Aralez Team

Ara Rig

Model provided by Christian Sanchaz. Character Animation Provided by Johnson Thomas

Character name and gameplay reserved to the Aralez Team

Ara is a quadrupedal canine with wings and a friendly attitude. Ara served as one of my first rigging challenges for the Aralez team. As the mascot of our game and main character, it was important to make sure his rig is clean and easy to animate. I put tiny attentions to details along the face, tail, spine and wings which allow the animators to pose Ara anyway they want.

Ara features an IK and FK Rig system for all his limbs, including the wings. Rig even features space swapping in areas so that animator can lock certain limbs to body parts.

I really enjoyed working on Ara for his unique design. Being able to rig Ara's wings were the most challenging yet most satisfying when I got them to work.

Yeva Rig

Model provided by Christian Sanchaz. Character Animation Provided by Annie Serrano

Character name and gameplay reserved to the Aralez Team

Yeva is one of Ara's close friend and earliest companion. In game she serves as a support character. Using magic to heal the team and protect her friends.

To show her abilities she floats upon a magic flower which was my first prop to rig for a character. I've even set up a key where she can start in her idle pose.

Similar to Ara she uses an IK/ FK joint animation system allowing animators to have multiple ways to control her. Even her flower is animatable and able to be hidden so that animators can focus on her and not get distracted if the flower is in the way.

Hrachya Rig

Model provided by Christian Sanchaz. Character Animation Provided by Johnson Thomas

Character name and gameplay reserved to the Aralez Team

Hrachya, one of Ara's first adversaries, but soon joins Ara's party to aid in his quest.

What stands out for Hrachya unlike Ara and Yeva, is his Oud instrument. The difficulty with the Oud is that in a lot of cases the oud had to be attached to two parts of Hrachya, his hand and his back. This provided a lot of trouble as I also had to build a functional strap that can not only wrap around Hrachya, but allow an easy way for the animators to move the strap.

Through a lot of problem solving and learning how to install a new ribbon technique which not only solved the Oud issue but it also allows it to bend and stretch at the animators will. Hryachya was both my toughest yet most favorite rig out of the bunch due to the jump in rigging styles.

Hrachya also uses an IKFK joint system, and paired with the ribbon on the Oud you can get really crazy with the type of poses you want Hrachya to make.

Al Minion Rig

Model provided by Christian Sanchaz. Character Animation Provided by Johnson Thomas

Character name and gameplay reserved to the Aralez Team

The Al minions. Like pairs in a pod, they serve as the first few monsters for Ara to face. They serve under Hrachya, even adopting similar styles.

After rigging Hrachya, I expanded the rigging technique and applied it to the Al Minion. You can see more fluid animation in the Al Minion's bell string, eyes and spine. Also utilizing the IKFK system combined with the ribbon technique, you can get a lot of fun yet intimidating poses from the Al Minion.

My goal was to make the Al Minions just as expressive as everyone else. By bringing the ribbon technique to the Al Minion's eyes you can get great facial expression from just the eyes alone.

Aralez Combat Gameplay

Model provided by Christian Sanchaz. Character Animation Provided by Annie Serrano

Character name and gameplay reserved to the Aralez Team

This three minute short is a sample of the Aralez team combat animations. Featuring Ara, Hrachya, and Yeva in combat with one another. Showing a variety of attacks, character expressions, and music as well.