Digital Tutors - Rigging Tank Treads in Maya

Duration 1h 52m

Difficulty Level Advanced

Project Files Included

Software used

Autodesk Maya 2014

What you will learn

In this Maya tutorial we will learn how to rig tank treads. We'll get started by setting up our initial tread, learning how to prevent flipping issues, how to have the tread move properly as we move our vehicle, making sure it flows in the right direction and cycles along its path.

We'll then learn how a script can be built to evenly position treads along our path to save you a lot of time. Along the way, we'll cover topics like how to set up wheel rotations to move with the treads, how to conform the treads to follow an uneven terrain, and how to make the rig scalable.

By the end of this training, you will be equipped with the skill set needed to rig your own robust tread systems.

Partner

Tutor

Delano Athias

1. Introduction and project overview 01:00

2. Setting up our scene and adding controls for the treads 12:12

3. Driving the initial tread 13:01

4. Correcting the tread as it moves along its path 08:09

5. Finalizing the tread control and scaling the rig 06:50

6. Cloning the treads 14:50

7. Scaling our treads 05:30

8. Setting up treads on the other half of the vehicle 13:56

9. Controlling the rotation of the wheels 11:31

10. Constraining the treads to uneven terrain 16:00

11. Finishing our surface constraint system 06:36

12. Finalizing the rig 03:08