Advanced Tank Rig for Maya | 3D Tank Model

A Tank I Modeled and Rigged in Maya for a personal project back in 2009. The rig has automated treads, a turret recoil system and a working machine gun that ejects particle based shell casings.
Tutorial now available:
• How to Rig a Tank in M...
More advanced version of this tank here:
• Advanced Tank Rig for ...
HashTags:
#mayarig #mayarigging #mayatankrig
Common search tags:
maya tank rig,
advanced tank rig,
advanced tank rig for maya,
3d tank model,
3d tank rig,
tank rig in maya,
maya tank animation,
advanced tank rig maya,
maya tank treads,
maya tank turret,
maya tank tutorial,
maya tank demo,
tank 3d model,
tank maya rig,
tank rig maya,
production ready tank maya,
rigged tank model maya,
tank rigging in maya,
machine gun rig maya,
tank rig,
tank rig pro maya,
pro tank rig maya,
pro maya tank,

[@DV7Dave]

This rig looks more complex than most industry standard rigs I have worked with. Well done. I am very impressed!

[@amaurythewarrior]

1 year later, now that i read your explanations again, they're starting to make alittle more sense in my head ! i'll try to dig into that !

[@SimonMills]

Tutorial is up, sorry for delay!

[@SimonMills]

@VINCENTREE Thanks, glad you enjoyed it... was a blast to make.

[@SimonMills]

Gun Recoil machine gun is simply set driven key as it is so fast and repeating. The fcurve is then set to pre and post infinity cycle. Main Gun - The entire hull is setup to be able to rock and move independantly from the tracks and the gun fire attribute is linked to a node above this. Set driven keys over 10 units of the "fire main gun" attribute give it the recoil that settles and this is then linked to turret rotation to to control the direction of the recoil/settle animation.

[@MHTutorials3D]

10 out of 10 ! Great job. I you ever decide to do a tutorial that would be great

[@SimonMills]

Tutorial is up

[@WoodysFx]

I really appreciate this video. If you are continuing to make a tutorial, well thank you ahead of time my friend, I look forward to it.

[@SimonMills]

Been pretty distracted lately with a project but it is coming!

[@WoodysFx]

No worries my friend, you've got a quality rig. At the very least I hope they are good distractions man!

[@otterguyty]

thanks for the tutorial in progress. Amazing work on the rig.

[@SimonMills]

I have been working in Maya for 4 years or so now. This one took about 2-3 days to model and about 2-3 days to rig, have not actually got around to texturing it just yet.. I plan on putting it in some kind of short shot that I will post on here one day :)

[@sk9101]

im sure you know it, but this is great stuff! love the bullet particles built into the rig. you've given the animator 10x less work to do!

[@SimonMills]

Sorry for delay on comments.. I will try to address some of the requests: Machine gun Utility nodes/expressions for the moving gun parts.. very simple stuff for the most part. The bullet chain is pathed to a curve and linked to attributes via expressions, clusters on that curve constrained to locators that are also expression driven to allow for it to shape itself correctly. The bullet cases that fly out are particles that instance a bullet mesh and is set to collide with the blue low mesh.

[@Nextron1000]

Amazing rig, would love to see your tutorial. I love using expressions and making animations easier to animate!

[@SimonMills]

Tutorial is up

[@Nextron1000]

You sir, deserve a cookie!

[@satheeskumar2739]

That is supper crazy man !!

[@TheOneLichemperor]

You sicken me.... really quite impressive to a novice like me. I'm having trouble with the tank tracks!

[@Firespectrum122]

God damn, please make a tutorial. This is amazing.

[@SimonMills]

In progress, I am chipping at it between jobs... hopefully finished soon.

[@SimonMills]

Tutorial is up, sorry for delay!

[@Firespectrum122]

Wait, what

[@SimonMills]

Hope it helps, enjoy!

[@amaurythewarrior]

@TheSyePie simple stuff according to you it may be, but you really made me realize how important rigging even for vehicles actually is ! since one of my main concerns are vehicles and mechanical elements, i came across "craft animation" products. impressive, that it is, but in no way meant for animation.

[@frostbitedude]

This is amazing man, great job.

[@johnvanderjagt2463]

This is mad!.. I would love to see how you made this.

