The role of a Character Technical Director, sometimes referred to as a “Rigger,” is to add the skeletal structure and procedural controls that enable our character animators to bring a character to life through movement. The DreamWorks Animation Character TD Challenge is an intensive program designed to give individuals the unique opportunity to learn high-end character setup principles and techniques from many of the industry’s top riggers. It is a fast-paced, challenging 12-week program covering both the art and the science of building feature film quality character rigs.
A broad range of topics will be introduced including: how an animated film pipeline is organized, the principles of animation, interpreting character designs, and how to incorporate them into the rigging process. Additional concepts discussed include: key anatomical ideas important to the deformation process, programming procedural controls, and techniques to successfully present ideas and results to both creative and technical audiences. Then it is time to apply learned skills to building an actual rig. To ensure success we will have mentors assigned to answer questions and provide guidance through this fast paced learning process.
We are looking for recent graduates in either Computer Science or Visual Arts who can demonstrate significant work in the other field: essentially artists who can code or programmers who have an eye for form and motion. The Character TD Challenge grooms you to tackle challenging technical problems within a group of fellow fun-loving, hard-working Character TDs.
- Matriculation from a university program in Visual Effects, Computer Animation, or Computer Science, with an emphasis on Character Rigging
- Resume and cover letter (Please note software coding, computer language experience, and math skills)
- Demo reel (2 minutes or less) with examples of rigging/character setup work
- We also encourage you to include examples of other artistic works including: drawings, paintings, graphic designs, and photographs
