Eli Chen
3D Artist
Technical Animation & Rigging Reel
Maya · Python · UE5 · Houdini · Simulation
Technical Animator & Rigging Artist specialized in complex creature deformation and Python pipeline automation. Experienced in building production-ready assets for both Unreal Engine 5 Games and High-End Film/VFX.
Film & VFX Creature Rigging & Advanced Deformation
1. Dragon Corrective Blendshapes:
Angle-driven Shoulder
Built an angle-driven PSD setup using arm and clavicle vectors to trigger corrective blendshapes at specific rotations.
Angle-driven Structure
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2. Dragon Ribbon System:
Twist-Free Wing Membrane Setup
I used a curve-and-cluster system to stabilize the ribbons and eliminate twisting. I also added animator-friendly controls, like non-linear turbulence, right on the controller.
Space Swap
Wing & Neck
Implemented a dynamic Space Swap system using world-position constraints, allowing animators to seamlessly lock the head and wing rotations in world space to eliminate unnecessary counter-keying.
3. Dragon Facial Setup:
Sticky Mouth/ Curl Tongue
Built a remapped ribbon system for organic sticky lips. To resolve tongue sliding caused by jaw movement, I integrated an aim-constrained driver at the jaw tip with custom rotation offsets, delivering a stable, intuitive, and animator-friendly setup.
Tongue Aim & Lock Graph
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UE5 Gameplay & Real-Time Integration
1. Dragon Procedural IK Foot:
Quadruped Line Tracing & Spring Interpolation
Replaced Unreal’s default biped IK with a custom quad-limb line tracing setup to eliminate pelvis conflict and jittering. Integrated spring interpolation for smooth terrain-sliding dynamics, applying core procedural matrix alignment logic applicable to both UE5 and Maya pipelines.
2. AnimBP Architecture & Locomotion State Machine:
State Machine/ Aim Offset
Structured a scalable AnimBP utilizing Layered Blend per Bone for upper-body action overlays, Aim Offsets for dynamic look-at behavior, and clean State Machine transitions.
3. Pipeline & Engine Import Process:
Game-Ready Skeleton & Python Pipeline Utilities
Engineered a game-ready quadruped hierarchy with World Root and Foot IK origins for Unreal Engine. Developed Python scripts to automate zero-padded naming (_01) and color overrides.
Auto-Naming & Color Utility
Secondary Dynamics & Humanoid Setup
1. Houdini Vellum:
Cloak Simulation
Developed a robust cloth simulation setup in Houdini, utilizing custom attribute painting to precisely control stretch and bend behaviors. Implemented tailored pin groups to achieve detailed and stable wrinkle structures, establishing a scalable foundation for full-body creature simulations in a production environment.
2. XGen Hair Grooming & Lookdev:
Guide Curves, Mask Maps, Layered Modifiers
Created a character hair groom utilizing a guide-mesh workflow in Maya XGen. Converted painted guides into curve-driven grooms and refined hair clumping, stray noise, and density using custom mask maps and layered modifiers to achieve the intended stylistic lookdev.
3. Accessories & Armor Dynamics
Material-Driven Curve Dynamics
Leveraging Maya curve dynamics to simulate cloth and armor. Customizing physical parameters—such as mass, drag, and resistance—to accurately reflect material properties like rigid leather.
Space Swap
Dual-Hands & Sheath
Developed a cycle-free weapon space-swap system with dynamic sliding and a one-click match tool, boosting animator efficiency across dual hands, sheath, and world spaces.
Hard Surface & Vehicle Automation
1. Automated Car Rig:
Procedural Steering, Suspension System & Tire Compression
Developed an Ackermann steering auto-rig featuring a cycle-free proximity suspension system, automating floor alignment and chassis damping to seamlessly traverse any terrain. Empowers animators with independent chassis-wheel distance controls coupled with real-time squash reactivity. Showcases deep node graph proficiency.
Proximity Suspension System
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Character Look Dev Texture/Model
