[Maya] Move/Rotate mesh components non-destructible-y?
polycounter
TLDR: Any way in Maya (or, if not, Max) to have some kind of volumes modifying mesh components, so that I could replace the mesh later if needed with another very similar one, yet have these volume changes instantly applied?
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Full story:
The status quo: The general workflow is that the client sends his highpolies with textures -> We create the lowpolies and transfer textures onto these -> We rig them to preexisting rigs and put them in the game.
The problem: Now, for specific reasons, the client has started sending highpolies in a different scale and pose, meaning that we have to scale & twist the model a little bit, sooner or later down the pipeline, to fit with the preexisting rigs.
-> Usually I'd modify the HP first so that it fits with the rig, and only then start retopologizing, but more often than not the fixes won't be perfect, and some tweaks will still be needed once my lowpoly is done and initial bone weighting reveals these issues.
-> Not only I have to account for that, but the fact that the client may still request changes to the lowpoly, for which I could need to go back to the original, unmodified lowpoly. If I did this, I would once again need to modify the lowpoly to fit to the rig, etc...
Is there not a smarter way to go about this? I'm working in Maya 18, but I could jump onto Max 18 or even download Blender if needed, though I would rather avoid having to export&import for this. Any way in Maya to create some volumes that could move/rotate verts within them, so that I could replace my lowpoly mesh with another one and have those same changes apply, like an Edit Poly modifier from Max that wouldn't break after you change the topology/UVs?
---
Full story:
The status quo: The general workflow is that the client sends his highpolies with textures -> We create the lowpolies and transfer textures onto these -> We rig them to preexisting rigs and put them in the game.
The problem: Now, for specific reasons, the client has started sending highpolies in a different scale and pose, meaning that we have to scale & twist the model a little bit, sooner or later down the pipeline, to fit with the preexisting rigs.
-> Usually I'd modify the HP first so that it fits with the rig, and only then start retopologizing, but more often than not the fixes won't be perfect, and some tweaks will still be needed once my lowpoly is done and initial bone weighting reveals these issues.
-> Not only I have to account for that, but the fact that the client may still request changes to the lowpoly, for which I could need to go back to the original, unmodified lowpoly. If I did this, I would once again need to modify the lowpoly to fit to the rig, etc...
Is there not a smarter way to go about this? I'm working in Maya 18, but I could jump onto Max 18 or even download Blender if needed, though I would rather avoid having to export&import for this. Any way in Maya to create some volumes that could move/rotate verts within them, so that I could replace my lowpoly mesh with another one and have those same changes apply, like an Edit Poly modifier from Max that wouldn't break after you change the topology/UVs?
Replies
Wrap deformers can be a bit messy in general, but you can use them like a custom shaped lattice and can give great results depending on the scenario. I don't think you can (easily) add objects to an existing wrap node, but you can use the same cage mesh as a wrapper for multiple objects. You'll need to do all your cage edits inside a blend shape so you can set it back to zero to add another object later. However, I find that getting the wrap mesh just right can be a pain in the ass, it's often helpful to add extra "holding edges" to limit influence areas.
Or in other words: current Low and High poly are driven by some other mesh (the wrap cage) via a Wrap Deformer. The wrap cage has a blend shape where all vert tweaks are done for fitting. The New Low poly enters the scene, so to match it with the others. Set the wrap's blendshape to 0 to go back to the original un-tweaked shape, and apply the cage as a Wrap to the New Low poly, then dial the blendshape back up.
@throttlekitty wrap deformers and blend shapes...that's a great idea! And Transfer Attributes, I'm kicking myself right now for not having thought of that. So long as some areas still retain the same topology or UV coordinates, I could snap them to the new position with that. Thanks for the suggestions, they're great!