Rigging Master Course 3 and Kitestring

SIGGRAPH has come and gone. As usual, I left the show reenergized having experienced future tech, current techniques and sneak peeks of things right around the corner. One of the most exciting sneak peeks was something that Rich Hurrey has been developing.

Rich gave a couple talks at the show demonstrating a Pixar-style facial rig inside of Modo, and then dropped an announcement that the amazing rigs were going to be part of his Rigging Master Course 3 (RMC3). I’m a big fan of the first two releases of his Rigging Master Courses (1 and 2) and have been eagerly waiting a follow up.

RMC3 will not only demonstrate how to use the rigs, but also how to build them from scratch. Rich has taken what he learned over the years working on Pixar films, and developed content to teach the art of making shapes and setting up these rigs.  

I was surprised to hear that the rig files will be available as well. That means I’ll get my hands-on production ready, Pixar style rigs. Rigs I can explore with training material explaining not only how to use them… but also how to build them.

While I’ve created a lot of rigs over the years, I’ve never had the opportunity to dig into the kind of setup Rich is delivering, so the idea of having access to these source files has me very excited.

Rigging Master Course 3 is being released August 12th and will be part of a much larger resource Rich has been developing called Kitestring. I’m sure Rich will do a better job of explaining this new resource, but here is what I pulled from his talks.

Kitestring is a production minded resource aimed at both students and working artists. RMC3 will be part of Kitestring but there will be much more. Rich has pulled some talented artists such as Jason Bickerstaff, August Davies, Brian Tindall and others to bring not just feature film quality rigging to the platform, but a wealth of talent and experience, with a goal to cover the entire production process over time... from concept to final frame.

Rich talked at the show about how Kitestring was going to show interactions with real artists dealing with real work... working together with deadlines and a common goal. How to really work together... how competing interests can be reconciled to find the perfect balance to get the best possible product out the door.

I was excited to hear that all the original Rigging Master Course content is being added to the new Kitestring format as well, which will take advantage of the new setup. The system is cross referenced so that if you are learning about something you can see what is related allowing you to easily search and discover what you need. There is a chapter marker system which allows you to search for not only a video but into a specific point in that video.

After one of his talks I spoke with Rich about what was in the works and he mentioned that throughout the rest of the year he will be adding a full body rig, quadruped rigs, different types of faces and even more mechanical rigging. He even dropped the “M” word… Mechs.

After talking to Rich at the show, one thing was abundantly clear… Rich is very passionate about education and seems to be putting everything he has into Kitestring.  August 12th can’t come fast enough. I’m looking forward to learning everything I can from RMC3 and the additional content Rich and the other talented artists are offering through Kitestring.

For more information about Kitestring, visit Kitestringonline.com