First, I created a basic scene box in Maya to serve as a clear spatial reference for animation production. This scene box included key terrain structures and position markers, allowing me to accurately determine the characters’ movement range and relative positions during animation.

By using this approach, I was able to plan the characters’ movement paths and camera transitions effectively in the early stages of production, ensuring visual continuity and logical consistency.

Additionally, this simple setup allowed me to focus on refining the character animations without being distracted by the complexities of detailed scene design, laying a solid foundation for later scene optimization and lighting adjustments.

I have re-rigged the “Big Brother” monkey model using the ADV rigging system. Given my previous experience with rigging models, I aim to optimize my rigging process this time. I plan to use Mixamo’s quick rigging and skinning feature to achieve better skin weights. Then, I’ll use the Name Matcher feature in the ADV system to create an ADV control rig that can efficiently transfer skinning information.

Next was the facial rigging, where I encountered some challenges. Since the body rigging was imported externally, it didn’t fully integrate with the facial rigging system, leading to some errors. The issue likely stems from the significant differences between a monkey’s facial structure and a human’s. To address this, I made some adjustments to the presets, including removing the eyebrow rigging. This change helped avoid errors in the eye area, particularly with the selection of the three points in that region.

However, the error persisted. The externally imported skeleton was provided by Mixamo, and when creating the facial controllers, an error occurred indicating that the facial root bone could not be found. Eventually, I located the root bone in the discarded Mixamo skeleton, identifying “mixamoRig:head” as the root bone for the facial rig.

Finally, it worked!

I ultimately chose the model with two monkeys, but further modifications were still needed after purchase.

We want to turn these two models into a “Big Brother” and “Little Brother” duo in our game. Previously, we mentioned that our characters arrive in airplanes, so I think monkeys with human-like intelligence and technology should also wear clothes. Additionally, my team members suggested that the “Big Brother” monkey should have its hat and glasses removed. Therefore, I will incorporate their suggestions and make some modifications to the model.

Of course, since the purchased models don’t fully align with our needs in every aspect, I’ll need to re-rig the “Big Brother” monkey after making the modifications. For the “Little Brother” monkey, I used skinning duplication to transfer the skin weights from the body to the clothes, simplifying the process.