Chapter 9: Sets for Animation approach for speed and quality. For those wanting to go it alone, a copy of an article I wrote for Cinemagic magazine on building an armature step by step will be available on the companion web site for this book. Armature Parts and Services Today, the artist has access to talented machinists who special- ize in constructing animation armatures. For a fee they will take your character design plan and create a custom armature from scratch. As you can imagine, it is extremely time con- suming to make a custom piece, and these services are not inexpensive. A good halfway approach is to purchase indi- vidual components and solder them together to make a custom armature. Artist John Wright (www.jwmm.co.uk) has an entire catalog of basic armature joints and predrilled balls. With this arrangement, one has the advantage of using mass- produced materials. Once you make your plan drawings, you can take careful measurements and choose the joints you need from the catalog. It will then be a relatively simple matter to build up your own custom armature from professionally made