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Convert Maya skin to Maya Muscle

Skin Deformation

Re-Initialize setup data on Maya Muscle

 

User Guide > Rigging > Maya Muscle > Skin Deformation > 

Connect Muscle Objects to a Muscle deformer

Once you have added a Muscle Object shape node to an object, you can connect it to a Muscle skin deformer. The process is slightly different depending on what type of object you are connecting.

To connect capsules or polygon mesh bones to a Muscle deformer

1. Select the capsule(s) or polygon object(s) you want to connect and select one or more skin objects that have the Muscle deformer applied. The order of selection does not matter.
   NoteMake sure the skin and bones are in the default base pose position that you want as the default skin binding position.
2. Select Muscle > Muscle Objects > Connect selected Muscle Objects from the main menu bar.

   The selected objects are immediately connected. The Sticky Bind dialog box appears as Maya Muscle connects the surface of each object to the surface of your mesh with Sticky weights.

   

To connect NURBS objects to a Muscle deformer

1. Select the NURBS object(s) you want to connect, then select one or more skin objects that have a Muscle deformer applied. The order of selection does not matter.
   NoteMake sure the skin and bones are in the default base pose position that you want as the default skin binding position.
2. Select Muscle > Muscle Objects > Connect selected Muscle Objects from the main menu bar.

   The Sticky Bind Maximum Distance dialog box appears. This dialog box lets you set how far a point can be from the center of the NURBS muscle and be properly Sticky weighted. For example, you usually do not need a muscle for the right arm to affect points on the left leg of a mesh. You can use this dialog box to limit the area of effect the muscle will have on the mesh.

3. In the Sticky Bind Maximum Distance dialog box, select the option you want to use:
   • Click Auto-Calculate to let Maya Muscle calculate the best Sticky Bind distance for each selected NURBS muscle.
     TipMaya Muscle also has a visualization tool that lets you see the area the Auto-Calculate option will use before you connect the muscle. See Visualize Sticky Bind distance.

     In addition, the Show Warnings attribute (when set to on) tells you which points (if any) are outside the range of the Sticky Bind distance and to which muscle. This can be helpful to determine if and when you need to rebind-sticky for certain muscles.

   • Click Avg. Value to use the number you specify in the Max. Distance from center of muscle value field. (The default value that displays is the average value for all selected NURBS objects. This value is acceptable if all the selected muscles are about the same size. )

     Any point outside of this maximum distance value is ignored during the initial muscle connection. This speeds up the calculation of the connection of muscles for larger meshes.

     If you later try to weight to a point outside the Max. distance value, that point is calculated on the fly (and slows down deformation). If this happens, you can go back and re-Bind the Sticky data for the muscle to correct it. You can also correct using the Muscle > Skin Setup > Auto-Fix Invalid Sticky Bind Points menu item.

   • Click ALL Points to connect the muscle so it can be weighted to any point on the mesh.

   See Sticky Bind Maximum Distance dialog box for more information.

   The Sticky Bind dialog box appears as each muscle is processed and connected.

When finished, your muscles, bones, and capsules are connected to the Maya Muscle skin deformer, and you can paint/set weights. See Paint Muscle weights.