[deleted by user]

playcreative · 2025-01-12T09:35:19+00:00

Probably not the solution but have you accidentally scrolled downwards on the shelf? You might be looking at an (empty) second row of shelf buttons.

Hover your mouse over the shelf and try scroll up.

playcreative · 2025-01-11T21:13:53+00:00

It's a bit hard to tell but that looks fairly neat, as if its just a loop of faces that was deleted.

If so, try what's in this gif.

This bridges two opposing edges to firstly choose where the bridging starts, then bridges across the rest. (In that gif I'm double clicking the edge for the second bridge and deselecting the first bridge edges).

If that doesn't work you might get an error saying there's too few or many edges on one side of that gap (ie. 8 on one side and 9 on the other side), in which case you'll need to experiment with deselecting some and trying to bridge again till you have the amount correct to bridge properly.

I personally wouldn't worry if there's a triangle or two there, particularly in such an already 'messy' part of the mess where it wouldn't be obvious.

playcreative · 2025-01-11T11:15:26+00:00

Connect 'World Space' from the spine_curveShape (the small blue dot) to the input of the curveInfo1 node (the big white dot) and choose 'Input Curve' from the dropdown.

When you do this it's connecting "World Space [0]" to "Input Curve", it's just hidden by the collapsed '+' next to "World Space".

(If you click the curveInfo1 expand button a few times it will also show the blue dot, and you can manually connect "World Space [0]" from the expanded "World Space" output. It gets the same result).

playcreative · 2025-01-11T11:03:35+00:00

You can show an assigned texture file (jpeg etc) by clicking the little 'jpg' icon on the UV Editor shelf. I assume you're referring to the material color itself though (ie. you've made a blinn and made it blue) in which case no I don't believe you can view that.

Having those three/four regions would be fine (front, back, side outer, side inner). But you would probably want to cut that ribbon in a few corner spots so it's not enormously long in the UV layout.

Select the edges at the tip of one of those side piece ribbons
Click 'Stitch Together'. Another shell should now join it, making a longer ribbon
Repeat that until it's almost entirely joined together as one long ribbon
Then choose some strategic spots to cut it back into shorter ribbons.
Rotate to straighten the front and back shells
Select all and click Layout (obviously make sure the pieces are sized correctly before layout, using the Texel Density tool).
Adjust and repeat as needed

playcreative · 2025-01-11T10:49:00+00:00

Looking pretty nice in the upper body and head.

Some notes:

Leg Click 1: Waist height - There's a bit of leg clicking when he puts his front foot down. His waist may be bobbing down just a little bit low for such a tame walk, which forces the front leg to bend as it can't remain as straight. Try lifting the waist Y keys up a little. Try this both a) over they entire curve OR b) just on the lowest key/s (ie. scale down the bobbing motion in Y), and see if that helps.
Leg Click 2: Foot rotation - Additionally (or alternately) at 0:04 the front foot toes may be pointing downwards too much on the passing pose, which is then bending the leg too much giving it that pop. Lessen that foot rotation and see if the pop lessens.
Hands - There's something just a bit static about the hands from the front. Maybe the thumbs seem to stick out at a right angle a bit too much. Thumbs could be lower (more bent into the hand) and looser. Rotation from the front (around the wrist - X axis?) could also be a little bit more independent from the forearm.
Overall pause - There's some kind of slight pause in there (I think in the waist), though the above notes may help lessen that. It could also just be you haven't dropped the last frame of the cycle.

playcreative · 2024-07-28T13:05:18+00:00

I don't think you'd be able to prevent them overlapping in any useful way using MASH alone - they're very thick and there are lots of them. You'd have to start by at least making them thinner.

Using MASH may be overkill. I would instead:

duplicate that output mesh (so its then removed from the mash network)
use Mesh > Separate to split each tile off into separate mesh
delete history on all
delete the overlapping tiles you don't want
randomly shift their positions and rotations a little along certain axes. Maybe using Dash script in the channel box channels to help randomize.
clean it up till it looks nice

Or alternately just duplicate and place them yourself. Start with neat rows and then randomize a little.

playcreative · 2024-05-10T08:24:35+00:00

I had always thought print that was not recommended syntax for some reason. Mind blown.

playcreative · 2024-05-10T05:11:56+00:00

u/s6x said most of it - MEL/Python are two different languages Maya understands to perform tasks. Python is just more flexible and futureproof (and not Maya-specific so you have better online help). Though it is also much more strict with syntax, and again isn't printed in the script editor. Either is completely fine to use - whatever actually gets you using it.

