Show in Contents

Add to Favorites

Home: Autodesk Maya Online Help

 

Copy smooth skin weights

Edit smooth skinning

Reset skin point weights to default weights

 

User Guide > Rigging > Character Setup > Skinning > Edit smooth skinning > 

Replace bound geometry with a piece of unbound geometry

If the unbound geometry you want to replace the skin (bound geometry) with has been freeze transformed to a different scale and translation than the skin, then do the following steps to prepare your geometry for substitution.

To prepare freeze transformed geometry for substitution

1. Select the skin’s skeleton, and then select Skin > Go To Bind Pose.
2. Select the unbound geometry, and set its Translate and Rotate XYZ values to 0 0 0 and its Scale XYZ values to 1 1 1.

   The skin and unbound geometry should now be roughly at the same position in XYZ space. If they are not at the same positions, you need to move the unbound geometry so that it appears to be on top of the skin in your scene view.

3. Select the unbound geometry, and then select Modify > Freeze Transformations.

   You can now move the unbound geometry or skin where ever you want or scale them, and the Substitute Geometry operation will produce desirable results.

To switch your character’s bound geometry with another piece of unbound geometry

1. Select your character’s bound geometry or skin.
2. -click the polygonal object that you want to swap with the selected skin.
   Note

   • When the piece of unbound geometry you want to swap is the duplicate of a skin (bound geometry), then Substitute Geometry will only produce valid results if the skin’s skeleton was at its bind pose when it was duplicated.
   • The unbound and bound pieces of geometry do not have to overlap during the Substitute Geometry operation, but for the operation to produce desirable results, the unbound and bound pieces of geometry need to have been created at the same XYZ position and size.
3. Select Skin > Edit Smooth Skin > Substitute Geometry.
   • The selected piece of unbound geometry moves and rotates to the position of your character’s bound geometry.
   • A duplicate of the bound geometry’s skeleton is created for the unbound piece of geometry and the skin weights from the original piece of bound geometry are transferred to the unbound geometry. Also, the new skin is given the name of the old skin to maintain any of the old skin’s connections.
   • By default, the original skin is deleted and the unbound piece of geometry becomes your character’s new skin. If you retained (Retain old skin option) the old piece of bound geometry, it is given the suffix 1.
     NoteTo abort the Substitute Geometry operation, press the key.

     All actions taken thus far are undone and your character is returned to its original state.