Red9, a company specialized in character rigging, has updated its Red9 ProPack tool, which is a work environment for animation in Maya. This update includes new tools that were developed as part of the work done on Sonic the Hedgehog 3, the third installment of the famous video game saga.
Red9 ProPack Objective: Equip Small Studios
Red9 ProPack aims to provide small studios with the same animation tools used by large video game and visual effects studios. To achieve this, the suite includes over 40 custom interfaces and hundreds of tools designed to streamline character animation processes. These tools allow artists to connect their own character rigs to the system, including features such as:
- Animation Retargeting
- Perforce Integration for version control
- Custom Exporters
New Tools for Sonic the Hedgehog 3
The latest version of ProPack incorporates tools developed specifically for character rigging in Sonic the Hedgehog 3. Red9 was hired to do all the character and facial rigging work for the movie, creating the base assets that were then distributed to six key visual effects studios that worked on the project. The rigs were built using exclusively native Maya nodes to minimize compatibility issues between the collaborating studios.
Transfer Deformation Stack: Innovative Deformation Transfer
Among the new tools added to ProPack are Transfer Deformation Stack and Ripple Animation. Transfer Deformation Stack is a tool that transfers the deformation and skin from one object to another. It was especially useful for Sonic's rigging, as it allows the deformation to "bounce" between objects, such as between the eyelids and the eye geometry, dividing the evaluation graph into small components that can be processed in separate CPU threads to avoid performance bottlenecks.
Details on Transfer Deformation Stack
The process of dividing the evaluation graph into small components allows for much smoother performance, especially when working with complex shapes like Sonic's face. According to Mark Jackson, the founder of Red9, this tool is a "total game-changer in blendshape handling," as without it, the final rig wouldn't have been able to run in real-time.
Ripple Animation: Secondary Motion on Sonic's Spines
On the other hand, Ripple Animation was designed to generate secondary motion on Sonic's head spines, adding an extra layer of realism to the character. This type of motion is crucial for detailed animations, where the character's elements must move naturally and believably.
Impact of the New Tools on Animation
These two new tools were fundamental in achieving high-quality animation for the movie's characters. Although they were added to ProPack last year, Red9 could only make them public after the movie's release.
Release and Availability of Red9 ProPack
Red9 ProPack is available as a monthly or annual subscription service. It is compatible with Maya 2020 or later versions and works on Windows, Linux, and macOS. The monthly subscription costs 39.99 pounds (around 50 dollars), while the annual subscription costs 450 pounds (about 560 dollars).
Accessibility of Advanced Tools for Small Studios
With this update, Red9 seeks to continue facilitating the work of small and medium-sized studios, allowing them to access the same advanced animation tools used by the industry's major studios. Undoubtedly, these improvements will contribute to optimizing the process of creating complex character animations and bringing high-level technology to a wider audience.
"These tools are a total game-changer in the way we handle blendshapes. They allowed us to work in real-time on the movie, which wouldn't have been possible without them." - Mark Jackson, founder of Red9