Introduction

seUVBlendShape is a plug-in for Autodesk’s Maya 3D application. The plug-in provides a node which deforms polygon meshes. The deformer has similar characteristics to Maya’s blendShape deformer, but without the dependency of targets being topologically identical to the base geometry. Instead, the association between the targets and the base geometry are through their UV’s.

Key Features

  • Any number of polygon meshes can be used as targets. Each with different UV sets, shape, and topology.
  • Deformations can be applied additively on top of existing deformers.
  • Individual X,Y,Z axis scale control on target deltas.
  • Multithreaded for performance. (deformer only)
  • GPU override available for Maya 2016 and above
  • Paintable per vertex weights for targets, delta, and overall deformation.
  • Deformation can take place in local (default) or world space.

What’s Included

This plugin comes with a complete set of tools for easily integrating it into your existing workspace.

  • Plug-in comes with deformer and MEL command for peforming operations on the deformer.
  • Python module to extend the functionality of the MEL command.
  • Qt user interface for a more artist friendly way to work with the deformer.
  • Shelf with button to open the user interface.
  • Custom attribute editor templatefor better appearance of deformer attributes.
  • Easy install and uninstall MEL scripts.
  • Sample files and demo videos.
  • This documentation in both HTML and PDF.

Support

If you experience issues using any of the software provided. First take a look at the support page on the seUVBlendShape webpage for frequently asked questions. If you do not find your answer, then please contact me using the email seuvblendshape@scottenglert.com. Please include as much details as possible such as operating system, maya version (including service packs), what other tools are loaded and being used, specifics on what you were doing when the error occured (running command, setting attributes, scrubing timeline, etc), and of course the error message (script editor output or output window/terminal). If possible, include either the scene file, a screen capture, or repeatable list of steps to produce the problem to make solving the issue faster.

Tips and Guidelines

To get the best result, here are some general tips and guidelines when using this deformer:

  • Avoid overlapping UVs. This may cause an undesirable result as a vertex may binding to the wrong face on the target.
  • If your target geometry is dense (100,000 vertices or more) or your UVs are extremely close together, consider scaling your UVs larger to increase the UV area. This may help in cases with floating point precision issues during binding and deformation. Also, make sure there is UV surface area for every polygon face.
  • If you only want to blend specific parts of our geometry, you can just UV map those areas and delete the other UVs. This works for both the target and base geometry.
  • If you make changes to your UVs on either the target or the base, such as adding geometry, moving UVs, or deleting UVs, you must rebind the targets to the base geometry.
  • If you move the target vertices after adding it to the deformer and you want to “reset” the target rest pose when using the keep offset feature, then rebinding will reset the bind positions.
  • If some of the vertices on the base mesh are not binding and they are outside the the target UVs, try increasing the tolerance when binding as they may be too far away from the target.
  • If your targets are a different scale than the base mesh, you can adjust the delta scale attribute for the target so any geometry changes will be scaled by that amount before applying onto the base.

Feature Requests

While I do listen to feedback from customers on improvements they would like, I can’t always guarantee I will be able to add everyone’s request. I take requests on a per case basis based on how large the request is and it’s impact. However, I am willing to provide custom builds with specific features for additional costs. Please contact me to discuss this. I am unable to extend the license to include the source code at this time.