Maya Rigs - Free and Paid

Some cool free rigs:

Sony's Zombie Rig: http://splinebomb.com/hotel-transylvania-free-zombie-rig/
Hulk Rig: http://dharmindoshi.com/blog-posts/hulk-rig-free-maya-rig/
AnimSchool Rig: http://www.animschool.com/DownloadOffer.aspx
Animation Mentor Rig: http://www.animationmentor.com/free-maya-rig/
Various!: http://www.11secondclub.com/resources

Paid Rigs:
Joe's Mega Pack: http://artofjoe.blogspot.com.tr/p/blog-page.html

Other Sources:
Great Collection of Rigs: http://animationbuffet.blogspot.com.tr/
http://www.cgmeetup.net/home/ultimate-rigs-maya-rigs-maya-character-rigs-free-maya-rigs/
http://www.creativecrash.com/maya/downloads/character-rigs/c/

There are so many good free rigs out there now, have a look on animbuffet for most needs

More Fighting Tests

To differentiate from the previous tests I chose to have the character use a staff:    
Hiroshi Staff Test from Warren Goff on Vimeo.
Rig: Hiroshi. bambu-blog.blogspot.com/2011/08/dragon-weaver-update.html

With Each of these tests I tried to give the character a goal, in these examples I imagined the character defending their home from an intruder by showing their skills, or like in the punch test, I imagined it was a training test.

Fighting Tests Continued...

Continuing my tests I wanted to try some fighting moves without a weapon:    
Hiroshi Punch Test from Warren Goff on Vimeo.
Rig: Hiroshi. bambu-blog.blogspot.com/2011/08/dragon-weaver-update.html

Fighting Tests

Well its been over a year since I posted much, life took over a bit and the move to America and starting a new job took its toll. But I have been animating! I have been working on some stylized animations, trying to push weight, timing and poses: Firstly I want to point out that I took Ref/Inspiration from many areas like movies/anime, but these 2 shots really stand out for me:
https://vimeo.com/96192722
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XWCIZ47HkB0

In these 2 examples the use of poses, timing and staging is awesome, aswell as the use of objects to create some amazing shapes in maya.

So with that in mind I started with a sword test:    
Hiroshi Sword Test from Warren Goff on Vimeo.
Rig: Hiroshi. bambu-blog.blogspot.com/2011/08/dragon-weaver-update.html

One of the areas I was exploring is smear frames, in this I only smeared the sword but I would like to go back and add smear poses to the character :)

Keith Lango

This:
https://keithlango.com/animationclinic/cart/

$99 bucks for all 61 videos - They are amazing and well worth it

His videos on moving holds and timing were extremely helpful to me

Animation Websites

I used to spend hours reading everything I could find on the internet and amassed a huge list of blogs and websites over the years, now I have less time on my hands but I thought I would share the links:

NOTE: Some of these links are to the main blogs, you need to search through older posts for gems of information!

Blogs
http://splinedoctors.com/
http://wjacobgardner.com/blog/
http://animationmonkey.blogspot.co.uk/
http://www.michaelspornanimation.com/splog/?p=2138
http://vfxsolution.com/allanmckay/2010/10/overtime-vs-productivity/
http://brendanbody.blogspot.co.uk/
http://www.chriswoodsanimation.com/tutorials/actionanalysis.html
http://animationprogression.blogspot.co.uk/
http://animatorsresource.blogspot.co.uk/
http://www.penciltestdepot.com/
http://bobbyboom.blogspot.co.uk/
http://www.thinkinganimation.com/
http://www.animationtipsandtricks.com/
http://blog.navone.org/
http://fliponline.blogspot.co.uk/
http://keithlango.blogspot.co.uk/
http://www.kylekenworthy.blogspot.co.uk/

Hints &Tips
http://www.keithlango.com/tutorials/old/popThru/polish.html
http://www.carlosbaena.com/resource/anim_OllieJohnston.html
http://www.carlosbaena.com/resource/anim_Blinks.html
http://www.carlosbaena.com/resource/anim_EdHooks.html
http://www.brianlemay.com/animation/animindex.html
http://animationsalvation.com/free_tips/lip-sync/1
http://frankandollie.com/PhysicalAnimation.html
http://www.shaunfreeman.com/animating_tips/
http://animatorsworld.wordpress.com/2010/07/07/28-principals-of-animation/

Tutorials
http://wjacobgardner.com/blog/?p=196
http://www.11secondclub.com/helpful_hints/acting_it_out
http://www.spyingforlying.com/
http://www.warpedanimation.com/ibl_for_animators/
http://www.jrawebinar.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=frontpage&Itemid=158

Reference
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/12_basic_principles_of_animation
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_emotions
http://www.blifaloo.com/info/lies_eyes.php
http://www.referencereference.com/
http://www.rhinohouse.com/
http://www.scott-eaton.com/category/bodies-in-motion
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2010/12/12/magazine/14actors.html?_r=0#index

Rigs
http://animationbuffet.blogspot.co.uk/
http://www.joshburton.com/projects/morpheus.asp
http://www.creativecrash.com/maya/downloads/character-rigs/c/
http://lesterbanks.com/2010/03/22-of-the-most-fun-rigs-for-maya/

Animation Books

When I first started to animate I bought a massive bunch of books on the subject, so I thought I would list them if anyone cares to read them:

The Animator's Survival Kit by Richard Williams.
The Illusion of Life by Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnstone
Cartoon Animation by Preston Blair
Acting for Animators by Ed hooks
Timing for Animation by Harold Whittaker
All About Techniques in Drawing for Animation Production by Sergi Camara
Simplified Drawing for Planning Animation by Wayne Gilbert

Character Animation Crash Course by Eric Goldberg
Body Language: How to Read Others' Thoughts by Their Gestures by Allan Pease
What Every BODY is Saying by Joe Navarro
People Watching by Desmond Morris
This Visual Story by Bruce Block
How to Cheat in Maya by Eric Luhta and Kenny Roy
Impro: Improvisation and the Theatre by Keith Johnstone
A Practical Handbook for the Actor by Melissa brother

There are so many other great books that you can buy but I've not got around to buying them yet so keep looking!