Viperess Rigging OVerview 2025

Viperess Rigging Overview is a technical showcase created to highlight a unique hybrid character rig built for one of my stylized fantasy characters. The goal of this project was to demonstrate advanced rig integration—combining a humanoid body rig with independently rigged serpent heads and tails—while maintaining clean deformation, animation flexibility, and strong visual control.

My Role

Sole Creator: Responsible for all modeling, sculpting, rigging, skinning, control design, posing, lighting, rendering, and final presentation.

Responsibilities:

Character Modeling & Design

• Created the stylized character model featuring bold anatomy, exaggerated hair coils, and serpent appendages.

• Sculpted the snake heads and bodies as separate components to allow for detailed rigging control.

Full Rig Development

• Humanoid Body Rig:

  • Built a complete control rig for the main character including body, facial controls, expressive fingers, and spine flexibility.

  • Ensured clean deformation through detailed skin weighting and corrective adjustments.

• Independent Snake Rigs:

  • Each snake head and body segment was rigged separately using spline IK and joint chains to support fluid, serpentine motion.

  • Added custom controllers for bends, twists, and strike poses.

• Rig Integration:

  • Combined the snake rigs with the main body rig, allowing the serpents to anchor naturally at the character’s back while remaining fully poseable.

  • Synced pivot points and control hierarchies to maintain stability during complex poses.

Control Layout & Usability

• Designed intuitive, color-coded controllers visible in the rig showcase.

• Implemented animator-friendly handles for each serpent segment, plus FK/IK switching where needed.

• Organized the rig to allow simultaneous control of both the humanoid figure and serpentine appendages without interfering with each other.

Posing & Presentation

• Demonstrated the rig’s range of motion through dynamic poses showing snake strikes, coils, and balanced stances.

• Rendered before/after views—with controls visible and hidden—to clearly show rig functionality vs. final deformation.

Lighting, Rendering & Final Output

• Used a clean studio-style lighting setup to highlight form and rig controls.

• Rendered the character with and without visible rig guides to emphasize the technical structure and finished look.

• Enhanced the final images with subtle compositing for clarity and presentation quality.

Software Used:

3DS Max, Zbrush, Maya (Rigging and Posing), Corona Renderer, Substance Painter, TopoGun 2, After Effects, Photoshop