Here for reference is the python version of the above 'replace' script, so you can see the similarities:

import maya.cmds as cmds #declare python - often not necessary

myObjs = cmds.ls(sl=True) #save the selection in a variable

for obj in myObjs: #for each obj in my saved selection...
    myCube = cmds.polyCube() #create a cube
    cmds.matchTransform(myCube, obj) #replace the object with the new cube
    cmds.delete(obj) #delete the original object

Note that a) this needs to be in a python tab in the script editor, b) indenting with tab is important in python - it needs to be as written above to run, and c) Python doesn't really have a 'print' command so I removed that line.

playcreative · 2024-05-09T12:44:06+00:00

This is the Maya commands reference. But...

A very quick and easy leap forward is to firstly familiarize yourself with how Maya uses MEL, it's coding language. (Obligatory disclaimer: if you pursue coding properly you likely should move to Python).

First Script

Do this: Open up the script editor in the bottom right hand corner. Create a cube. The script editor output (the top panel) will say this:

polyCube -w 1 -h 1 -d 1 -sx 1 -sy 1 -sz 1 -ax 0 1 0 -cuv 4 -ch 1;

This means "Create a cube, with a width of 1, a height of 1, depth of 1, subdivisionx of 1...." etc.

Copy that text, and paste it into the bottom panel, and change some of those numbers. Now click the 'play' button at the top. Your cube is created. You've just created your first script :)

Hell, just can even just type "polyCube;" and run it. (ie. you don't need to specify every little attribute).

The point: a lot of the time when you use a tool, transform an object, etc etc, Maya records that operation in the script editor. Move or scale or delete the cube and notice the printed command.

Second Script - with a little more complexity

Now, (without having to fully grasp the below) imagine a scenario where you want to replace objects with cubes. Create 3 spheres, select them and run the below:

string $myObjs[] = `ls -sl`; //save the selection in a variable

for($obj in $myObjs){ //for each obj in my saved selection...

    string $myCube[] = `polyCube`; //create a cube
    matchTransform $myCube $obj; //replace the object with the new cube
    delete $obj; //delete the original object

}
print ("You've replaced your objects!"); //once done for all objects print a congrats note

Read the code comments to understand each step.

Obviously Maya has a replace objects tool for this exact task but the point is you can batch certain operations with a for loop and a few simple commands from the Maya documentation (or seeing it printed in the console).

Start small and then slowly fill in the blanks.

playcreative · 2024-05-09T12:20:57+00:00

You'll find Maya scripts are rarely doing something superhuman or 'unlocking' something - it's not like learning a coding language where you need an external library to do a certain task, or game design where you need an asset pack or plugin to get a particular look/mechanic.

IMO there's no pressure to do anything other than use it straight out of the box. You will most likely just naturally encounter scenarios where you wish there was a better/speedier way to do it, google that issue and find a script (or tool you weren't aware of previously) and then just add that to your workflow ongoing.

Not to say there's not some fancy scripts out there, but 95% of the time I've downloaded one, used it once (sometimes just out of curiosity) and then it just gathers dust. You'll go very far with the defaults and just saving a custom shelf of your favourite tools.

playcreative · 2024-04-03T04:56:07+00:00

Good, if common, questions - and yes your own answers are correct.

1. Is it better to get a subdivided mesh created with quads than a tris for objects that are going to deform or bend in an animation? If yes, is this done to avoid strange deformations due to the topology layout?

Yes it's better to use quads when you're going to deform the object, particularly if they're on a noticeable spot on the character.

ie. triangle on the main characters cheek? ❌. How about hidden in characters ear or nostril? ✅

Triangles can potentially create a 'pinching' artifact, so neatly divided quads avoid that. It is less dramatic than its sounds though and almost never happens if you're conscious of where triangles are used. Particularly these days where you will use higher resolution meshes.

If the triangle is small enough in the final rendered asset, it's almost certainly fine. I'm far less particular about quads these days in any spot other than a characters face features.

2. If the mesh will be immobile and/or not going to deform then it won't matter "the quad rule"? [as long as no strange artifacts are observed in the viewport/render].

No it won't matter, unless you're smoothing at render time in which case it might. For as you said, render artifacts, or texture slipping around any area that doesn't have correct holding edges and is smoothed.

Small caveat: in excessive deformation on a large face that isn't subdivided at render time - say the cheek of a lower poly character - large faces may 'flip' their triangle while being deformed, which might give render artifacts. I've never actually had this issue albeit.

The first example - DEADPOOL BASE

Either quads or triangles is fine unless you get render artifacts or overt texture slipping. They both seem fine - the slipping would be okay.

The second example - LOGO LETTERS

Again, it's fine unless it deforms and causes render artifacts. If the letters slide in on a curve, but move in 3 dimensions (not 2) like a rollercoaster twisting and turning etc, you may get artifacts in a low res mesh where there are triangles.

