Bravo! Bravo!! :) I echo your exact sentiments, David (though my own credentials are puny by comparison.)
The operator stack should be permanently on the box as a "hot feature". We all take it for granted all the time, but seriously it's one of the best features in Soft. On Wed, Jan 8, 2014 at 3:10 PM, Steven Caron <[email protected]> wrote: > thank you! thank you! thank you!... i knew i wasn't crazy thinking rigging > in maya is a PITA! > > > On Wed, Jan 8, 2014 at 11:45 AM, David Gallagher < > [email protected]> wrote: > >> >> I rigged on quite a few characters in Maya at Blue Sky Studios and now >> (Softimage) AnimSchool. We offer the well-known "Malcolm" rig for free. >> >> There is no comparison to rigging in Softimage and Maya--not the kind of >> rigging I do. I often assume by now they have better workflows in Maya, but >> I'm often surprised to find how convoluted and limiting the workflows are >> to this day. Most Maya people must not know there are better ways of >> working or aren't doing the kinds of things I am, because the difference is >> profound. >> >> -At any point in the rigging process, you can make edits in the model >> stack to change the shape and topology of the model. After experimenting, >> you can freeze that part of the stack and continue on with that new shape, >> retaining almost every bit of work you've done. >> YOU CAN CHANGE THE TOPOLOGY. YOU CAN CHANGE THE SHAPE FREELY. >> This difference is huge. You can work toward completion without fear of >> losing work. You can experiment freely--knowing it's fine if you want to >> make a major change. I'm never afraid of losing blendshape work. >> And if the changes are really significant, you can always Gator you're >> way out of a jam. >> >> -You can do blendshape edits directly on the geometry, modelessly, >> instead of on a separate blendshape object. >> >> -There is no comparison with corrective blendshapes. In Softimage, you go >> to Secondary Shape mode and drag a few points. >> In Maya, I wish you luck. You can install one of several plug-ins and >> scripts and HOPE that it works. If the scenario is simple enough, it might. >> Several people here tried to help a student make a single corrective >> blendshape on an elbow -- and we're all experienced Maya riggers. After >> hours of attempting, we threw up our hands. There was something in that >> object's history that was making the blendshape plug-in fail. The answer is >> what it often is: just start over. >> -EDITING corrective blendshapes. In Maya, heaven help you if you want to >> edit that blendshape later. Start the process again and make a new one. In >> Softimage, drag a few points and you're done in seconds. >> >> -For facial work, being able to make face shapes in conjunction with the >> mixer, working directly on the main geo. To see other shapes muted, soloed >> as you're working. This allows you to craft shapes that work for different >> scenarios, with just the right falloff. You can make correctives for shape >> combinations quickly. In face work, it's all about how the functions >> combine to make the range of expressive results. >> >> -The envelope weighting is far superior. The smoothing is just better, >> and more reliable. Negative weight painting actually works. >> Being able to make sophisticated weighting allows you to make lighter >> rigs, because fewer nodes and calculations are needed. >> I can't believe someone actually compared Maya's Component Editor to >> Softimage's Weight Editor. I'm stunned. >> Sometimes, demoing Maya's envelope weighting, it just stops working for >> no reason -- I have no idea why. (Mind you, I've been rigging in Maya since >> 1999.) >> >> -You can envelope/skin null objects, not just joints. (Yes, Maya will let >> you add other objects as deformers but it is limiting and causes problems.) >> >> -The tweak tool. You can grab anywhere and it will just get the nearest >> point/edge/poly and transform it precisely. Add the proportional editing >> and it's very sculptural without giving up precise transform control. I far >> prefer this workflow to the Zbrush approach geared toward paintstrokes. >> >> -In Softimage, you can change the wireframe on shaded opacity. You can >> change the point sizes. These mean I can visualize and work with the shape, >> not get visually stuck on the tech clutter like in Maya. >> >> -LinkWithOrientation. Does Maya have anything built-in yet? I know there >> are pose readers out there, but they are slow and 3rd party. >> >> -The "smooth preview" Geometry Approximation is better, faster, and more >> stable in Softimage. >> >> -Even with the army of tools and plug-ins we had at Blue Sky Studios, I >> would still much rather use off-the-shelf Softimage. >> >> -You can select controls without selecting (and highlighting) all its >> children. This makes it easier to animate the rig -- just drag selecting >> will get you the selectable controls. In Maya, drag-selecting gets a >> mixture of heirarchy parts. >> >> All this means that I can focus on the ART, the shaping of the rig, not >> jump through hoops all day. >> As a result, our characters are more flexible and expressive. >> >>
