Rigging & Character Setup Course in Haldwani — Maya, Blender and Python, 1 Year Full-Time
Monal Academy · Updated Invalid Date
Rigging is where art meets engineering, and good riggers are the rarest people in animation. Monal Academy's Rigging & Character Setup program in Haldwani is a one-year, full-time course where you learn to build skeletons, controls and deformation systems that animators love to use — and enough Python to build the tools that save a production hundreds of hours. In the final term you rig a full cast handed over from the modelling program and support the animators using your rigs.
Quick facts
| Duration | 12 months, full-time, on campus |
|---|---|
| Location | Monal Academy, Karan Tower, Gas Godam Road, Haldwani 263139 |
| Eligibility | 10+2 (any stream), graduates, or career-switchers. No portfolio or coding required |
| Software | Autodesk Maya, Blender, Python |
| You graduate with | A rigging reel: body and face rigs, a rigged cast in production use, and small Python tools you wrote |
| Fees | |
| Next intake |
Who this course is for
- You like knowing how things work more than how they look. You took the toy apart.
- You enjoy logic — maths, a bit of code, puzzles — and you'd like it to lead to a creative job.
- You're a B.Sc, BCA or engineering student or graduate who wants into animation without starting as an artist.
- You're a parent: riggers are the scarcest role in the industry, which is why they're steadily employed and often the first to be promoted into technical leads.
You don't need to know Python or be good at drawing. You need to enjoy solving problems.
What you'll learn
- 01Rigging Foundations — joints, constraints, hierarchies and the logic of a rig: what animators need and why.
- 02Deformation — skinning, blendshapes and correctives: making a mesh bend like a body instead of a hose.
- 03Control Systems — IK/FK switching, space swaps and clean, animator-friendly control rigs for bodies and props.
- 04Face Rigging — the hardest 20% of a character: expressive facial systems for dialogue-heavy series work.
- 05Scripting for Riggers — Python fundamentals and small pipeline tools: auto-riggers, renamers, checks that catch mistakes.
- 06Production Term — rig a full cast handed over from the modelling program, then support animators using your rigs.
How the year runs
Months 1–3 — Foundations. Joints, hierarchies, constraints, and your first simple rig. You learn what an animator does with a rig by animating with one yourself for two weeks — you never forget it.
Months 4–9 — Specialisation. Skinning and deformation, then full body control rigs, then faces — the hard part — then Python. Weekly briefs and reviews. By month 9 you can rig a stylised biped from scratch with a face, and you have a folder of small tools you wrote.
Months 10–12 — Production Term. The modelling students hand you a cast. You rig it, the animation students use it, and their complaints are your bug list. This is exactly what a junior rigger's first year looks like.
Mentors who ship
Mentors are the studio's riggers and technical artists, on production during your year.
Careers after the course
Graduates are prepared for: Rigging Artist, Character TD, Technical Animator, Pipeline Assistant. The Python component opens a route into pipeline and tools roles, which are among the best-paid technical jobs in animation.
We don't publish placement percentages. See finished students' rigs on your visit.
Studying in Haldwani
Karan Tower, Gas Godam Road, central Haldwani — about 10 minutes from Kathgodam station. Daily commuters come from Kathgodam, Lalkuan, Bhimtal and Rudrapur; students from the hills usually take a PG nearby. We keep a list.
How admissions work
- 01Say hello — WhatsApp, call or email.
- 02Visit the studio — see rigs in use on the animation floor and meet the mentors. Video call if you can't travel.
- 03Reserve your seat — enrol for the next intake.
No entrance test. No portfolio. No coding test.
Frequently asked questions
I've never coded. Is the Python part going to sink me?
No. Python starts in month 7, after you already understand rigs. You write small, practical scripts — rename these joints, check this hierarchy — not software. Most students find it the most satisfying module.
Do I need to be able to draw or animate?
No. You'll animate a little in month one so you understand your customer, but riggers are judged on how their rigs behave, not on drawings.
Maya or Blender for rigging?
Both. Maya is the studio standard for rigging in India; Blender is growing fast. Learning both makes you hireable by more studios.
Why is rigging called the rarest role?
Because it needs technical and artistic judgement at once, and fewer people enjoy both. Studios routinely have more animator applicants than they can hire and fewer rigger applicants than they need.
Rigging vs Character Modelling — which first?
Either. Modelling builds the mesh; rigging makes it move. If you're not sure, visit and try both for an afternoon.
Is there a part-time option?
No. Full-time, on campus.
The full program, modules and tools: Rigging & Character Setup