Welcome to My Rigging Journey!

๐Ÿ‘‹ Hi! Iโ€™m Esteban Rodriguez, a passionate Rigger and Developer with years of experience in the industry. I specialize in building and refining rigging systems that are efficient, stable, and tailored to each project’s needs. Great deformations are my main objective, and I love to see some good movement in my rigs.ย 

๐Ÿ’ป Currently, I work remotely, but Iโ€™m open to hybrid or on-site opportunities. My expertise includes:

  • Facial, body, and prop rigging
  • Tool development
  • Troubleshooting production issues

๐Ÿ’ฌ Letโ€™s connect and explore how I can contribute to your next project! Whether you need an artist, developer, or supervisor, Iโ€™m ready to help. Learn more about my tools like “Mutant Tools”, and check out my wor

Clients and Contributions

Microsoft: The Coalition

Senior Character Rigging

๐Ÿ’ป Rigged AAA game assets including characters and skins, focusing on high-quality body and prop setups with dynamic systems and Unreal Engine Blueprints.

Rigging โš™๏ธ

  • Created and maintained body and prop rigs for Unreal Engine assets.
  • Integrated dynamic setups to enhance gameplay responsiveness and animation quality.
  • Ensured rigs met AAA production standards while remaining efficient and modular.

Development ๐Ÿงฐ

  • Designed wrapping tools to streamline rigging workflows and improve efficiency.
  • Documented tools and processes in Confluence for future reference and onboarding.
  • Supported the rigging team with workflow improvements and custom utilities.

Social ๐Ÿ’ฌ

  • Participated in studio events both in-person and virtually to strengthen team culture.
  • Contributed to team engagement initiatives, including a magic show.

Fair Play Labs

Freelance Character Rigger

๐Ÿ’ป Developed and improved in-house tools for artists, balancing troubleshooting and development.

Rigging ๐Ÿ”ง

  • Rigged characters and props using various systems, including Mutant Tools and mGear.
  • Adapted facial rigs for games, achieving high-quality deformations with optimized joint counts.
  • Developed clothing systems that maintained a dynamic look while remaining fully animatable in Maya.

Development ๐Ÿ› ๏ธ

  • Developed custom solutions to adapt rigging needs to each studioโ€™s naming conventions and workflows.
  • Designed systems that enabled fast prototyping and efficient versioning, ensuring smooth integration across teams and productions.

Stellar Creative Lab

Rigging Supervisor

๐ŸŽฎ Oversaw facial, body, and prop rigging, ensuring seamless workflows and high-quality production.

Rigging ๐Ÿ”ง

  • Integrated new tech with legacy tools for smooth production.
  • Designed new tools and rigs for better performance.

Development ๐Ÿ› ๏ธ

  • Managed the entire pipeline, from models to delivery.
  • Created tools for saving/loading rig components and fixed bugs.
  • Handled crowd rigs for 300+ assets.

Social ๐Ÿค

  • Organized activities to boost morale and teamwork.
  • Promoted a positive, stress-free work environment.

Scanline VFX

Rigging Developer

๐Ÿ’ป Developed and improved in-house tools for artists, balancing troubleshooting and development.

Development โš™๏ธ

  • Enhanced rigging tools and converted custom nodes to vanilla for external collaboration.
  • Built core asset classes, shape tools, and crowd helpers used across multiple projects.

Troubleshooting ๐Ÿ› ๏ธ

  • Used Git and PEP8 standards to quickly resolve issues and keep production smooth.
  • Proactively addressed tool-related bugs, keeping production on track.

Social ๐Ÿ’ฌ

  • Collaborated remotely and in Montreal, adapting to ensure seamless delivery across teams.
  • Collaborated closely with artists to understand and solve workflow challenges.

Bardel Entertainment

Rigging Artist

๐ŸŽจ Focused on creating top-quality rigs and optimizing tools for a more efficient workflow.

Rigging ๐Ÿค–

  • Specialized in body and prop rigging, ensuring realistic and appealing deformations.
  • Delivered high-quality results that enhanced character and prop animation across projects.

Development โš™๏ธ

  • Developed personal tools to speed up rigging, which evolved into a full team-wide toolset.
  • Improved workflow efficiency and reduced delivery times while maintaining top-notch quality.

Social ๐Ÿ’ฌ

  • Proactively shared solutions with the team, fostering smooth collaboration.
  • Encouraged open communication, helping the team address challenges efficiently and stay on track.

Production-ready rigging framework! Easy to use! Modular! Body, Face, Quadrupets, Whatever!ย 

Some Tutorials

One of my core goals is to share the knowledge I’ve gained throughout my career to help others grow, just as others have helped me along the way. I believe that by contributing to the community through tutorials, we can all elevate our skills and achieve greater success together. My tutorials are designed to break down complex rigging techniques and tools into easy-to-understand steps, making advanced concepts accessible to everyone, regardless of their experience level. Whether you’re just starting out or looking to refine your skills, these tutorials are here to support your journey in the rigging world.

Explore my tutorials, and let’s continue to grow together!

Old Casual Tutorials

I used to record a bunch of casual stuff before, if you want to take a look go ahead… there is a bit of everything in there so enjoy.ย