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Where did people who work as character riggers go to college?
| College | Location | % of People Employed |
|---|---|---|
| Full Sail University | Winter Park, Florida & Online | 2% |
| Academy of Art University | San Francisco, California & Online | 2% |
| Sheridan College | Ontario, Canada | 2% |
| Animum Creativity Advanced School | Malaga, Spain | 2% |
| Savannah College of Art and Design | Savannah, Georgia | 1% |
| Vancouver Film School | British Columbia, Canada | 1% |
| Bournemouth University | Poole, England | 1% |
| Gnomon — School of Visual Effects, Games & Animation | Los Angeles, California | 1% |
| Supinfocom Rubika | Valenciennes, Arles and Pune, France | 1% |
| ESMA | Bordeaux, Lyon, Montpellier, Nantes, Rennes, and Toulouse, France; and Montréal, Canada | 1% |
| School of Visual Arts | New York, New York | 1% |
| Tecnológico de Monterrey | Monterrey, Mexico | 1% |
| U-tad | Madrid, Spain | 1% |
| Algonquin College | Ontario, Canada | 1% |
We analyzed the academic backgrounds of approximately 2900 people who are either currently working, or have worked, as character riggers. The percentages of the schools and colleges listed above represent the amount of current and former character riggers that have a formal degree or certification from that institution. We listed only those schools and colleges above 1% in our analysis. In total, the 14 schools listed above represent 15% of the current and former character riggers considered in our analysis.
This analysis is as of April, 2023.
What Does a Character Rigger Do?
Character riggers are experts at manipulating the geometry of characters in their interaction with environments. Character riggers accomplish this through a thorough understanding of physics and anatomy, operating systems such as UNIX, and software such as Autodesk Maya, Motion Builder, 3D Studio Max, and XSI.
Character rigging is a very tedious process. It requires creativity, precision, and an eye for detail. As such, character riggers are responsible for using computer programs to form skeletons by creating a series of bones that deform and animate specific parts of the character. Character riggers may also help develop tools for animation production processes, collaborate with modelers and animators, and develop new techniques to solve character production challenges.