Multiple Dynamic Pivots Rig for 3D Biped Character Designed along Human-Computer Interaction Principles

This thesis is addressing the design, implementation and usability testing of a modular extensible animator-centric authoring tool-independent 3D Multiple Dynamic Pivots (MDP) biped character rig. An objective of the thesis is to show that the design of the character rig must be independent of its platform, cater to the needs of the animation workflow based on HCI principles (particularly that of Direct Manipulation) and be modular and extensible in order to build and grow as needed within the production pipeline. In the thesis, the proposed rig design is implemented in Maya, the most widely used and taught commercial 3D animation authoring tool. Another thesis objective is to perform usability testing of the MDP rig with animation students and professionals, in order to gauge the new design's intuitiveness for those relatively new to the trade and those already steeped in its decades of accumulated technical idiosyncrasies.