Rigging Pipeline: NPC - Police (male and female) | dEmpire of Vampire |

🎬 See these characters in action in the final Police Cinematic: https://www.artstation.com/artwork/rl8XQ5
Rigging Pipeline | Maya, Advanced Skeleton & Unity

Description:
An end-to-end character pipeline showcasing custom rigging, skinning, and a fully realized cinematic/gameplay animation sequence. The project features three characters — a male Police Officer, a female Police Officer, and a Ghoul creature — built in Autodesk Maya via Advanced Skeleton and optimized for Unity.

Key Technical Features & Workflow:
1. Advanced Rigging & Animation Workflow: Built comprehensive IK/FK control systems using Advanced Skeleton. Configured an intuitive Advanced Skeleton Picker panel, which streamlined the animation process for quick character posing and expressive timing.
2. Character Acting & Weight Shifts: Leveraged the rig's flexibility to capture subtle acting (the Ghoul rummaging), rapid weight transfers (stepping back in fear), and explosive physical comedy (the sudden comedic sprints).
3. Production-Ready Skinning: Executed clean weight painting to eliminate mesh stretching during extreme poses—such as drawing a weapon, crouching by the trash, or fast running cycles — ensuring flawless deformation across anatomy and tactical gear.
4. Unity Mobile Optimization: Utilized the Game Joints export structure to keep the rigs lightweight. Enforced strict vertex influence limits and optimized bone count budgets required for stable mobile rendering in Unity.

Run Cycle Male and Female Technical Breakdown:
This breakdown highlights the complete in-game character integration. The joint hierarchy was generated in Maya using Advanced Skeleton. The wireframe preview demonstrates clean skinning deformation during fast-paced movement. Additionally, LOD (Level of Detail) optimization is showcased, proving the asset is fully prepared for stable mobile rendering in Unity without sacrificing visual quality.

Rigging and Character Animations: Dzianis Mizhui
3d Character artist: Andrei Omelchenko