Meet our awesome Rigger Wini Wang! When she's not busy setting up rigs for characters and props, you'll find her climbing her way to the top, literally - she's an avid rock climber and adventure sport enthusiast having completed several obstacle races including the daunting Tough Mudder! We managed to catch her on steady ground for a few minutes to chat about all things animation.

How did you get into animation?

I wish I could say that I knew it was my calling from a young age… but it was actually just a happy accident.

I was studying a business degree before, and was looking for something more creative. I just happened to find a 3D course when I was searching around, which I took while finishing my degree, and it became really clear to me that I needed to pursue this.

I decided to study (more) but this time, do something that I actually really liked, and the more that I learned about different aspects of animation, the more it fascinated me.

How long have you worked in the animation industry?

One year. I’ve had internships prior to starting in Brown Bag, doing a bit of modelling, rigging and animating, but my first proper industry gig has been here and I’ve been here for a few days short of a year now.

What’s your current role and what does it involve?

I’m a rigger. I usually get strange looks when I tell people I do rigging, and it’s a bit of a tricky thing to describe because it’s not something that you would actively see on screen. But here it goes.. Rigging involves creating a skeleton which is attached to the 3d mesh that would allow you to deform it. I’d create the skeleton and control curves, so that the control curves are what drives the skeleton, and the skeleton drives each point in the mesh. Those points that make up the mesh are assigned influence to the joints so it knows how much to move. This makes it possible for the static model, that is in the default relaxed T-pose, to be animated.

My normal day to day job would be to create and maintain rigs that are used in the show. I fix any issues from the previous season, but also create new rigs for characters and props for the current season. Every now and then when I get a little downtime, I write snippets of code for tasks that I do, that tend to be a bit repetitive, or play around with different rig set ups to improve my workflow.

What are your biggest influences/inspirations?

The biggest inspirations for me are seeing the talent around me, from artists that I know, and also from seeing the talent that exists in the world. I’m always trying to step up my game, and better my skills. When I see what people can do and achieve, it makes me really push myself to get closer to that.

What’s your favourite tool to use and why?

It’s a toss-up between Comet tools (created by Michael Comet) and ngSkinTools which was developed by Viktoras Makauskas.

Comet tools is just a collection of handy tools which I use all the time. ngSkinTools is a skinning plugin for Maya which allows you to paint skin weights in layers and blend between layers, like how you would in Photoshop. It makes skinning a lot easier, and since painting skin weights is not the most exciting thing ever, anything that helps with that or speeds it up is great.

What advice would you give someone considering getting into animation?

Work hard at what you do, and be willing to learn as much as you can because there is always room for improvement.

Be a sponge and soak everything in – you could be learning new techniques to perform a task that you would usually do differently, or entirely new skills, that will help you to get to where you want to be.

You should also gracefully take critiques because hearing what someone has to say about your work can give you a new perspective on it.

What do you like most about working in animation?

I enjoy the end product.

It’s good to be able to bring each person’s skills together and create something that is really enjoyable to watch.

I like working with people because I feel that I can learn a lot from others.

I also really like to be challenged (and often confused) by things when I’m working, and then to find a solution to it. That 'aha!' moment, when it makes sense and it actually works the way you want it to, is really rewarding.

What’s been the most challenging thing about working in animation?

In animation for TV, it’s the speed at which things need to get done.

Once a show is in full production, things really move, and so you need to get things done as quickly as humanly possible while still maintaining a high quality of work.

Outside of animation what are you most passionate about?

I love rock climbing, both in the climbing gym, and outdoors (though I have yet to climb on real rock in Ireland).

I also really enjoying taking photos. I’ve dabbled in photography on and off, but over the past few months I’ve really dusted off my camera, and been good about taking it places with me… I’ve been less good about posting photos on my Flickr page but I try to keep somewhat up to date with it.

Are you interested in getting into animation? Keep an eye on our Behind-the-Scenes and Tutorials pages for more interviews, #TopTips and #AMAs!