Re: Maya Character Workflow

[Eric Thivierge]

Hey Steve,

Might not be as painless as you have experienced in the past but may not be
as bad as one might expect as well. Check out NGSkinTools. It's worth it
and the custom node can be removed to make the rig portable to those
without the plugin. The referencing workflow you describe should work as
well. However I'm not sure about the GATOR-like one click transfer but
you'll probably be able to get super close. Make sure you don't use the
Skin > Export / Import weight maps. Instead use the Deform > Export /
Import weights. It is not texture based and I believe you'll be able to
maintain fidelity between import / export a lot better.

Hope that helps a bit.


Eric Thivierge
http://www.ethivierge.com

On Fri, Jun 30, 2017 at 3:42 PM, Steve Parish  wrote:

> Sorry for the Maya question on a Softy board but I wondered if people
> would mind sharing their character workflow.
>
> Working in advertising I'm having to make quick changes at all stages of
> the pipeline and in Soft things were nice and nimble. In Maya I'm using
> some scripts but things are very linear and slow.
>
> At the moment I'm modeling and rigging first, referencing in the rigged
> model to animate, then exporting to alembic for render. If a modeling
> change comes in, I re-model then copy the weights over from the old model
> (I assume it works similarly to gator) and re-weight as needed. Then update
> the reference model so the animation is preserved. Then animating and
> exporting for render.
>
> Does this all seem logical? I felt like in Soft I could make quick
> modeling changes and still keep the rigging because of the stack (to a
> certain extent). I'm using tfsmooth_skin_weight (which is essential) but
> wondered if there were any other essential scripts / techniques to help
> make this process easier / quicker.
>
> Thanks
> Steve_P
>
> --
> Softimage Mailing List.
> To unsubscribe, send a mail to softimage-requ...@listproc.autodesk.com
> with "unsubscribe" in the subject, and reply to confirm.
>
--
Softimage Mailing List.
To unsubscribe, send a mail to softimage-requ...@listproc.autodesk.com with 
"unsubscribe" in the subject, and reply to confirm.

Maya Character Workflow

[Steve Parish]

Sorry for the Maya question on a Softy board but I wondered if people would
mind sharing their character workflow.

Working in advertising I'm having to make quick changes at all stages of
the pipeline and in Soft things were nice and nimble. In Maya I'm using
some scripts but things are very linear and slow.

At the moment I'm modeling and rigging first, referencing in the rigged
model to animate, then exporting to alembic for render. If a modeling
change comes in, I re-model then copy the weights over from the old model
(I assume it works similarly to gator) and re-weight as needed. Then update
the reference model so the animation is preserved. Then animating and
exporting for render.

Does this all seem logical? I felt like in Soft I could make quick modeling
changes and still keep the rigging because of the stack (to a certain
extent). I'm using tfsmooth_skin_weight (which is essential) but wondered
if there were any other essential scripts / techniques to help make this
process easier / quicker.

Thanks
Steve_P
--
Softimage Mailing List.
To unsubscribe, send a mail to softimage-requ...@listproc.autodesk.com with 
"unsubscribe" in the subject, and reply to confirm.

Re: ot: writing Re-Assign Locally for Maya

[Steve Parish]

+1!!!

On Thu, Jun 29, 2017 at 6:07 AM, Matt Morris  wrote:

> Hi Oz, I'm interested if you got anywhere with this, and would be willing
> to share? Its one of the things I'm really missing!
>
> Cheers,
> Matt
>
>
> On 19 December 2016 at 08:31, Oz Adi  wrote:
>
>> Thanks Ahmidou,
>> this is very helpful!
>>
>>
>>
>> J
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> *From:* softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com [mailto:
>> softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com] *On Behalf Of *Ahmidou Lyazidi
>> *Sent:* יום ב 19 דצמבר 2016 00:38
>> *To:* Official Softimage Users Mailing List.
>> https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/xsi_list <
>> softimage@listproc.autodesk.com>
>> *Subject:* Re: ot: writing Re-Assign Locally for Maya
>>
>>
>>
>> Hi,
>>
>> You need to test the distance against points the lines defined by bones
>> and their childs. Search for "point to line distance"
>>
>>
>>
>> Le 18 déc. 2016 07:14, "Oz Adi"  a écrit :
>>
>> Hi,
>>
>>
>>
>> I am really missing “Re-Assign Locally” for envelopes,  in Maya, so I
>> wrote a simple Python script.
>>
>> The script calculates weight by distance, between each selected point to
>> each selected joint, using the formula
>> in the attached file, I then assign those values back to the skin
>> cluster..
>>
>> The script kind of works, it does what it’s supposed to do, but the
>> results are not as expected.
>>
>>
>>
>> In the attached image you can see an example of a cylinder, how the
>> weights distribution between 2 bones
>> looks like in Maya and Softimage ( in both apps, I chose “by distance”
>> method).
>>
>> Then there is the result my script produces:  as you can see, the bottom
>> bone gets too much influence in the top half,
>>
>> And the top bone gets too little influence where it should..
>>
>> I am not a Mathematician, nor a Programmer,  I try to learn on my own
>> using the internet,
>>
>> I understand that 3D apps probably do more than just calculate the
>> distance, and derive a weight, but I hoped for similar results ;)
>>
>>
>>
>> If anyone has an idea, how can I get closer results to how 3D apps
>> calculate these weights, I’d be happy to hear..
>>
>> I can also share the script, if it interests anyone.
>>
>>
>>
>> Thanks,
>>
>> Oz.
>>
>>
>>
>> This communication (including any attachments) is sent on behalf of
>> Playtech plc or one of its subsidiaries (Playtech Group). It contains
>> information which is confidential and privileged. If you are not the
>> intended recipient, please notify the sender immediately and destroy any
>> copies of this communication. Unless expressly stated to the contrary,
>> nothing in this communication constitutes a contractual offer capable of
>> acceptance or indicates intention to create legal relations or grant any
>> rights. The Playtech Group monitors communications sent or received by it
>> for security and other purposes. Any views or opinions presented are solely
>> those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of the Playtech
>> Group
>>
>>
>> --
>> Softimage Mailing List.
>> To unsubscribe, send a mail to softimage-requ...@listproc.autodesk.com
>> with "unsubscribe" in the subject, and reply to confirm.
>>
>> This communication (including any attachments) is sent on behalf of
>> Playtech plc or one of its subsidiaries (Playtech Group). It contains
>> information which is confidential and privileged. If you are not the
>> intended recipient, please notify the sender immediately and destroy any
>> copies of this communication. Unless expressly stated to the contrary,
>> nothing in this communication constitutes a contractual offer capable of
>> acceptance or indicates intention to create legal relations or grant any
>> rights. The Playtech Group monitors communications sent or received by it
>> for security and other purposes. Any views or opinions presented are solely
>> those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of the Playtech
>> Group
>>
>> --
>> Softimage Mailing List.
>> To unsubscribe, send a mail to softimage-requ...@listproc.autodesk.com
>> with "unsubscribe" in the subject, and reply to confirm.
>>
>
>
>
> --
> www.matinai.com
>
> --
> Softimage Mailing List.
> To unsubscribe, send a mail to softimage-requ...@listproc.autodesk.com
> with "unsubscribe" in the subject, and reply to confirm.
>
--
Softimage Mailing List.
To unsubscribe, send a mail to softimage-requ...@listproc.autodesk.com with 
"unsubscribe" in the subject, and reply to confirm.

