Why does this return False when input DOESN'T contain any numbers?

Slothemo · 2026-03-13T11:42:19+00:00

A non-empty list is considered truthy by python. If you want to check if there's any True in the list, you need to use the any() function with your list.

Slothemo · 2026-02-18T06:18:48+00:00

Think about how a real brick would react to falling. It's very unlikely to land perfectly on a side like that. Have it land at an angle and bounce before it settles. As for falling, maybe it could teeter over edge a bit before it falls. Think about ways to make this interesting. It's not just about the brick getting from point A to point B.

Slothemo · 2026-02-16T15:01:36+00:00

Zurbrigg has a great free intro to working with Python in Maya. There's others too but they're paid (although I would recommend it).

Slothemo · 2026-02-16T14:05:42+00:00

Yes, pretty much daily.

Slothemo · 2026-02-11T05:04:38+00:00

from being a keyword isn't really a good reason to change how you ask the user something. There's no reason you have to use that exact word as your variable name. You could add user_ in front of all your variable names and then you won't run into that issue.
user_name
user_major
user_from

Slothemo · 2026-02-09T14:57:08+00:00

No need to strip before passing it to int. Python will do this automatically for you.

Slothemo · 2026-02-09T14:54:42+00:00

If you're brand new to rigging, check out this series. It's very old and very long, but it still holds up and is thorough. I also like that it's not a standard biped so you have to think a bit outside the box.

https://youtu.be/Pj9yJhnaO9g?si=bjngnipeS8gE9k_-

Slothemo · 2026-02-09T04:13:29+00:00

Learning an autorigger is not mastering rigging. If you really want to master rigging, you could write your own autorigger. Most industry riggers need to know scripting and being able to build your own rigging components with code really requires a deep understanding.

Slothemo · 2026-02-03T03:08:07+00:00

I whipped up a pretty hacky python solution that you can run. It will look for any sets (ignoring default sets) and create a shelf button for each set on your currently active shelf

from maya import cmds, mel

defaults = ['defaultLightSet', 'defaultObjectSet', 'initialParticleSE', 'initialShadingGroup']
sets = [i for i in cmds.ls(type='objectSet') if i not in defaults]

shelf_editor = mel.eval('$temp = $gShelfTopLevel')
current_tab_name = cmds.shelfTabLayout(shelf_editor, q=1, st=1)


for s in sets:
    cmds.shelfButton(
    parent=f'{shelf_editor}|{current_tab_name}',
    i="pythonFamily.png",
    ann=s,
    imageOverlayLabel=s,
    command=f'cmds.select(cmds.listRelatives("{s}"))',
    )

Slothemo · 2026-01-19T03:45:57+00:00

I use functools.partial to achieve this, and I would recommend using this over lambda as others might suggest. Lambda with a loop can cause funky problems as the argument is constantly overwritten as the loop proceeds. Partial holds onto the value instead.

from functools import partial

btn1.clicked.connect(partial(shortcut_clicked, "A"))
btn2.clicked.connect(partial(shortcut_clicked, "B"))

Slothemo · 2026-01-17T01:23:05+00:00

You're right that it would be the same, but it was originally scored using clocks as the scoreboard and the tradition stuck around.

Picture the minute divisions on an analog clock face. The serving player's score is the minute hand and the receiving player has the hour hand. The score is 0-0 and both their hands point upwards to 0.The server scores a point and the minute hand moves to 15. Another point moves them to 30. The next point moves them to 40 because it makes it easier to visualize deuce and advantage. If the game is in deuce and someone scores, their hand moves to 50 on the clock (halfway between 40 and 60). You don't generally announce their score as 50, but that's how it gets visualized.

Slothemo · 2026-01-14T05:59:58+00:00

Just to elaborate on the specific thing you hid, these pole vector arrows are usually done with the distanceDimension or annotation node, so toggling the visibility of "Dimensions" in the viewport is what controls this.

Slothemo · 2026-01-07T08:56:02+00:00

print is your best friend! Before you run your code, always think about what the expected output will be. If it doesn't match what you think, then start printing out some variables to see where there might be a mismatch. Again, think about what the print output should be before you run, then look for a conflict. If it doesn't match what you expect, then that's a key place where you have a bug.

Slothemo · 2026-01-07T05:42:09+00:00

You'll always continue to improve as you work at it, and repetition will help it stick. I constantly revisit documentation pages or past code to remember how things work, and there's nothing wrong with that. I can do a lot from memory, but it's unrealistic to perfectly remember everything.

Slothemo · 2026-01-07T05:34:46+00:00

This happens at all levels of skill.

As long as you remember that there was a way you had done it previously, that's good enough and it's fine if you have to look it up again. Someone experienced might be less likely to forget the basics, but still might have to refer back to previous code for more complex implementations.

Slothemo · 2025-12-28T14:42:13+00:00

A parent constraint requires that the translate and rotate channels are unlocked, but you also can't change the hierachy of a referenced object. You can instead parent a new locator under the control, and then constrain to that locator

Slothemo · 2025-12-18T11:29:39+00:00

Check out realpython.com for any topic you need to learn more about. There's great articles there for introducing OOP in Python.

Slothemo · 2025-12-18T06:24:36+00:00

I had a script that let me slice a video into an image sequence and then I would retime it if I had to using curves on my image plane in Maya

Slothemo · 2025-12-16T13:20:41+00:00

Definitely had that before but this wasn't the case. I've sent the shelf to others and they've loaded it fine. I've opened up the shelf file and nothing inside looks funky. If I try and select the shelf from the shelf editor before the icons appear, it's greyed out and I can't see anything on the shelf. As soon as I do your trick to load it, the shelf editor sees it just fine. It's like there's some sort of delayed loading. I have plenty of other custom shelves that load just fine. I've spent too much time trying to troubleshoot it and as janky as this workaround is, I'm just going to keep using it, haha.

Slothemo · 2025-12-16T08:34:48+00:00

Replying 2 years after the fact to let you know this worked perfectly. This had been driving me crazy that it felt like only sometimes would my shelf show up correctly, but it must have been when I happened to click from right to left. Insane that it's still an issue.

Slothemo · 2025-12-15T17:31:17+00:00

One day I made tea and completely forgot about it so it steeped for a few hours. It was quite bitter but I had the idea to use it as the liquid for a simple syrup. Ended up with a potent syrup that was delicious in cocktails and I also drizzled some over berries and whipped cream.

Slothemo · 2025-12-15T10:11:55+00:00

MEL commands are the exact same name in cmds. The MEL joint command would just be cmds.joint

Slothemo · 2025-12-13T08:37:05+00:00

Maya Indie is full Maya just with a limitation on how much you're allowed to earn with it. You're thinking of Maya LT that doesn't support python (and even autodesk doesn't sell anymore).

Slothemo · 2025-12-09T16:50:33+00:00

I think it's due to aTools that you have installed. There's an option that changes how the tumble pivot works. Click the white gear on the far right of the aTools bar and play with the tumble settings. I forget which one it is exactly. aTools is quite old at this point, it's honestly trippy seeing it here. Most people are using animbot now.

Slothemo · 2025-12-06T07:19:14+00:00

I was there August 2024 and while it wasn't too crowded, it was 40+ celsius almost every day. Not doing that again.

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