Seeking help in creating a maya plug-in

#1

Where can I ask people who are experienced in programming to help me develop a plug-in for maya?

#2

Maybe here? If you have started your plugin and have specific questions, this is the right place to ask, we have some really good coders here who are familiar with the maya API.

#3

Do you intend to code it yourself and just have specific questions, or do you want to find someone to create it for you based on your requirements?

#4

Both. I’m new to coding.

#5

I need an answer right away.

#6

You didn’t ask anything else but where to ask. My response was: Ask here.

Where are your problems? Did you have a look a the devkit plugins and the manuals? What type of plugin do you want to write? Do you need a c++ plugin or will be a python plugin okay?

#7

This was a good answer - less than 24 hours after your original post.

Now you just need to ask a question. However, when you do, it will be best to create a new thread with a meaningful title that summarizes the nature of your question. Don’t keep adding to this one.

David

#8

I want to write a plug-in that involves scattering of points, voronoi tessellation, and filling a polygon outline with a parametric object.

#9

Fine, so do you have a question? Did you already start?

If you need a way to display points in maya, a locator plugin can do it (there are examples in the devkit).

#10

I did not start and I don’t intend to start right away. I have other projects to do first.

#11

Ah, okay. If you encounter problems, feel free to ask here.

#12

I want to develop a plug-in right away starting with two questions. First, how do I create parameters for a primitive like this https://vimeo.com/165752648? Second, how do I create a brush to comb or sculpt curves?

#13

Adding parameters to an node depends on your approach. If you build the node yourself with C++ or python API, you simply add parameters as you can see in every example in the devkit. If you want to manipulate existing nodes you can execute a script and use the addAttr command to add your own attributes.

#14

How do I open examples in the devkit?

#15

Most devkit examples come with a visual studio project file, at least for windows. I have no idea how it woks on linux. The scripted plugins are python files which can be loaded as they are.

#16

Would this also help me in creating custom tools, even though it’s 13 years old. https://www.amazon.com/Complete-Maya-Programming-Extensive-Kaufmann-ebook/dp/B001UN2WBG/ref=dp_kinw_strp_1

#17

Yes, this is still valid. Maybe not all examples will work but I think 99% is still the same. In some cases now a python API approach could be more useful and a lot of the mel scripting can be replaced by python and pymel.

#18

Don’t you have other projects to do first? :slight_smile:
(“I did not start and I don’t intend to start right away. I have other projects to do first.”)

Begin by reading the devkit tutorials. They should answer all these basic questions.

#19

Is it possible to see the code for this plugin in the script editor or do I have to read it outside of Maya in Visual Studio?
https://vimeo.com/165752648 I want to know exactly how the parameters were created.

#20

No. That plugin is written in c++ so you would need to get hold of the source code (which maya or may not be released to the public - you should ask the author maybe).

There many examples in the devkit. So you should have a look at those.

David