Maya ikSpringSolver

How to bring Maya's Hidden ikSpringSolver apart from rp/sc ikSolver?

ikSpring Solver is good for solving like folding to be rigged back and forth.

This remains hidden by default. Use this MEL to bring "ikSpringSolver" to the ikHandle tool box.

ikSpringSolver can decide the angle between the joints.

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Maya Joint Placement

How to place a joint to the center of geometry volume in maya?

Maya Custom Marking Menu

Maya Custom Marking Menu through a Designer

Maya has its default marking menu which is mostly for polygon/curve edits.  Here is the Designer to be downloaded and put in ones own commands.

Enjoy!

Making Maya Scene Lite

Making Maya Scene Lite.

#isHistoryIntrest

This command switch off the history on the geometry (that is having any deformer) and makes the scene file lite.

#isHistoryIntrest

import maya.cmds as cmds

mesh = cmds.ls(sl=1)

for geo in mesh:

    {cmds.setAttr(geo+'.ihi',0) for geo in cmds.ls()}

However, while switching on the history brings out hidden groupId and Groupparts of the corresponding deformers.

#isHistoryIntrest

import maya.cmds as cmds

mesh = cmds.ls(sl=1)

for geo in mesh:

    {cmds.setAttr(geo+'.ihi',1) for geo in cmds.ls()}

To see the result, the geometry should be de-selected and selected again.

Selecting a single geometry to hide the 'HistoryIntrest', results in hidding the history of all the geometry in the scene.

Any thoughts ! Please use the comment area to share.

Maya Non Flip IK Leg

Non Flip IK Leg

Method 1

Method 2

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Maya Riggers Shortcuts

Maya Riggers Shortcuts

• Ctrl + space bar     : Toggle full and standard screen
• y                               : Selects the last used tool that is not one of Select, Move,
•                                Rotate, or Scale
• Shift + S                : With left mouse button for Keyframe marking menu
• Ctrl + Skin weight paint brush with Replace, Add and Scale do opp value
• Alt+ b                    : view-port back ground color
• Alt+LMB Click drag right/left to zoom in/out a region.
• Ctrl + a                  : toggle between attribute editor n channel box
• with skin weight paint brush right click over the desired joint to select it for painting
• Shift+ paint weight: with skin weight paint brush in replace value shift + paint for smooth weight
• Alt+ h                    : hide un selected
• Ctrl+Shift +h         : show last hidden
• Ctrl + g                  : Group
• Ctrl+Spacebar        : Switch Maya window to full screen
• down arrow           : selects shape node of the object
• MMB + d              : move the objects pivot
• Use left/right/up/down arrow key to navigate in outliner hierarchy
• Use MMB to switch automatically to Rotate mode for the selected influence while in paint tool
• Tab                        : To snap multiple object to the transform value of the last selected,click on                                    the translateX and press Tab,......
• Shift +W/E/R         :Keys Translate/Rotate/Scale receptively on the timeline.

Add on comments if you have any shortcut key not listed here.



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Maya Rename Script Editor Tabs

Maya Rename Script Editor Tabs

Script Editor Tabs can be renamed with an effective name to keep them tidy and in a way to easily identify them instead of Python or MEL tabs!

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Maya Eye Setup

Setup Eye Aim Constraint in Maya

Often the issue of eye ball rotating inside the eye socket happen, when the Head is rotated.

Fix :-

This can be fixed if the aim constraint is applied with the Aim vector option as in the image for left eye and with negative values for the right eye in case of mirrored joint for the right eye by specifying the world up object (ie, the HeadEnd Jnt). Now the object up will be the reference for the calculating the Aim Constraint.

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Maya Facial Scene

Setup a Maya Facial Scene File

When there is a full body mesh, where the face is joined to the body; duplicate the mesh and select by faces as shown in the image.

Then delete the selected faces.
Bring the Head mesh back to its original transforms and have a copy/copies (in case for creating blendShape) of the Head mesh.
Now do Modelling>Mesh>Combine and merge the vertices.

Select the Head mesh and apply as blendShape with the following setting.

The scene will be tidy and easy to access for Facial Rig or creating blendShape targets !

What is happening by duplicating the mesh and in the whole work about ?
The vertex order is maintained and by following the blendShape option the geometry stays intact.

