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mopKnit v1.1 for Maya

MoP
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MoP polycounter lvl 18
Hey folks,

Inspired by the slideKnit Maxscript which EricChadwick linked to recently, I figured Maya deserved something similar.

Basically it breaks a polygon mesh along its UV seams and deforms it to the UV layout in world space, creating a blendShape which you can use to transform it back to the original shape.

This means you can have a complex/organic modelled shape with a very straight and neat UV layout, then to add complex geometry you can just model it in a straight line, use mopKnit to set up the UV shape, then use Maya's own Wrap deformers to attach your geometry to the layout surface, and blend back to the original shape.

Here's an example of how it might be used. Image by Greg Petchkovsky, using a similar method in 3dsmax.

Download mopKnit v1.1 here!

Usage:
  • Unzip the two .mel files into your Maya scripts folder in My Documents.
  • Launch Maya.
  • To get the options window, type "mopKnitOptions;" into the command line to get the Options window. These settings are saved across Maya sessions.
  • Type "mopKnit;" into the command line to run the script with whatever settings were chosen in the Options window.
  • You can assign these commands to hotkeys or shelf buttons.
  • You should see new object(s) created, if you select it and look in the Channel Box, you'll see a "mopKnit_blendShape" node.
  • Adjust the "mopKnit_SourceShape" value to blend between the UV layout and the original shape.
Options window:
mopKnitOptions.png

As far as I can tell, there's only one real issue to be fixed so far - it doesn't weld up the edges which it splits to get the UV shape. It's not a big issue, it certainly doesn't stop the script from being useful, but it's a "neatness" thing that I'm going to look at sorting out later.

Obviously, if anyone runs into any bugs or issues, let me know and I'll try to fix them ASAP.

Enjoy!

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