But then, where would the fun in that be?

But yeah, lack of Maya tutorailage/usage is pretty much why I experimented on my own. I did use one of your tutorials to (sort of) figure out a problem I was having with importing during my larger-scale experiments, but I didn't know you had experience with Maya.

Cranky Kong was modeled and rigged 100% in Maya 2013. And he imports just fine. If you need help with anything, let me know. I've been using Maya daily for going on five years now, and I teach the program at my university, so if there's anything you want to know, shoot me a message.

Personally, I've found rigging a lot more intuitive in Maya than in Max, and I'd suggest anybody that's having trouble learning Max's rigging tools to at least give Maya a shot. A lot of it comes down to personal preference, but I had no trouble closing up the gaps on Cranky's thighs and neck with Maya.

that cranky is a fantastic idea, great to see "good" noobs. xDDD

the shoulder rig seems a bit weird though

His shoulder rig is pretty weird, but it's a side effect of how I did the arms. His arm is modeled bent and rotated back slightly, so that DK's elbow joint become Cranky's wrist joint, and his canes become DK's hands.

And yeah, I've never posted before, but I've actually been hanging around for several months now, so I like to think I know I what I'm doing.

That Cranky Kong model strongly reminds me of Conkeldurr, to some extent.

Now that you mention it, I can see it, too. I didn't originally want Cranky to hold his canes like that, but it was the only way to make his wrist rigged to DK's elbow joint and still make sure his canes lined up with his forearms and his fists, and not float out in front of them.

So hey, this is my first post here, though I've lurked for some time. I've wanted to start custom model importing for a few months now, but other stuff kept getting in the way. But I'm here now, and I've got a model I threw together for my first import:




Since he's my first import, it's been a process trying to figure out how to get him here, and I've still got a few things I'm trying to figure out but haven't been able to yet (I can't get his eyes to animate, for one, and the transparency on his beard leaves a lot to be desired), but I just finally got him up and running in Brawl to at least a somewhat presentable degree. His rig is pretty much done, and I'm working on his texture right now, but I thought I'd pop in, say hello, and maybe ask if anyone can point me in the right direction on how to get his eyes moving.

And another pic: