculpting Tools
Extra Add-ons
Assignment: Second layer of deformation
Live Session: December 17, 2025
Optional extension week to wrap up assignments ahead of final project submission.
Advanced Facial Rigging:
Week 0
Introductionand presentation
Short Live Session: Jan 07, 2026
Week 1
Face Anatomy (Muscles and bones structures)
Correct Topology for animation
Retopology tools in Maya
Marking Menus, Hotkeys, and Scripts.
Types of facial rigging
Assignment: Model ready to start the rig.
Live Session: Jan 14, 2026
Week 2
Creation of joints and controls
Constraints, connections and utility nodes
Follows
joints setup and skinning (Nose and cheeks area)
Eyeball setup
Assignment: Jaw and skull Rig
Live Session: Jan 21, 2026
Week 3
corrective blendshapes on joints
Combo shapes
connections vs constraints setup
Ribbon applications
local controls
Assignment: Lips Rig
Live Session: Jan 28, 2026
Week 4
Motion Path applications
Types of curves
Blendshapes splitting
Inbetween Shapes
Assignment: Brows Rig
Live Session: Feb 04, 2026
Week 5
basic vs complex eyelid setup
Wires applications
Different blendshapes applications
Eye Sockets setup
Assignment: Eyelids Rig
Live Session: Feb 11, 2026
Week 6 &7
Nonlinear Maya deformers
Extra Corrective shapes
Combining local rig to main rig
Expressions animation test
Assignment: Extra deformers and finish facial rig
Live Session: Feb 25, 2026
Level
Intermediate to advanced
This workshop is not intended for complete beginners, but everyone is welcome to join.
We will cover all the fundamentals, but the workshop spends more time on intermediate and advanced concepts.
Requirements
Computer with an internet connection and a microphone for online classes
Autodesk Maya 2019 or later installed
Basic knowledge of Maya is required
The workshop is limited to only 10 students, so we recommend saving your spot in advance
If you have any questions or require alternative payment options, including installment plans,
please email us at contact@hatrigs.com
You can also reserve your spot with an initial payment by emailing us.
If there's enough interest, we may open up to two groups, one meeting on Tuesdays and the other on Wednesdays.
Order Details
Advanced Body & Face Workshop
14 weeks of Workshops for learning advanced character rigging techniques
US$1,150.00
+US$28.75 ticket service fee
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