*UPDATE* I finally figured out what I needed to do to compile 64bit plugins so I have added a 2012 64bit Windows version to the download. Also I was told there is a bug if you have your unit preferences set to something different than centimeters. If I have time, I will make an update to fix this issue.
It’s been a while but wanted to announce I compiled the sePushPullConstraint plugin for Maya 2012, windows 32 bit. I can’t compile windows 64 bit yet, so I’m sorry those who want it. You can still use the Python version if needed. When I do get a 64 bit version compiled, I will add it to the zip file.
You can download the plugin with all the available version here
Enjoy!
May
It’s been a while since I have fully rebuilt my reel and put in fresh content. Still have some things in the works I will eventually add, but now is a good time it throw it out there. Also an updated resume is also there as well for you to look.
I am open to hear about possible opportunities with studios that match my current skills. Please contact me at scott@scottenglert.com and I will be happy to talk with you.
For my resume, breakdown, and other video formats go here -> http://www.scottenglert.com/demoreel/
Mar
A co-worker sent out a link to this really cool deformer for Maya call fStretch. Very nice and has a lot of good applications. Not a bad price either. hmmm….
A friend and former co-worker Chad Vernon does it again with his awesome skills. This time Chad has released a free tool to generate front of chain corrective shapes on an already deformed mesh.
Meaning, if you are trying to find an easy way to sculpt a corrective shape on a posed mesh, this will create a mesh that can be used in a blend shape at the beginning of your deformation chain which you can drive that shape when the other deformations put it in that pose. It makes doing corrective shapes so much easier than trying to guess or having a custom additive blend shape deformer.
What really makes Chad a nice guy is he provided the code in all python for you to look and see. Thanks Chad, I’ll be sure to use this soon! So go over there and get it now!
Since I was finishing up on my last deformer, seVertcro, I decided to quickly make another deformer while I was in the mood. This is one I have found handy before and it was pretty simple to write, only taking about 45 min – 1 hour to write and test. This deformer simply expands or shrinks a mesh along each vertex normal.
Once the deformer is applied, you just paint where you want the effect and adjust the amount attribute on the node. This comes in handy when you smooth a mesh and you loose volume, so you can just paint it back or if you have intersections from layered meshes that need a quick push or pull out.
Very simple but yet useful. Comments and/or questions, just post them up!
I have been playing more and more with Maya’s API and starting to practice building some plugins like the one I released ealier, sePushPullConstraint. This time I decided to have a go with writing a deformer.
What this deformer does is bind and snap the closest vertices in a specific tolerance of the deformed mesh to a target mesh. The most challenging part was the binding process and finding the closest vertex on all the target meshes. I did this by using the MMeshIntersector class which gave huge speed improvement over other methods. This was a lot of trial and error to figure out the best method for constructing the data, the actual math behind it is relatively simple.
Particular features:
- Allows for multiple target meshes to drive the deforming mesh
- Paintable weight map to blend between the target and the original position
- Can use either world or object space
- MEL command to connect and bind the mesh to the targets
Things I plan on adding:
- Add extra flags in the MEL command to edit and query the deformer
- Look into multi threading for possible speed increase. It’s already pretty quick without it, but want to see what performance I get with it.
Just wanted to share my projects as I create them. I don’t have plans right now to release it so please no requests, however any comments or questions are welcome.