In late 2008 during the writers strike, I found I had a little bit of spare time so I started work on a character that I wanted to release to the community. When I set out to design this rig, I wanted to make it easy to use 'out of the box'. That meant no need to install any shelves or scripts to get right into using the character. It also had to update fast (IE: No fancy muscle systems or dynamics). I picked a cartoony character because I wanted the challenge of working on a gooey/stretchy rig. The name is because I'm not very good at making names and Tonga is a place I would like to visit one day.
Features:
-"Osipa influenced" facial system
-Squashy/stretchy torso that allows for 'floating' FK animation (IE, you can translate stuff around and it still looks cool)
-Pre-set hand poses on the palm controller for common or hard to build shapes (Thumbs up, punch, grab weapon etc). I can add more poses to the rig as needed. Feel free to make suggestions.
-FK/IK switching/stretching on arms and legs
-Full foot rig.
-Head and eyes can 'lock' or 'float' as needed.
-Spline and FK controls for the tail.
You are free to use, share and modify this rig for non-commercial purposes as per the creative commons . If you wish to use this character commercially please contact me through my website listed below.
Special thanks to Tyler Hoolaeff for the animators perspective, and Bob White and Devan Mussato for rigging suggestions and QC. I hope you enjoy playing with it.
--Mike Rhone
To check out my visual effects reel, or other things I have worked on, head over to my personal website here: mikerhone.com
Please use the Feature Requests to give me ideas.
Please use the Support Forum if you have any questions or problems.
Please rate and review in the Review section.
