Pixo Jr - a great training rig for Maya animators |
We recommend Luxo for the early stages of learning animation - it's a great way to get used to the Maya animation controls without things getting too complex, too quickly.
Pixo Jr is an excellent rig, free for student download at highend3d.com.
Who created Pixo Jr? And Why?
Pixo Jr. was a joint project way back in 2006, and was created by animators Amrit Derhgawen and Alex Crouch.
Inspired by Pixar's Luxo Jr., Pixo was created to "help animators practice animation principles, such as timing, weight, spacing, phrasing, and overlapping. Pixo is simple, so you can do basic animations without being distracted by a whole lot of gadgets and gizmos that get in the way."
Pixo Jr. was a joint project way back in 2006, and was created by animators Amrit Derhgawen and Alex Crouch.
Inspired by Pixar's Luxo Jr., Pixo was created to "help animators practice animation principles, such as timing, weight, spacing, phrasing, and overlapping. Pixo is simple, so you can do basic animations without being distracted by a whole lot of gadgets and gizmos that get in the way."
Lamp Hop Tutorial
You can find our tutorial on Pixo lamp animation here. https://vimeo.com/showcase/5793268
Pixo Jr. Quirks
Like any rig, Pixo Jr has a few quirky features that might fox you when you first give him a test drive. Below are some commonly encountered problems to help you on your way.
Turn the Light On
Like any rig, Pixo Jr has a few quirky features that might fox you when you first give him a test drive. Below are some commonly encountered problems to help you on your way.
Turn the Light On
Lamp head options |
In order to see the effects of these changes, go to the lighting tab in the top left hand corner of your viewport, and click on "use all lights". Also, you can render the current frame to see the rendered effects of the light bulb.
To turn the bulb itself on, go to Incandescence Red, Green and Blue and set the values to 1. Now the bulb itself will light up. To further adjust the bulb, go to Outputs in your Channel Box and click on Bulb_Phong. Here you can adjust the settings for the bulb.
Change Evaluation Mode from Parallel to DG
Change Evaluation Mode from Parallel to DG |
To fix this, go to windows > settings and preferences and then in the settings > animation category, change the drop down menu for evaluation mode from "Parallel" to the older mode "DG".
Pixo Jr Animation
To see what other animators have done with Pixo Jr, watch the videos below:
Lamp Animation by Jeff Smith
Lamp Animation by Jeff Smith
Pixo Jr Animation by Victoria Bailey
Pixo Jr Animation by Jinng Hwee Tan
Lamp Hop by Joris Van Laar
Lamp Hop with Pixo by Bella Al-Mahdiova
Lamp Hop by Jonathan Humphries
Most of all, have fun with Pixo! And be inventive!
Pixo Jr Animation by Jinng Hwee Tan
Lamp Hop by Joris Van Laar
Lamp Hop with Pixo by Bella Al-Mahdiova
Lamp Hop by Jonathan Humphries
Most of all, have fun with Pixo! And be inventive!
----Alex
The Escape Studios Animation Blog offers a personal view on the art of
animation and visual effects. To apply for our new BA/MArt starting in September 2016, follow this link.
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