Product overview
At a glance
MAYA
Autodesk Maya
The industry-standard 3D animation software. Everything the rig runs on.
mGear 5.3
Built on the mGear 5.3.0 framework with Anim Picker 1.3.2 baked in.
Game ready
Game-topology mesh, clean skinning, ready for Maya production or FBX bake to your engine of choice.
Original character
Commissioned by Harvey Newman. African-rooted, sci-fi soldier design.
Latest rig updates
Version 1.0.0 · 25 Aug 2026
Version 1.0.0 · 25 Aug 2026
Nubian 1.0 is out
First release, everything the rig ships with. Concept by Harvey Newman, rigged by Emilio Serrano on mGear 5.3. What you get on day one:
Full body FK/IK
Blending, matching, multiple spaces on arms and legs.
Facial rig
Eyebrows, eyelids, jaw, lips, tongue springs, cheek and chin.
Hair dynamics
Strands and ponytail with live dynamics and gravity toggle.
Cloak with nCloth
FK controls, arm and aiming spaces, gravity dynamics, nCloth on/off.
Jetpack
FK controls, procedural flames, colour, light and dynamics.
Weapons system
Rifle, pistol, grenade, ammo, laser and arm, all with full space switching.
Anim picker
Mirror pose, flip pose, floor and light setup, visibility toggles.
Geometry toggles
Every armour piece, weapon and accessory can be hidden per shot.
The story behind Nubian
A character we wanted to see, so we commissioned it
Nubian is personal to Harvey. He’s a futuristic African soldier, and the design comes from a place Harvey has wanted to explore for a long time. Harvey’s African roots, a trip to Kenya that stuck with him, and a real curiosity about what a future African soldier could look like on screen.
There aren’t many characters like Nubian in the marketplace, and the Animworks team wanted to change that. To bring him to life, Harvey commissioned Emilio Serrano to rig him. If you’ve used Emilio’s Surskit + Pokeball or Deer rigs, you already know the quality bar he hits. Nubian carries the same level of care underneath the hood.
1
Original character
Not a repaint of a generic soldier. Rooted in African visual language.
Emilio
Serrano rigging
Same rigger as the Surskit + Pokeball and Deer / RoboDeer rigs.
mGear 5.3
Animator picker
Built on mGear 5.3.0 with Anim Picker 1.3.2 sitting on top.
Animator Picker
A proper picker, not an afterthought
- Select ALL / Key ALL
- Mirror Selected / Reset Selected
- Mirror Pose / Flip Pose
- Floor and Lights Setup
- Show / hide control rig, joints, playback toggle
- Xray and proximity mode
- Space controls: World, Global, Local, Root Motion
- Shortcuts: COG + IK Legs, all facial, all springs
- Full geometry visibility shortcuts
- Also located in the V control
Head, face and hair
Full facial rig with springs, plus dynamic hair
Top face: eyebrows, eyelids, eyes, eyes aiming (space switch), ears, nose, squint, cheek area.
Bottom face: jaw, mouth, lips, tongue (springs), puff, chin and adam’s apple.
Hair: strands and ponytail individually rigged and animatable. Toggle buttons for dynamics on/off and gravity 0/1.
FK/IK arms with blending and matching integrated, multiple spaces available. Extra controls for shoulder pauldron and armour. Hand rig with easy pose control at finger level, sockets for controlling weapons and props from the hands.
FK/IK legs with blending and matching integrated. Foot roll and banking in a dedicated control. Foot pivots, ball and tip controls. Extra controls for side leg armour and lower trouser dynamics.
The Cloak
FK controls, gravity dynamics, nCloth on demand
- Full FK controls across the cloak
- Cloak Arm Space and Cloak Aiming Space
- Gravity dynamics setup in the host UI
- Cloak Dynamics Toggle
- Cloak Gravity 0/1 Toggle
- Cloak nCloth ON/OFF for full simulation
FK controls for main, flames and engines left and right. Flames on/off, colour, light and procedural movement. Gravity dynamics setup in the host UI or animpicker buttons. Jetpack UI with Flames ON and Flames OFF states.
Weapons system
Rifle, pistol, grenade, ammo and laser
Every weapon has full control coverage: trigger, magazine, buttstock, arm rotation and extension. Left IK setup for two-handed rifle handling. Multiple space controls (Master, local_C0_ctl). Animpicker shortcuts for alignment and constraints to hands, ammo and laser to either pistol or rifle. Visibility toggles for all weapons and controls.
Full visibility control
Every armour piece, every weapon, on or off
Geometry toggles
Pauldron · Armour Arms · Armour Legs · Holster · Jetpack · Jetpack Flames · Vest Ammo · Weapon Arm · Weapon Rifle · Weapon Pistol · Weapon Grenade · Weapon Ammo · Weapon Laser · Cloak
Control rig toggles
Hands Sockets · Hair · Neck FK · Spine FK · Spine Extras · Arms Extras · Legs Extras · Cloak · Jetpack · Weapon Arm · Weapons
Dynamics
Extra Springs ALL · Hair Dynamics · Hair Gravity 0/1 · Cloak Dynamics · Cloak Gravity 0/1 · Cloak nCloth ON/OFF
Requirements
Maya + mGear, nothing exotic
- Autodesk Maya (compatible with recent versions)
- mGear 5.3.0 or newer, free from the mGear releases page
- Anim Picker 1.3.2, shipped with mGear
Credits
A collaboration
- Concept and commission: Harvey Newman
- Rigging: Emilio Serrano
Free for course buyers
Free with the Motion Capture for Games course
If you bought the Motion Capture for Games course, Nubian is free for you. Look out for the email with your redemption code. For everyone else, the rig is a one-time £5, a symbolic price to help support future original character commissions on the marketplace.
Contact and support
Feature requests, bug reports, questions
If you hit a bug, want a feature, or just want to send a shot you made, please get in touch. Email is best while the built-in messaging is being wired up:
support@anim.works · subject line: Nubian Rig
Questions about the rig
Ask Harvey or Emilio a question
Ask about the Nubian Rig
On the fence, or curious about a specific control, integration or pipeline detail? Ask away. Your question goes straight to Harvey and Emilio, and the answer lands in your inbox.
Nubian rig · concept and commission by Harvey Newman · rigging by Emilio Serrano
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