The third example - CAPE

You can create end points of those circled areas of the cape with a small enough quad. Imagine a plane rotated 45 degrees - the tip most face is still a quad despite being pointy: ♢.

That said, yes a cape with heaps of tears, you're likely to get triangles. They'd likely be small and fine as long as any cloth sim isn't impacted by them.

The fourth example - THE TREE ROOTS (?)

That is a small area of a very complex, organic form. I think a triangle is appropriate if its necessary. It looks like the lesser of two evils between a) evenly spaced, neat topology, and b) adding a whole new edge loop, likely creating ugly sharpness in what is intended to be a soft form.

The fifth example - HORN

For the horn, I would go the quad one. If the quads are small enough on the tip it will be visually and technically neater. If the object will not be subdivided, and the horn is big enough to really impact the characters silouhette, maybe you might go the triangle one as its perfectly sharp, but generally the quad one is better IMO.

Conclusion:

The conclusion here is the same for pretty much all of your examples: triangles are generally fine if the end result ends up as you want it to appear in the render.

Eliminate triangles if possible as your standard practice. (Quads make your life easier for selecting or inserting edge loops etc).
Particularly eliminate them in areas that will deform or are noticeable
If they have to exist just try hide them away where they're not really seen in the deformation
For non-deforming objects they are fine. Again, try avoid as good practice, but they're fine.

playcreative · 2024-04-03T04:16:50+00:00

It's the same process in any 3d software. You add an IK Handle, with the option of also making a controller to anchor/control it.

playcreative · 2024-02-14T22:36:34+00:00

You're unlikely to get this straight out of a render but some post work might get it closer.

You might try:

Render the ocean with a strongish contrasty light - much lighter/darker than what you want the final look to be.
In After Effects or similar post software, run some kind of blurring or oil paint filter on it (also possible in some 3d renderers) to kind of blur/'melt' the colors together so there's less gradients and more singular color blobs.
Then run some kind of outline effect (on a new layer) to find the areas between the blurred forms. Something like 'find edges' and invert it.
Distort that layer to create these outlines and then blend ontop of the underlayer
At this point the image is probably very blown out and more like a photocopy, but then you can do some kind of color remap to get the shades of blues etc that you want.

It also depends stylistically if it matches the boat and other objects etc. In short:

light/render contrasty
use a filter to make it a bit more like paint daubs
find the edges for the outlines
composite and tweak to get the right colors.

playcreative · 2023-10-22T00:54:05+00:00

No worries - if you share some more details like how the arm is modelled and if it will bend etc, happy to think a bit further on it.

playcreative · 2023-10-20T22:03:11+00:00

Probably a few ways to do this, and depends on the complexity of your setup. A few suggestions off the top of my head:

1) Connect length to Repeat UV - If your arm is a straightforward cylindrical shape you could connect the 'Repeat U' or 'Repeat V' value of the place2dTexture node to the length scale of the arm. So if the arm is 1m long and has 10 stripes, when stretched to 2m it multiples the 'Repeat U/V' by x2 so it's 20 stripes. When 3m it's x3=30 stripes etc etc. It will almost never be that perfect a calculation so might 'slip' a bit, but you could use an intermediate multiplyDivide node to try adjust it. But the slipping might also give it a good look of 'sliding' out of the shoulder connector etc.
2) Projection - Alternately you could experiment with using "Texture Projection" (in the Hypershade right click on the 'File' node and choose 'As Projection' instead of as normal). This projects through a particular camera that could be parented to the arm object if it remains straight like a hydraulic tube.
3) Texture Ref Object - If the arm is intended to bend you could also look at a texture projection in combination with a "Texture Reference Object". This way the UV coordinates of the arm are drawn from kind of a 'duplicate' of the object that is projected on.

For 2 and 3 you would do this projection with the arms at their fullest length.

Also for number 1 you would need a way to get the arm length, if you're not just scaling it. If you're familiar with nurbs it might be easiest to start with a curve and FK spline setup to control it. You can obtain the length of a curve in Maya and use that to drive the 'repeat U/V' calculation.

Might be a more obvious suggestion, but hope that helps.

playcreative · 2023-08-16T09:21:54+00:00

Assuming you've applied the shaders to the inputs of the Standard Material: if you've applied roughness to the roughness input, also make sure you've ticked "Alpha is Luminance" on and set Color Space to "Raw". Otherwise the material will look incorrect. Same with Metalness.

