Just a reminder that I updated poseLib yesterday (v4.5.6), so if you use Maya 2011 you should install the Service Pack 1 (available on Autodesk’s website) and try the new poseLib version. Several things have been revamped, among which the namespace system, which is now more simple and intuitive to use.
On an unrelated note, Despicable Me did quite well in the US and ended up number 10 of all time animated movies. Not bad for something that’s not a sequel nor based on an existing intellectual property!
I worked a bit on an old model’s head to simplify the topology (although it’s by no means optimized yet). I also tried to find a better skin tone directly within Sandbox2. The difficult part is to get something that will hold up well enough under very different lighting conditions. During the process it became obvious that I’ll have to rework the texture maps at some point, but it’ll have to do for now…
I know there are already several renaming scripts for Maya out there, but each time I tried one out I found its interface (or overall method) to be unintuitive at best. I just hated having to stop and think twice about how to get what I needed, so I made this tool. It’s written in Python and it’s very simple to use!
I’ve just uploaded a new tutorial about building a tree for the Cryengine2. It talks about the method I follow to model a tree in Maya and then export it into Crysis. All this using of course MayaCGF! 😀
“Despicable Me” has just been released over the week-end in the US, and apparently it did, shall we say, very well. It is the first movie on which I directed the animation. And after leaving Dreamworks (and having worked there for more than 10 years), let me tell you it’s a great feeling. But I mean, it’s also very surreal; our “small” movie did more on its opening week-end than the latest Dreamworks movie. The mind boggles. Now is it going to have legs? No one knows, of course…
So congratulation to the animators and everyone at MacGuff. And a big Thank You to everyone who sent in a kind word!
I just released a new version of poseLib for Maya 2011. It’s compatible with Windows and Linux (didn’t test it on a Mac, since I don’t have one). Between Highend3d and this site, poseLib’s been downloaded well over 20,000 times. And I know for a fact that it’s being used on production by movie and video-game studios worldwide. And do you know how many people expressed their support by donating? Two. Funny, no? 😛
Here is a simple walk cycle made in Maya and exported to Sandbox2. I did it mostly to test the attachment concept with MayaCGF. So the only smooth skinned elements are the bones and the chainmail cowl. The other attachments (shield, sword, etc…) are rigid. Note that the secondary animation on the quiver is automatic; you just choose an axis and a damping value.
