Passion Pictures · Rigging systems for the game trailer
LEGO Horizon Adventures
For the LEGO Horizon Adventures trailer at Passion Pictures, I developed the rigging systems for the brick-built machines, including the Thunderjaw and Tallneck, each with upwards of 2,000 bricks. My Python scripts for Maya scanned each brick's topology, found pivot points and rebuilt the rigs with one click, keeping them correct as the LEGO Master Builders updated the models weekly and often daily.
- Studio
- Passion Pictures
- Role
- Rigging systems for the game trailer
- Tech
- Maya, Python
The challenge
At Passion Pictures I developed the rigging systems for the 3D LEGO assets in the LEGO Horizon Adventures trailer. LEGO rigs work differently from normal character rigs. There is no squash and stretch: every brick has to keep its shape and nothing can pass through anything else, yet the creatures still need a full, convincing range of motion. Each joint had to be set up to stay true to how LEGO bricks connect and how the creatures' limbs work.
The machines were big. The Thunderjaw, Tallneck, Shell-Walkers, Stalkers, Ravagers and Watchers each had upwards of 2,000 bricks, and the LEGO Master Builders updated the physical models weekly and often daily.
What I did
- Automated rig builds. Every brick had a unique identifier (UID). I wrote Python scripts that scanned the topology of each piece, found its pivot points and rebuilt the full structure with one click, so the rigs stayed correct after every update.
- Keeping up with the builders. The scripts assigned connecting pieces automatically and flagged the areas that needed manual adjustment, so new pieces and redesigns could go into the rigs quickly.
- Research. I played the original Horizon Zero Dawn to understand how the machines should behave in motion.
The outcome
The rigs held up through constant model changes and gave the Passion Pictures animators what they needed to bring the creatures to life in the finished trailer. It is one of the most beautiful and most technically demanding projects I have worked on.
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