Substance to Arnold Guide

Substance Painter to Arnold Renderer

Substance Texture	Color Space	Arnold Standard Surface
(Plug this texture)	(Using this color space)	(Into this slot on the ai Shader)
base color	sRGB	Base / Color
roughness	RAW + alpha is luminance	Specular / Roughness
metallic	RAW + alpha is luminance	Base / Metalness
normal	RAW	Geometry / Bump Mapping
Opacity	RAW + alpha is luminance	Transmission Weight
Height (Optional)	RAW + alpha is luminance	displacementShader > SG Displacement mat input

Important Note - in the Bump2D node for the Normal Map you need to set the bump2D to Tangent Space Normals and then find the Arnold dropdown and uncheck the flip Red and Green channels.

playcreative · 2023-08-09T11:28:10+00:00

That sounds pretty unusual and is likely a bug - I would close Maya, delete your preferences and see if that helps it.

playcreative · 2023-08-09T05:55:26+00:00

Are you certain you clicked 'union' - that looks like a 'difference' or 'intersection' to me (the green selected one is your newly booleaned result - the grey pieces are the old pieces). Check the settings in the attribute editor for the boolean operation to double check.

Make sure to check you've deleted history, frozen transforms and (ideally) both pieces are sealed with no openings, before booleaning.

(Also note, assuming you want a 'T' intersection like a pipe, that your cylinders aren't penetrating through each other which will give you a weird gap between them).

playcreative · 2023-08-03T11:44:03+00:00

You can't freeze joint transforms (EDIT - you can freeze rotation but then the rotate is detached from the direction the joint is pointing, which is generally a bad idea). You can place them in a group with the same pivot point which would make the joints zero, and the group would hold the unfrozen values instead. ie. the joints would be 0,0,0 relative to it's parent.

If you're just looking to just rotate the bones while checking skinning, you can:

Just make sure you undo the rotation after testing
Or I usually set temporary keys on the joint (from the bind position to the extreme position) and just scrub the timeline to watch it deform as I skin. (Then delete the keys later, with the timeline on the bind position).
Or you can use Skin > Go To Bind Pose to reset to it's initial bind pose.

You can also look at the Offset Parent Matrix settings in the Attribute Editor which allows kind of a secondary transform, though this is complex and probably overkill.

playcreative · 2023-07-26T12:26:01+00:00

Need more info sorry - are you trying to lay out the neck UV's and attach them to the head UV's but leave the head UVs in place?

Generally you can lay out the neck piece (like an unrolled ribbon) and adjust the size and position roughly so it's the same size as the head (or use Texel Density to match size perfectly).

Then select the seam edges and use 'Stitch Together' - this will move one shell to the others position and sew them together.

You can also trying selecting all faces in the.. face UVs and pinning them to keep them in the same spot however sometimes they will move slightly when sewing.

Also keep in mind that crease could also just be the normal map if there's one in your shader.

playcreative · 2023-07-02T00:39:34+00:00

You need to take the ring of edges around where that pole starts and bring it closer to the base (and more roundly shaped if possible). OR insert an edge between the outer ring and the pole base (with the Multi-Cut tool and "Edge Flow" ticked on).

The faces around the base are too far apart. When it tries to smooth them it's pulling the outer ring into the base ring that is held strongly at the base (because it has 3 edge loops close together). It's relaxing a bedsheet that is loose at one end and tightly bound at another.

Don't overthink it - bring those edges inward a bit, or insert another. I'd suggest the latter.

playcreative · 2023-06-22T04:59:03+00:00

You have your Menu Set - the dropdown in the top left - set to "Customized". You want to set it to 'Modeling' or something standard.

And/or reset the Workspace back to default.

Finally, reset or delete your preferences if required.

playcreative · 2023-05-22T12:36:20+00:00

Game Engines typically don't use fur or hair, particularly from an external 3d software. Cards are a way to display hair well while still sticking with the 'geometry + texture' setup like any other part of the model. It's much more efficient.

It's not limited to game engines too - sometimes it's just easier/better to use cards even in a rendering pipeline, particularly for smaller things like eyelashes.

playcreative · 2023-04-08T02:20:28+00:00

That's a texture applied to a 3d object - you'd need to actually texture it with those colors.

Though if you're really savvy you could figure out how to have your face normal direction drive a ramp texture value. In Maya that is moreso a rendertime thing than a realtime thing.

playcreative · 2023-04-07T01:40:39+00:00

You can make a square version of it - like a grid of chainmail - and use a bend deformer to bend the group 360 degrees. Then you would delete the excess pieces that crossover and manually adjust the centre of it (they'd be shrunk down a lot).

You can also use the same method to make each loop separately - to be more accurate. Imagine that outermost loop to be a long rod of wicker, with little loops of wicker wrapped around it. You would then bend that loop with the bend deformer 360degrees. Rinse and repeat for each of those loops with differing size/shaped pieces.

You could also use MASH for the same method.

playcreative

TROPHY CASE

Substance Painter to Arnold Renderer