[@SimonMills]

Tutorial is up, sorry for delay!

[@VINCENTREE]

FANTASTIC!!!!!!

[@SimonMills]

stay tuned... I just started working on a tutorial!

[@hakank06]

waiting :D

[@robinhobart5759]

Nice work. I am the head of CG at a VFX Production company. I need this exact rig for a project I'm working on. Would you have any interest in contract work to rig a couple tanks? If so let me know the best way to get in touch.

[@alicansaygn338]

Where is tutorial man. I want learn tank rig.

[@SimonMills]

Shoot me an email anytime.

[@hakank06]

is it ready?

[@SimonMills]

The tutorial is split into 4 parts, I just uploaded the first part. There rest should be ready a day or so apart. So expect them all by March 1st. Check it out!

[@redodprograng9556]

Step 1: find super cool tank model online Step 2: re texture it if you don't like it Step 3: import to whatever platform you intended to use it with (probs shit tons of tutorials for most well known platforms) Step 4(optional): ask the creator if it's OK if you plan to publish your game

[@amaurythewarrior]

@TheSyePie thanks a lot ! i actually didn't expect a reply at all ! i don't understand very well at first read, but i'll look at this in detail, tanks !

[@heelaque8]

Hi there Trick Box, this rig is simply amazing and I was wondering if you could put together a tutorial to explain how you were able to accomplish such a dynamic setup, my jaw hit the floor when I watched this video.

[@SimonMills]

Tutorial is up, sorry for delay!

[@motionsam]

perfect rigging, greatwark

[@marwanmohamed5816]

amazing work really , can you tell me what rig tutorials you were watching i want to advance in this

[@SimonMills]

Tutorial is going well, I am aiming to upload on march 1st.

[@MohanMajhiMurmu]

awesome!

[@crazyunkle]

Great job!! Great rigging!! I love that model, too! Did you make that model based on an actual tank in existence, or is this model entirely your design?

[@SimonMills]

own design

[@verybigboss2009]

Very nice!

[@buez1]

Any chance on a tutorial on the basic track rig setup with suspension and turning differential? Or offering your script for download? Ive tried a few different methods on my own and have tried other scripts, but each has been limited in some way. Its nice to see a script that looks to fit nearly any situation. Nice work!!

[@SimonMills]

Tutorial is up, sorry for delay!

[@Maikkeru]

how did you learn about rigging? What resource did you use to learn about rigging? Would you say that humanoid rigging is harder to produce or mechanical rigging.

[@akshaysonawane1901]

awesome..........

[@y0rgos_]

Very cool model! It's a pity her can not download ...

[@archur8988]

Hi, congrats! Can you tell me how you rotate without deforming wheel track? Thank you

[@SimonMills]

Info in the new tutorial.

[@VINCENTREE]

It's realy cool work!!! How long do you work in Maya Software?

[@MGInspiration]

That;s is amazing !!. Did you have tutorial for that

[@SimonMills]

Tutorial is up

[@bloodsucker3011]

thank you simon this was amazing. I have a request on how to make a whole track shoe . im stuck on school project on making track shoe and animation like you did on tutorial . Im making M1a1 Abraham so track shoe is quite similar big thank, and hope to hear form you soon

[@gnargnar2719]

I would PAY to see how complex the outline looks on this, lol

[@SimonMills]

not so bad actually.

[@taz014l]

holy crap dude, that is some amazing rig. where do you work if I may ask...?

[@rrg3d]

@TheSyePie - Awesome rig! And I can say that having done M1A2 and T80 rigs for the military for use in simulation/ training . I'm curious about your mel function that adds the constraints. What type of constraints are you using, PointOnPoly or something more custom?

[@SimonMills]

Geometry constraints. Tutorial is up, sorry for delay!

[@nooneGnss]

roger that bro i will send it tku bro

[@svsrkpraveen]

This is damn lovely! I haven't tried Maya yet, Can I export this rig to Unity and make it work?

[@SimonMills]

Check out the tutorials: kzbin.info/www/bejne/bIu5nn9-pbqpsKM

[@svsrkpraveen]

Thank you very much!

[@JermaineATL]

amazing :o

[@parapobabam]

great rig! one question, are you using a spline deformer for the tracks or are they flowing along curve? thanks

[@SimonMills]

Tutorial is up, sorry for delay!

