[MAYA] BNormal (Update) - Free Face weighted vertex normal Plugin
greentooth
New Blog Post
I always wanted to reproduce the so called wnormal by Martijn Buijs for Maya.
SNormal is now deprecated, thanks to @radiancef0rge and @Fansub
If you don't want to read, don't lose your time : DOWNLOAD
Things to Know, (README):
-Algorithm 1 is the best one
-Use Algorithm 2 when results are bad. On cylinders Algorithm 2 is the best one
-command "bnormal" should be replace by (see below)
: bnormal -v 1 : (to use first algorithm)
OR
: bnormal -v 2 : (to use second algorithm)
-as usual , reminder : smooth the edges of your mesh before applying bnormal , else, output is false
-run BNormal.exe and follow the instructions (AntiViruses Can be a-hole sometimes, I deactivated mine.)
-Go to Maya in Windows>Settings/Preferences>Plug-in Manager
-you should see 'bnormal.py', check Load and AutoLoad
-You can now use the command :
bnormal -v 1 //(to use first algorithm)
OR
bnormal -v 2 //(to use second algorithm)
//you can bind it to hotkey or shelf button)
-Select an Object OR Objects' and run the command, shelfButton, hotkey
-*Note 1( hard edges are now averaged.
If the meshes are not suited for FWVN
Workflow you can expect unwanted result.)
-*Note 2(If your normals are locked, colored yellow, if you
did apply bnormal one time, consider to unlock your normals
: go under mesh display>unlock normals>. Not doing so will false output)
Enjoy.
DOWNLOAD
I always wanted to reproduce the so called wnormal by Martijn Buijs for Maya.
SNormal is now deprecated, thanks to @radiancef0rge and @Fansub
If you don't want to read, don't lose your time : DOWNLOAD
Things to Know, (README):
'''Name : bnormal (named after me because [1]snormal has been deprecated.)
Blog:http://waywoblog.blogspot.com/
Log:
-BNormal has now two algortihms-Algorithm 1 is the best one
-Use Algorithm 2 when results are bad. On cylinders Algorithm 2 is the best one
-command "bnormal" should be replace by (see below)
: bnormal -v 1 : (to use first algorithm)
OR
: bnormal -v 2 : (to use second algorithm)
-as usual , reminder : smooth the edges of your mesh before applying bnormal , else, output is false
How To Use(
-Put BNormal.exe file under C:\Program Files\Autodesk\MayaVersion\-run BNormal.exe and follow the instructions (AntiViruses Can be a-hole sometimes, I deactivated mine.)
-Go to Maya in Windows>Settings/Preferences>Plug-in Manager
-you should see 'bnormal.py', check Load and AutoLoad
-You can now use the command :
bnormal -v 1 //(to use first algorithm)
OR
bnormal -v 2 //(to use second algorithm)
//you can bind it to hotkey or shelf button)
-Select an Object OR Objects' and run the command, shelfButton, hotkey
-*Note 1( hard edges are now averaged.
If the meshes are not suited for FWVN
Workflow you can expect unwanted result.)
-*Note 2(If your normals are locked, colored yellow, if you
did apply bnormal one time, consider to unlock your normals
: go under mesh display>unlock normals>. Not doing so will false output)
Enjoy.
)Thanks(
Christopher Crouzet, Dorian Fevrier, Justin Israel, James @Farfarer,
@Makkon, Martijn Buijs, @Obscura on Polycount for their resources
)Credits(
numPy and sciPy python modules were used to make this plugin.
)
How Perfect On Cylinders :DOWNLOAD
Replies
edit : don't focus on the direction of the normals, be 'eye confident'
Thanks for sharing!
Here's the glorious illustration of it :
But only after computing, usually (but not always). Because I often see the normals change just before the "Maya has stopped working" window pops up.
also a screenshot of C:\Program Files\Autodesk\Maya2017\Python\Lib\site-packages , also if you can reproduce the crash , open the script editor before it happen, end tell me what's in please
Then I closed the script editor, and ran it once, and it crashed immediately.
