In this four part video we'll cover the steps in creating a custom rig for a pose-able, shape-able growing vine or 3d stroke effect in Maya. We'll start by looking at how to use polyCube construction history in rigging and how the polySplitRing node can offer even more control in our setup later on. Also covered are using rendering nodes such as clamps, multiplyDivides, and conditions to further control our setup behind the scenes. The wire deformer will be the driving force behind posing the rig and we'll wrap up by creating controls with custom attributes and clean it all up into a logical hierarchy with sensible naming conventions.

Part 1: Setup

Part 2: Connections

Part 3: Controls

Part 4: Wrapping Up

Food for thought: How about making the wire curve a dynamic hair system for even more control.

As always if you've enjoyed, found this helpful, or even have any questions please feel free to post in the comments below and vote it up at whatever tutorial aggregator you may have found it.