Pixar Gives Sneak Peek Inside Process of “Rigging” Ahead of “Inside Pixar: Foundations” Debut

Disney+ and Pixar have given us a look at a crucial part of the animation process (at least in CG animation) called “rigging,” building a virtual skeleton in which to animate characters with, ahead of new episodes of Inside Pixar coming soon on Disney+.

What’s Happening:

  • Ahead of the debut of Inside Pixar: Foundations on Disney+ on March 26th, Pixar has released a sneek peek of featuring a little bit about the process of “rigging” an animated character.
  • Brilliantly using an old string puppet of Pinocchio, Art Director and Character Lead Lou Hamou-Lhadj demonstrates the complex simplicity of a rigged animated character, explaining that like the puppet, the animator tugs on virtual strings that make certain parts of the character move.
  • Lou also explains that his Pinocchio puppet has only six strings, where as a digital character has thousands of strings that are associated with joints along a wire mesh frame so that everything that should move does. I.E. If you want a character to lift his hand, the whole arm and shoulder must move along with it.

  • Inside Pixar is an original docuseries on Disney+ that gives viewers an inside look at the inner workings of the company during the pandemic. Originally debuting with five episodes, new content gives viewers more of a look at the actual studio proper, including more about the animation process.

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