MasterClass finally on Vimeo

Finally added the MasterClass to Vimeo for you all to enjoy... thanks for watching!
Autodesk MasterClass - Live Animation Binding from Mark Jackson on Vimeo.
Don't forget the Toolkit link below

MasterClass - New Maya cmds compatible version

After a number of requests I've gone through the MasterClass toolkit and made it backward compatible with Maya 2008 onwards (actually I've only run it back to 2009 but should still work on 2008). This is kind of tested but if you get any issues let me know and I'll fix them. Basically all I've done is to remove the PyMel calls and replace them with cmds, also made it Python 2.5 compliant.

Anyway, here's the link to the new AnimationBinderCmds.py module file. Install is easy, like the main class all you do is drop it into the Maya scripts folder, or any folder on the Maya scripts path, then in a Python Tab type: (with no tabs or spaces at the front of each line)

import AnimationBinderCmds as AB
AB.AnimBinderUI.Show()

Here's the link:


AnimationBinderCmds.py


Thanks for the interest

Mark

MasterClass update

I've been asked by a few people for a version of the MasterClass code that will run in earlier versions of Maya. The code I shipped originally relied on PyMel as well as Python 2.6 so wouldn't run under Maya 2009. I'm just finishing converting the module, no bug deal really. Hopefully should have a version ready in the next day or two.

cheers

Mark

Maya 2012 Subscription Advantage Pack is available for download

Maya 2012 SAP's pack released for download on subscription center:

The Autodesk® Subscription Advantage Pack for Autodesk® Maya® 2012 is available exclusively for Autodesk Subscription customers through download at the Autodesk Subscription Center.

Features:
Alembic point caching—Efficiently manage complex simulated and animated data, with the ability to read and write Alembic open computer graphics interchange format.

Bullet Physics—Create highly realistic soft body, rigid body, and ragdoll simulations with high-performance open source AMD Bullet Physics engine.

New Node Editor—Manage and debug complex node networks with a new Node Editor that features drag-and-drop connections, color coding, and three levels of detail.

Maya2012 Export Selected with DisplayLayers

This is just a warning for anybody who, like use uses Export Selected as an optimize method. Be warned, in 2012 if you select objects with display layers then exportSelected and then re-import, those display layers will be lost. Never had this before, 2011 was fine. This only showed up in 2012 and again, has broken another internal pipeline tool, another bug logged.

HotKey Alt<> broken in 2012

Just a quick post about the hotkey mapping in 2012. The main Alt<> keys which advance time in the UI's are now broken in the GrapthEditor, this has been driving some of our animator mad as you can imagine. The command thats now bound to it in 2012 is wrong (a fix in due from Autodesk but not sure if it'll get into the SP1 release). So the bug is that the commands bound to the NextFrame and PreviousFrame calls look if the current UI is a scriptedPanel and only advance the time if that panel is the CameraSequencer...Wrong! Here's the fix for the NextFrame, for Previous from just put -1 in the `cuurentTime -q` -1 block

string $currentPanel = `getPanel -withFocus`; 
if((`getPanel -to $currentPanel`== "scriptedPanel") && (`scriptedPanel -q -type $currentPanel`== "sequenceEditorPanel"))
{ 
sequenceManager -ct ( `sequenceManager -q -ct ` + 1 ); 
} 
else { currentTime ( `currentTime -q` + 1 );}

Maya's current command bound to the Alt> key

string $currentPanel = `getPanel -withFocus`; 
string $panelType = `getPanel -to $currentPanel`; 
if ($panelType == "scriptedPanel") 
{ 
    string $scriptedPanelType = `scriptedPanel -q -type $currentPanel`; 
    if ( $scriptedPanelType == "sequenceEditorPanel")
    { sequenceManager -ct ( `sequenceManager -q -ct ` + 1 ); }
}
else { currentTime ( `currentTime -q` + 1 ); }

Maya Command Completion issues in Python

Something Dave discovered a while ago and has just come back to bite us again is that the dot code completion in the scriptEditor in Maya is actually RUNNING the code inside Python property blocks when you call a dot complete (Ctrl+Space). It's not just returning the function/property list by using something like the inspect module, but actually running the property itself. The same is true when
you hit return to accept and fill that function/property in the script editor.

Test it, add this in a Python Script window:

import pymel.core as pCore

class AutoCompleteTest(object):

    def __init__(self):
        pass

    @property
    def Test(self):
        print "Im being CALLED Multiple times!!!!!\n" 
        pCore.newFile(force=True)

Now do the following:

com=AutoCompleteTest()

turn on ’Command Completion’ and do a dot complete to inspect the com object you just made!

The property is now being RUN. So what you ask? Well lets say you are doing something stupid like the fileNew example above, just by trying to get code completion you've actually nuked your scene. Also because it's doing this for all the inspect calls it means that it's running all code, in all property blocks which makes it very, very slow!

Mark