Sony Releases Free Zombie Character Rig from ‘Hotel Transylvania’

In a nice bit of Halloween-themed marketing savvy, Sony has released a free character rig of a zombie bellhop from Hotel Transylvania. It’s the first time a rig from a major animated feature has been released to the public, although some short filmmakers, like David OReilly, have made their character rigs available.

Sony’s pr tells us that you can animate the zombie in “a traditional walk or run cycle, squash and stretch, or anything else they are inspired by,” but their terms of use do include some limitations on what you can do, namely that you won’t create anything that is

“unlawful, pornographic, obscene, defamatory, libelous, threatening, discriminatory, harassing, bullying, vulgar, indecent, profane, hateful, racially, culturally or ethnically offensive, or that encourages criminal conduct, or that gives rise, or potentially gives rise, to civil or criminal liability, or that violates any applicable laws, rules, regulations or Federal Trade Commission guidelines (“Applicable Laws”), or that infringes or violates other parties’ intellectual property, publicity, or privacy rights or links to infringing or unauthorized content.”

Textures aren’t included, so you can’t fully render the character, but you can submit your animation tests to Sony, which will select some of the best ones to publish on their YouTube channel. Download the zombie rig here and watch the rig tutorial below if you need help.