I am looking for a simple but effective character rig to use in an Intro to 3D Animation class.
the students in this class are getting their first exposure ever to 3D animation.
can any of you suggest a free rig that might be appropriate?
I would especially be interested in one with instructions and/or tutorials to help the students get started.

one of the rigs I've looked at already and that looks good is the Andy rig of John Doublestein.
it's very nice, but I haven't been able to find any instructions and only one tutorial (blinking).
does anyone know of instructions/tutorials for the Andy rig? 

and/or can anyone suggest any other good rigs appropriate for beginners?

thanks for any help.
-mor 

Not really sure what's easiest or most animator friendly. I do know what people in my classes used and some of them weren't the brightest.

Alfred-            http://www.creativecrash.com/maya/downloads/character-rigs/c/alfred

Blake -  was used alot in beginner classes.
                     http://www.creativecrash.com/maya/downloads/character-rigs/c/blake

Azary-            http://www.creativecrash.com/maya/downloads/character-rigs/c/azary

And recently I've seen a bunch of
Fuzzy-           http://www.creativecrash.com/maya/downloads/character-rigs/c/fuzzy-cartoon-rig

But if they are beginner, beginner, I would go with
Bloke            http://www.creativecrash.com/maya/downloads/character-rigs/c/bloke
or
Blik               http://www.creativecrash.com/maya/downloads/character-rigs/c/blik

Or the always used
Lowman

Hope this helps,

Adam