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View Full Version : Blendshapes, clusters and skin weights

Andrei2k
02-17-2005, 12:21 AM
I recently rigged a character and weighted it before doing my blend shapes.
I would like to use the unchecked "use topology" method for blend shape in order to not have a history on my bound meshes to make the neck seamless.

However I also have clusters on the head, so I need to save out my weights, unskin, rebind reload weights on the head merged to the body already so i can apply my blend shapes.


1. How does maya technically handle weight maps with history? Specifically a head and body weighed seperately that is then merged into one. Are the weight maps still mesh dependent on the head and body seperately through the histrory?

2. Is this (answer above) why I cant save out weight maps, then merge the character and import weights back? and how would this be possible.

3. I want to often delete non-skin history but keep my clusters and cluster weights. Since to my knowledge the clusters weights depend on vertex id's I should be able to merge meshes together and import clusters and their weights right? Is there a workaround to import clusters or do I have to develop one?

I am familiar with a lot of different methods of rigging but I am experimenting in order to test out new workflows. Thank you.
misterdi
02-17-2005, 02:24 AM
Isn't check topology is only checking whether you have same topology (number of vertices) between the base model and the target model. Isn't blendshape should always have history to work?.

If you have rigged and weighted your skin, you may want to use advanced->Deformation Order as Front Of Chain when you create the blendshape node, so blendshape node will be located first in the hypergraph in-front of other deformer (including skin). That's mean you don't need to un-bind the skin.

As for other deformer, maybe you could play around with the deformer order using the input list.

Best regards,
Andrei2k
02-17-2005, 03:39 AM
I know what you are saying but that is not what I am looking for.

I need to keep my weights unbind merge two meshes then rebind and re-import weights so i can use blendshape from just the head to the head + body in one.

and I want to do more with exporting and importing clusters....
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02-17-2006, 04:00 AM
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