When
you apply a deformer to a subdivision surface selected as an object,
the deformer applies to the base (level 0) vertices. To apply the
deformer to a different level, select the vertices at that level
and then apply the deformer. You can assign blend shapes to vertices
at any level.
- If you delete a deformer and cannot switch
to Polygon Proxy mode, delete the
history or find the input geometry in the dependency graph and delete
it.
- Be careful if you have deformers on the
same part of the surface at different levels. Without parenting,
deformer bases can produce double transforms.
- Avoid
having different levels of vertices in the same deformer. For example,
if you create a full crease at level 1 and apply a wire close to
the object surface (level 0), then move the wire or its vertices,
the effect is very different than if you apply the wire to level
1 vertices.
- If the resulting deformation is undesirable,
unbind, delete history, and rebind at a finer level.
- You
may find that not all vertices are moved by a skeleton bound to
a subdivision surface at a level finer than 1 because all vertices
at the level were not selected or created before binding. To be
sure all vertices are selected, go to level 0 or 1, select all vertices,
then refine to the required level and select all.
- A deformer at level 2 can override the
deformation done at level 1. For example, if you have a weighted
cluster at level 1 and a blend shape at level 2, the cluster deformation
will disappear when the blend shape weight is set to one. Try putting
the blend shape at the finest level or on the same level as the
other deformers. You can also try changing the order of the deformations.
- A deformer at level 1 can move the surface
out of a deformer at a finer level (for example, lattices over the
same parts of the surface at levels 2 and 3 and in the case of level
2 lattices, it pulls it out of the range of the lattice at level
3).
- Switching to Polygon Proxy mode when
you have deformers and skeletons on the subdivision surface unbinds
the surface and loses weighting.
Creating blend shape and
cluster deformers for subdivision surfaces
To create a blend shape
for subdivision surfaces, you can either select the object or select
vertices on a given level. If you select the object, Maya blends all
vertices at all levels of the surface. If you select vertices of
a specific level, Maya blends only those vertices.
To create a cluster for
subdivision surfaces, you need an extra row of vertices completely
surrounding the vertices you want in the cluster. These extra vertices
should not be in the cluster itself, but they must exist on the
surface. Without the extra row, you will experience problems weighting
the vertices in the cluster.
If the extra row does
not exist, select the vertices and select
Subdiv Surfaces > Expand Selected Components.