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Today the Generizer got support for trim regions on the base model. As an example I took the company logo. [click on image to zoom in]

Since version 1.52 there’s support for an “Attractor” in the Generizer. So, what’s it actually? You could think of it as a magnet with the ability to control the flow of the field with a curve ramp. The videos below should make it a bit clearer what you can do with it.

[VIDEO 1: using a hemisphere as Attractor]

[VIDEO 2: using a NURBS cylinder as Attractor, twisting the generized templates]

In the upcoming version of SmartDuplicate the Generizer node will feature the first implementation of a 3-way blend mode. This texture driven method to create a blending between 4 different shapes brings the power of transformational design at your fingertips and is shown exemplary in the picture below. [click on image to zoom in]

All geometry types supported by the Generizer will be blendable. The reformations have constraints on their connectivity, meaning that the topology of the templates should match to get proper results.

The next version of SmartDuplicate will give you even more possibilities. Like creating a blending from one template to another. Of course all types of objects (polygonal meshes, NURBS surfaces and NURBS curves) are supported. See the picture below to get an impression of this new feature.

Just recently I had to set up my machine again and all the nice scripts, plug-ins and stuff for Maya had to be re-installed piece by piece. Tedious task to do and cross your fingers to not to forget anything. As you all know there are already installers for all commercial plug-ins in place which make it a most pleasant task to set them up. That’s why I decided to wrap the freeware stuff up and build it an installer as well. At the moment the installers and plug-ins are Windows only but Linux and MacOSX versions are around the corner.

The t01.mufpi project which is an acronym for ticket01’s most useful free plug-ins can be found here. Among the usual suspects (ToggleUndo and WireFrameRender) you will find a new tool called MultiRename coming with it. Besides the fact that you can now reliably rename tons of objects at once, Maya’s internal rename tool sucks hell at this task, additionally you get a live preview of what’s going to happen before you actually fire the tool. It’s especially meant for all the “Importers” and “Referencers” among you guys.

Here’s a quick example where it might come in handy:

This is a very common setup after having imported a referenced scene. The namespace is being prepended followed by a colon. Although this may seem very nice to prevent name clashing in your scene it will eventually blow in your face after a while. Just think of the case that you might be importing this scene into another one.

The MultiRename works in a very straightforward way:

1. Select the objects to rename in the left pane.
2. Enter the phrase to be deleted/replaced into the Find text field.
3. Enter the replacement phrase into the Replace text field. (Optional)
4. Hit the Rename button after having confirmed everything in the live preview.

Please be assured that until you hit the Rename button the right pane only acts as a live preview doing nothing to your current scene.

Enjoy and as usual contact me in case I screwed something up.

EDIT: Something must definitively be wrong here, the port to OSX went well in under 2 hours! Mh, I’m still not completely buying it Would somebody please test it?