Re: Houdini tutorial | Building the orientation matrix for local rotation

[Nono]

Damn Vex, just found out that you can replace your whole first part by

matrix3 m = maketransform(@N,{0,1,0});
@orient = quaternion(m);

The normal SOP isn't needed too seems houdini calculate it under the hood...

Thanks Olivier


On 13 March 2017 at 21:27, Jonathan Moore  wrote:

> | Jonathan, I thought VOP and VEX were running at same speed ? Am I wrong
> ?
>
>
>
> The automatically generated code is messier but should run at
> approximately the same speed. Any speed advantage will often come by
> achieving more with less nodes (less chance of other nodes slowing things
> down unexpectedly).
>
>
>
> I think the main advantage of Wrangles is that you often find things that
> can take a good number of VOP nodes are achievable with few lines of VEX.
> That’s not unique to VOPs, it’s a characteristic of visual programming in
> general.
>
>
>
> I’ve got nothing against VOP’s, I think they’re great (I prefer them to
> ICE in many ways). I was just attempting to answer Chris’s question ref the
> advantages and disadvantages of each approach.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> *From:* softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com [mailto:softimage-bounces@
> listproc.autodesk.com] *On Behalf Of *Olivier Jeannel
> *Sent:* 13 March 2017 18:47
> *To:* Official Softimage Users Mailing List. https://groups.google.com/
> forum/#!forum/xsi_list 
> *Subject:* Re: Houdini tutorial | Building the orientation matrix for
> local rotation
>
>
>
> Jonathan, I thought VOP and VEX were running at same speed ? Am I wrong ?
>
>
>
> 2017-03-13 19:44 GMT+01:00 Olivier Jeannel :
>
> Vop is close to ICE.
>
> VOP is the visual version of VEX which is code (coding vector).
>
> In fact, when you build some Vop trees, you can see the resulting Vex code.
>
>
>
> It's just me beeing more able to build and read Vop nodes rather Vex lines.
>
>
>
>
>
> 2017-03-13 15:55 GMT+01:00 Chris Marshall :
>
> And it's all VOP! ? As opposed to what? And what's the advantage /
> difference?
>
>
>
> On 9 March 2017 at 13:39, Olivier Jeannel  wrote:
>
> I made a little tutorial on how to get local rotation when working in
> houdini.
>
> https://vimeo.com/207626604
>
>
>
> Build an orientation matrix
>
> Rotate using the orient attribute before the copy sop
>
> Rotate objects after the copy sop.
>
>
>
> And it's all VOP !
>
>
>
> --
> Softimage Mailing List.
> To unsubscribe, send a mail to softimage-requ...@listproc.autodesk.com
> with "unsubscribe" in the subject, and reply to confirm.
>
>
>
>
> --
>
> Chris Marshall
>
> Mint Motion Limited
>
> 029 20 37 27 57
>
> 07730 533 115
>
> www.mintmotion.co.uk
>
> www.dot3d.com
>
>
>
>
> --
> Softimage Mailing List.
> To unsubscribe, send a mail to softimage-requ...@listproc.autodesk.com
> with "unsubscribe" in the subject, and reply to confirm.
>
>
>
>
>
> --
> Softimage Mailing List.
> To unsubscribe, send a mail to softimage-requ...@listproc.autodesk.com
> with "unsubscribe" in the subject, and reply to confirm.
>
--
Softimage Mailing List.
To unsubscribe, send a mail to softimage-requ...@listproc.autodesk.com with 
"unsubscribe" in the subject, and reply to confirm.