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Maya Segment Scale Compensate for Joint

Segment Scale Compensate option in Maya Joint Tool

What is Segment Scale Compensate?

When this option is checked on in the joint creation option box, it creates a weird scaling of the child joints.

Where does it affect and How it looks?

It affect the character volume when it is scaled globally using the rig like in the image. It also affects when the rig is taken from maya to max or game engine like unity.

How to fix?

Create the joint with segment scale compensate checkbox OFF.

If the rig is already created, use the following MEL to select the joints affecting the skinCluster.

select -r `skinCluster -q -inf`;

As each joint's segment Scale compensate checkbox has to be unchecked individually, use this MEL code.

string $sel[]=`ls -sl`;

for($i=0;$i<size($sel);$i++)

{    

    setAttr ($sel[$i]+".visibility") 0;

    setAttr -lock true ($sel[$i]+".v");

}

Now the Scale is set to work at any value.

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Check List for Asset Building - Maya Character

Pre-Requisite for asset building - Character

The topology face should be quads preferably square and  equally spaced. No tri or 5 edge faces.
At least three close loop at the hinge joint areas viz, elbow, knee, finger knuckles.

Eye ball should be in the exact center of the eye socket.
Loop on the ear for quadrupeds should go perpendicular to the direction of the ear. There should enough loop to avoid bleeding of the ear skin weight towards the skull.
Enough loop on the mouth, neck, head and the face for good deformation.

Like to have the loops matching on the overlapping mesh like the shoulder strap of Douglas and shirt.

Need full inner body mesh, though it have outside mesh as dress. Inner body should be separate mesh, which will be deleted after skinning.

The head should be separate from the body. (for facial purpose, though not mandatory).

Geometry should be symmetric. Ears, Tail, trunk, neck, wings, etc should be kept in more relaxed and neutral pose preferably straight.

In case UV and texture shaders are done parallel to rigging, textured mesh can be transferred/replaced to the model after rigging.

Need front, side, Top (optional) and 3/4th or orthographic view of the models sketch.

Characters size reference with respect to the main character or the BG environment.

Expression sheet for the various shapes and phonemes AI, O,E,Ahh, L, FV, WQ, MPB

Material detail of the objects in the model (cloth or leather and their color).This is to have temporary shaders assigned to the respective object and combing the objects that go together and for UV laying purpose.

Once the texture and rig with skinning is done. The temporary shaders will be replaced with actual textured shaders depending on the rendering pipeline ie. geometry cache or normal.

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Maya Rig Mirror

Skin weights can be mirrored, joints can be mirrored, blend shapes can be mirrored, geometry can be mirrored, etc. One can mirror the Rig too! Its very simple.

Scene setup :-

The control is driving the first joint through parent constrain.

The whole rig setup including the stretch nodes, IKFK switch joints, the controllers, etc. should be under one group with pivot at 0,0,0. In this case Control and the joint are under the group.

Work about:-

Selecting the L_Grp go to duplicate option box and follow the setting as below.

Now selecting the L_Grp1 set the scale X to -1.

The Right side is done.

What can be mirrored?

Whole of the Left side arm and Leg setup including IKFK switch, IK control, FK controls, Foot Attr for the leg, Finger attr, atc can be mirrored this way easily.

Note:

Mirror can work only in parts, like IKFK switch, Finger Attr. etc. and not as full rig. This won't be handy in either scripting an auto rig.

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Maya IK FK Flipping

Fix IK FK Flipping

Lets see how to fix IK fK joint chain flipping while switching at the default position.

There are three joint chain viz IK, FK and Skin. Skin joint chain is constrained and switched to go along with Ik or Fk joint chain.

Cause:-

Flipping happen when the joint chain are not in a plane. It can happen with hind limb setup of a quadruped, wings of birds, etc, The flip is apparent when the Polevector constrain is done to the Ik handle. So, it is evident that the flip is more because of the position of the Polevector control.

Fix:-

Draw linear curve from 1->2->3 using EP curve tool.

Go to component mode. Select the vertex at 2.

Set the move tool setting to "Normal" axis.

Drag it away to the desired location.

Snap the Polevector control to the vertex .

Now apply polevector constraint to the IK handle.

Now the Skin joint chain will switch without flipping at the default position.

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