3 meshes but i only want to rigg/weight one is it possible?

[carlos_ramiro]

In Max, you can use Skin Wrap modifier. Take a look at help file, it's pretty well explained how does it works.

[archanex]

2) If i have a smooth modifier node on my base mesh of 8k polys set to division 1 the poly count is exactly the same as my zbrush sub division 2 mesh. Is there a way i can have it be a blend shape since the count is the same? (note: i have tried the defaut options it didnt work)


The only way you could get this to work is if the vert numbers were exactly the same on both meshes. I saw a script that does this in Max, though I'm less familiar with maya


4) Is there anyway i could animate/weight/rigg with the lowest mesh and then swap it out for the sub 3 mesh without having it be weighted rigged and such?


You should look into displacement maps

[JYoung]

You can use a wrap deformer to drive a hi res mesh with a low res. You could also smooth bind both, paint weights for the low res, and copy weights to the higher res.

[edwardG]

I could be wrong, but I thought that Zbrush had a cage modifier or something like that where you could produce a low-res OBJ from Zbrush, bring it into maya, and the Smooth function would restore the changes you made in Zbrush. Then, you could just weight the cage model, apply a smooth with 2 or 3 divisions, and it would be properly weighted.

The smooth will get rid of your details unless you can find a way for Zbrush to translate those to maya's smooth function.

[LucentDreams]

Some apps (XSI/Cinema 4D, and I think maya in 2008 version) have projection systems that can project weights from one mesh to another of totally different point counts or even shape. They can also project things like morphs, UV's and such.

That said going form low to high may help save some steps in weighting, but is never going to be perfect, partly because a highres mesh will have a lot more points and there for bend a lot sharper if using the low res weighting. It'd be better to weight the highres and then transfer that to low res if you want a one step and done solution. You could probably go low to high and then smooth here and there.

[PEN]

Max has had a feature for years now where you can project the weights off one mesh onto another. Doesn't matter what they are and even the bone names can be differernt but you will have to do some remapping to get it to work if that is the case.

[arctor]

just for completeness - Houdini > Attribute Transfer

[Gaia942]

Thank you everyone for your replys i recently found a mel script called skinXfer.mel

"This script will copy skinCluster weights from one object to another based on point position (poly mesh only). It'll automatically bind target geometry w/matching influence as the source. Great for copy weighting from lores to hires and modified geometry.
Will interpolate weighting information based on closest points from source."

Tt was made for version 6 of maya tho i hope the code hasnt changed much since then. It would be cool if maya had a weight projection system but im not sure if it does.....

[Gaia942]

Ok so i have tryed the skinxfer plugin with no luck it was build for maya 6 and requires a mll that only works on maya... 6 closestpointonmesh...

-Yungimoto thanks!

That being said i have found using a wrap deforomer works quite well although there are some small lumps here and there.... pretty sure its because of the weightmap. It is a very quick fix to my problem whether it would create *perfect* deformations in the long run is yet to be known..
I would like to see someones animation who went down the wrap derformer path that would be handy...

Yungimoto do you also know if the wrap deformer will look great with good weight maps? as it seems to work well if the wieghts are done well going off my 5 minute experimentation.

[finalgathering]

Sounds like standard stuff in XSI...
http://www.softimage.com/products/xsi/videos.aspx?video_id=1

Use the trial...transfer back with crosswalk.
Or stick with XSI ;)

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