Although after reopening Maya, it's crashing whether or not the script editor is open.
Here's a shot of those directories after installation:
inside it and see if it works, I'm going to test it in Maya 2016...
Right now it's crashing probably 90% of the time, or so. (maybe 80%, but it's quite a lot. More often than not)
As you can see, first application isn't quite right, second seems to be perfect, and third breaks it again. After that nothing changes. Brilliant script btw, might be a huge help if it's consistent!
. please unload the old one , then reload the new one manually from browse> ..\bin\plug-ins
tell me how it goes
@mediochrea It's strange because I only need one iteration and I don't get any artifacts, I'm running it in Maya 2017.. EDIT : Smooth your edges before you run it it's important
Still crashing even after downloading that file, and reloading the plugin manually.
Will try on a fresh maya profile though, might be some scripts/settings interfering with it.
Tried on different project files (and meshes), always the same, sqaboosh.
I'm using Maya Ext2, SP1
It worked for about 5 seconds on the third try with a simple cube. But chrashed after that. That was the only time it computed actually.
I'm no expert with scripts, but should't the script be loaded from Python instead as a Mel command?
I did not make a shelf button btw, I typed in the bottom bnromal. Plug in was loaded etc, double checked on that.
and C:\Program Files\Autodesk\Maya_Version\Python\Lib\site-packages , crashes has nothing to do with mesh complexity. I will try it on Maya 2016 Ext2 now.
Edit: Here's a gif I just recorded of the relevant stuff. I didn't include the whole screen to save gif space, but nothing shows up in the little script line at the bottom. If you want a recording of the whole screen anyway, let me know. The button I click is bnormal. Hidden behind a spoiler tag to not bog down the thread:
PS : edges should be smooth , else the generation is not accurate, it's "averaged"
@mediochrea hmmmm, I'll see what's the best thing to do , to counter it
Script is working as it should be and the results are good.
But, here's the thing....
It has the same issues as all other scripts that automate this process. I made some tests with manual script and bnormal.
On the left it's manual, on the right is bnormal:
(forgot to lock some back normals on left mesh, but nvm that part)
Basically two cubes pushed to the limit. I've drawn over the problematic area. You can say it isn't that much of a deal, but it depends on the scale of the mesh. If this was something really big, you would see problem area. If it was a small piece it wouldn't matter.
But let's say you do an airplane wing shape that isn't fully planar? Maybe it's gonna yield good results, but what if it doesn't? Not every mesh is going to be perfectly suited for the need, which is to be expected.
Where automatic doesn't work, I'd stick with the manual way.
All in all bnormal is working properly, def gonna use it whenever I can
But I did not save the file, because it's just a cube that was a bit modified. I'll see that I dig up something similar and send you.
@Niknesh (send me your mesh now ! ) , @Obscura and @mediochrea , Just fixed the cylinder, curvature seam issue, it wasn't happening on every cylinders, the thing was quite random, BUT I found a solution, and the version I will give you guys in this next update is better for performances
now for the moment I can offer these delicious and spicy screens:
This one is a 31 sides cylinder, I think, with the current version of BNormal, you will fail, but in the near future...
just Boolean example here
Edit : save your shelves if they are important, if any doubts, PM me
You can see here that bnormal -v 1 command is the best one, bnormal -v 2 is meh, bnormal -v 2 is the most useful with strict beveled cylinders
Note : in this case the difference is not obvious between Maya and bnormal -v 1 , because when the bevels are that small vertex normal calculation can be neglected, maya will give good results by default because the bevel 's faces don't have any influence, or a little...
things that could have made the output false:
-locked/calculated and locked normals = unlock'em
-hard edges (the mesh must be smooth whole !) = smooth'em
I created a box, bevel with 1 segment, soften all edges, then select object and run command "bnormal -v 1" in the MEL box. am I doing anything wrong?
that's all the info I have to share..
execute command.
@Tzur_H