[@KingTrader30]

will it be able to rigging the tank treads without using script ? i just wtaching the tutorial from digital tutors, and using MEL script is so confusing

[@SimonMills]

Tutorial is up, sorry for delay!

[@KingTrader30]

thaaaanks dude, you are awesome

[@redodprograng9556]

Is MEL script similar to C# in any way shape or form? Obviously not usage wise, but like the syntax?

[@pearlgupta89]

@TheSyePie ur rigg is really awesome.i'm new to rigging industry n curious to learn ur rigg..do u hav any tutorial for this rigg to help me out?

[@SimonMills]

Tutorial is up, sorry for delay!

[@predatortheme]

wow thats real art you done there :O i enoyed watching it :) can you please teach me some rigging, i been modelign a year in maya but i just modeled before and i wanted to learn some animation and rigging, can you pls?

[@MpireTK]

this is rly awesome man! i wish i had a tank link this....maybe i could buy the project file?

[@SimonMills]

Available on Turbosquid - www.turbosquid.com/3d-models/3d-model-of-ready-tank/1119938

[@amaurythewarrior]

without asking for a tutorial, cause that would obviously take hours, could you not tell us a little more about how you rigged the tank ?i have no doubts you must have used expression or even script, but i'm clueless about things like the recoil of the whole tank or the machine gun ...

[@JlNGLEZ]

How did you automate the tank tracks speed based on it's direction? as in if you based the expression on the movement of translate z, then once you rotate the tank 90 degrees the tank treads wont animate because it's world axis would be X not Z, how did you do that? If you don't mind me asking?

[@SimonMills]

Tutorial is up, sorry for delay!

[@Starius2]

Is there anyway to do this type of rigging system within Blender?

[@LostArkLover]

how do u animate the bullet shells coming out???

[@KingTrader30]

you can use particle instancer

[@Davis_237]

The treads, now I've been looking all over the internet on how to get them to work like that, how did you do it, or what tutorial did you use for it?

[@SimonMills]

Tutorial is up, sorry for delay!

[@ashersyed]

hi, can you pls make a similar rig for different tank models, pls let me know if you are on odesk best regards

[@TheOneLichemperor]

If you could provide a tutorial it would be appreciated immensely!

[@SimonMills]

Tutorial is up, sorry for delay!

[@balajianim]

how u rig the tank tracks and the orientation since i hav being trying for 2 days i'm not getting it . can u tell me some tips...thx.......!!

[@SimonMills]

Tutorial is up, sorry for delay!

[@michaelm2704]

How did you solved the issue with tread when tank turns round Y on one place?

[@SimonMills]

Information in the new tutorial, sorry for delay :)

[@gabrielvaldivia6627]

you can create a tutorial? This rig is amazing *o*

[@SimonMills]

Tutorial is up

[@Aisenheim]

Go for a tutorial man. At least for the tracks and how you made it react to the terrain. Pleeeeaaaase

[@SimonMills]

Tutorial is up, sorry for delay!

[@kammasagar619]

i have completed my ad3d edge but no job 1 friend of my send he will be back after 1 weak so i wanted that tank so i can show him my best show reel

[@GantugsSuhkbaatar]

Tutorial please

[@SimonMills]

Tutorial is up, sorry for delay!

[@kammasagar619]

but bro i want to make my show reel pls help me i need it pls bro

[@007RajanSharma007]

Amazing great job .....Quit inspiring work and i would be thankful if u help me , because even I am rigger and want some one to guide me.....

[@SimonMills]

Tutorial is up, sorry for delay!

[@michaelnavarromilanes7326]

can you make a tutorial????

[@SimonMills]

It will be here soon!

[@SimonMills]

Tutorial is up

[@Starius2]

But how?

[@SimonMills]

I've never tried Blender.

[@Said.Qadeer]

sir, this softwear name please someone tell me??????????

[@SimonMills]

Autodesk Maya

[@nooneGnss]

bro i need that tank pls help

[@SimonMills]

send me an email about what you need it for. [e-mail]

[@crazyunkle]

One person is a 3DS Max user.

[@brettsullivan4025]

#OHOGS

[@simonmills4103]

Yeh, I will get one up at some point.

[@JermaineATL]

amazing :o