boSliders 1.0 - Documentation

boSliders
1.0
Script Documentation
written by Bohdon Sayre

Description
Installation
Creating Sliders
Connecting Sliders
Disconnecting Sliders
Quick Connect Features
Modifying Slider Limits
General Info
Contact Info

Description

BoSliders is an advanced tool for setting up a Jason Osipa style facial rig quickly and efficiently. The main theory behind boSliders is that connections should be made by hands-on selection of the blendshapes that will be used in the final facial rig, rather than selecting names from a very long list. Sliders are created by default without any specific type, meaning they are neither vertical, horizontal, or box sliders. This is because the type of slider is determined automatically by how you connect the slider. You'll find that this makes the creation of sliders much faster, more flexible, and very clean.

Installation

Copy the boSliders.mel file to your maya scripts directory.
In most cases, this will be your ~user/MAYA/<version>/scripts folder.
Restart Maya, or run rehash in the script editor.
Run boSmear in the script editor, or drag it to a shelf for later use.

Creating Sliders

After running boSliders in the script editor or command line, the Sliders window will appear:

• To create a slider, just click Create Slider. You will be prompted for a name, and it does not have to be unique. The shape check boxes will determine which shapes are visible by default, but those options can be changed even after you create the slider.

• When you first create a slider, it will have no freedom (all of it's directions will be limited) but the limits will grow automatically as you connect shapes/attributes to the slider. This allows the type of slider to be determine by what connections you make with it. If you only connect +y and -y, then the slider will be a basic up and down slider. If you connect all four sides, then the slider will be a box slider, free to move in all four directions, etc...

• The Corner Interpolation drop down, and Active boxes will be used when making connections. They do not matter when you are creating a slider.

Connecting Sliders

• Before connecting a slider, you must make sure the slider is Active, and that the Sliders window is open. To set a slider as the Active slider, select it and hold the right mouse button, then choose the Set Active option from the marking menu. You will see it's name appear in the Active box of the Sliders window.
• To make any basic connection, you will select the blendshape or channel box attribute that you want to connect to, and right click in the model panel. A marking menu will popup with an option for every direction. Selecting a direction will connect the blendshape/attribute to that direction of the active slider.

[marking menu screen shot]

• [blend shape connections]
• [channel box connections]

• When connection anything to a corner direction (+x+y, +x-y, -x-y, or -x+y), the Corner Interpolation type selected in the Sliders window will be used. This determines how the blendshape/attribute will be controlled when the slider is moved. All interpolation types are unchangeable once assigned, but you can easily just change the interpolation type, and reconnect the corner. Below is a graph of all Corner Interpolation types and their uses.

• Single: This interpolation type is immensely useful for corrective blends. Because it does not exceed its own corner, you can assign a corrective blendshape to this corner that will only occur when the side connections next to it are both turned up. In this case, if +y and +x do not blend well together, you can assign a corrective blendshape to +x+y using Single corner interpolation, to fix their combined shape.

• Dual Combine: This is the default interpolation type. The "Dual" types always work on a horizontal level, so rotating the slider's group will affect how these work. If two corners next to each other (horizontally) are connected using Dual Combine then the position between those corners is a combination of both blendshapes/attributes, ie. both will have a value of 1. If two corners are next to each other vertically, they do not combine (their values are 0 at +x or -x).

• Dual Blend: Just like Dual Combine, except when the slider is in between two Dual Blend corners, their values will both be 0.5. This provides a very smooth blend between two blendshapes/attributes. Again, all Dual Blend corners are 0 at +x (or -x). If you are familiar with jsFacial, this is the special type known as 50/50.

• Triple Combine: Just like Dual Combine, except blendshapes/attributes also combine when they are next to each other veritically.

• Triple Blend: Just like Triple Combine, except values are at 0.5 when the slider is between two Triple Blend corners.

Disconnecting Sliders

Coming soon... [explains break all connections, break direction connection]

Quick Connection Features

Coming soon... [explains quick 4 edges, quick 2 horizontal, quick 2 vertical, quick 4 corners]

Modifying Slider Limits

Coming soon... [explains expand/shrink/preset limits]

General Info

Coming soon...

• boSliders 1.0 has been tested with Maya 2009 Service Pack 1a.

Contact Info

Feel free to email me with any questions, comments, tips or requests! I'll be glad to see what I can do.
Bohdon Sayre
bohdon at gmail dot com