Related topics
Below are descriptions of the attributes in
the cMuscleSpline node. To see these attributes, select a cMuscleSpline
object and open the Attribute Editor. For descriptions
of the spline control object attributes, see
cMuscleSplineDeformer node.
Draw
Sets what is displayed for the spline curve
itself.
- Off
-
Causes the spline to disappear.
- spline
-
- spline and points
-
Draws the spline and dots for each control point.
- spline, points and tangents
-
Draws the tangents as well.
- Color
-
Sets the display color of the spline curve.
NoteIn the Attribute Editor,
you can also use a regular Maya color swatch to set the color.
- Tolerance
-
Sets the level of quality used when calculating
the spline length and when drawing the curve. Lower values are rougher
and more inaccurate, higher values are more accurate. 24 is a good
default value, and does not have to be changed.
Tangent Mode
Sets the tangent mode. In order to understand
how this works, you can change the tangentMode and move
the controls around interactively to compare how they work in both
cases.
- relative
-
Tangents automatically grow/shrink based on
the distance from one control point to another. This can help result
in a smoother curve.
- absolute
-
The tangent length at each point is exactly
as it is set and does not change.
- Up Axis
-
Sets which axis for each control point is used
as the "up" axis. This is what controls the spin of the driven joints/nodes
along the curve. If you find you get flipping, you can switch the
up axis from X to Z or the reverse.
NoteThat twist is only handled up to 180 degrees,
after which you see a flip.
- Reset Frame
-
For jiggle calculation, this sets which frame
the jiggle resets on. Any jiggle on or before this frame is off.
You can key this value with a stepped key to get resetting of jiggle
on different frames as needed, for example if there are different
shots to be animated in one scene.
Dampen On Squash
Controls how the curve behaves with jiggle as
its length changes.
- 0
-
Jiggle values are applied as they are set.
- 1
-
The jiggle amount dampens down and the cycle
gets faster as the curve gets squashed.
Dampen On Stretch
Controls how the curve behaves with jiggle as
its length changes.
- 0
-
Jiggle values are applied as they are set.
- 1
-
The jiggle amount dampens down and the cycle
gets faster as the curve is stretched.
- Len Default/Squash/Stretch
-
Set the default/min/max length of the spline.
As the length goes from default to squash, the dampenOnSquash is affected,
and as it goes from default to stretch, the dampenOnStretch is
affected. If this spline is tied to a cMuscleSplineDeformer node,
these settings also set the driving of the muscle squash and stretch
as the spline length goes between these values.
NoteThese values do not clamp the actual length
of the spline, but set the min/max range for when the squash and
stretch can occur.
- Cur Len
-
An output of the spline that shows the current
length of the spline curve. This can be useful for custom rigging.
- Pct Squash/Stretch
-
An output value that shows the amount of squash
or stretch the spline is undergoing. The values range from 0 to 1.
As the curLen goes from the lenDefault to lenSquash,
the pctSquash goes from 0 to 1.
As the curLen goes from the lenDefault to lenStretch,
the pctStretch goes from 0 to 1.
These values can be useful for custom rigging.
