Is there any way to create a custom poly mesh, and use that to FFD other objects in Maya? I don’t want to use a wrap deformer because A) they always produce artifacts in my experience, and B) I’d like to apply this on top of skinning, as a final tweak to a character’s pose. A lattice produces the effect that I am after, but the base cage cannot be customized enough to meet my needs.
I was inspired by an old Siggraph paper, available here if you want a better idea of what I’m imagining: http://graphics.pixar.com/library/HarmonicCoordinatesB/