Norman is a very popular and versatile Maya puppet built unofficially for the AAU (Academy of Art University) Pixar Classes. Norman was exclusive to AAU Students and the intellectual property of AAU. The Pixar Classes are now disbanded, and the creators have finally released it to the public under a non-commercial licensing agreement. The Norman Rig was used in the animation exercises above by AAU Students. For more animation examples, visit the AAU Character Animation Blog.
After several hours of exploring, posing, and animating Norman, I finally know why AAU coveted it. Norman is very intuitive, easy to animate, and one of the best Maya character Rigs I have used. I highly recommend this for all animators and technical animators interested in CG Character Animation.
Also, Norman may be the perfect Maya Rig for 11 Second Club Competitions. I’ve included a “Customizing Norman PDF” with the Norman Rig download below.
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Special Thanks to Norman contributors: Morgan Loomis, Leif Jeffers, Peter Starostin, and Neal Thibodeaux.