How would you explain your job to someone who doesn’t know VFX?

Rigging is like creating a digital puppet. Imagine having a digital sculpture—rigging is the process that makes it move. Animators use these digital puppets to bring characters to life on screen, whether in films, games, or commercials. A well-built rig allows for expressive, natural movement while giving animators intuitive control over the character.

Coding in rigging primarily serves two purposes:

1) Handling Complex Calculations – Some deformations and movements require advanced math, such as vector calculations and matrix multiplications, which would be difficult or time-consuming to do manually.

2) Automating Repetitive Tasks – Many aspects of rigging involve repetitive actions. For example, if a rig requires creating the same joint 100 times, writing a simple script with just a few lines of code can accomplish the task much faster than doing it by hand.

A large part of rigging involves nodeling. In Maya, the 3D software, everything is represented as a “node” or a network of nodes that all work together to create actions. As rigging becomes more advanced, we often build rigs by directly creating and connecting nodes in the Node Editor. This allows for more precise control, procedural setups, and better performance optimization, making it an essential skill for technical rigging.

What does a day in the life look like?

Wake up → Check my phone → Sketch a bit → Work (rigging, coding, node-based setups) → Eat → Play tennis → Sleep

What are some of your favorite projects? Why?

I really enjoyed working on the Portals music videos by Melanie Martinez. This project featured so many fascinating characters—like the snail and spider—each with a distinct, highly stylized design. It was amazing to see the rigs my team built come to life, performing expressive animations within such a beautifully surreal, dream-like world. These kinds of creative projects remain my favorite to work on.

Light Shower - Melanie Martinez

What's something you wish people knew about what you do?

Creating an awesome rig takes a lot of effort. It’s fascinating how achieving natural and visually appealing deformations often requires even more complex math and coding behind the scenes.

What is something that excites you about your career?

Seeing my rigs on the big screen and shouting out heyyy that's my baby

Are you learning anything new?

Every year, I realize more and more that communication is even more important than I thought the year before.

What do you like to do outside of work?

I've always loved watching movies, though now I’m not sure if it’s just a hobby or part of the job haha. Also I like playing tennis. It doesn't hurt to be a bit healthier.

What's the best advice you've ever received?

Staying organized and maintaining consistent conventions started as a necessity for CG work, but I soon realized how crucial it is for life in general. The mental sanity it brings is absolutely priceless.