Happy New Year , I've finally finished the DynamicChainSetupTool I promised :)
DOWNLOAD HERE (Cubebrush link)
Maya versions: 2014 - 2018
Place the dynamcChainSetupTool folder in your scripts folder. Run these lines in a python tab in the script editor:
from dynamicChainSetupTool import dynamicChainSetup as dc
dc.show()
The tool is a simpler version of the tool I wrote for Crytek and showed in my demo reel.
In the Add Rigging tab you can build the rig with your choice of no. of controllers and a controller shape.
You can also give the rig a prefix, if you don't give it a prefix it will take the name of the start joint as a prefix.
In the nucleus and the hair system drop down menus, you will see a list of all nuclei and hair systems in the scene in case you want to use any of them for your rig.
If you create manually new nucleus or hair system while the tool is open just click refresh to add them to the drop down menus in the UI.
Now you are ready to create the rig, it is a very simple IK behaving like Fk setup. Remember you need ti keep the dynamic curve smooth for best simulation results.
In the Simulation tab, just make sure you have a controller selected and get the nodes that you like.
I don't know about y'all but the times Maya crashed on me trying to walk the attribute editor to select the hair system made me REALLY appreciate this tool.. this is honestly my favorite part about the whole thing.
Another functionality is the baking rig, there you can bake the dynamics simulation onto controllers. Then you have that simulation as animation curves.
This will allow you to fix some collision problems, add another animation layer or make the animation loop-able for a game animation.
All of this without breaking the dynamics rig, which would happen if you bake results on the joints.
In the functions section you can assign an existing or new hair system or nucleus to you rig.
I hope you enjoy the tool, I will really appreciate if you let me know how it works for you. If you have any questions or problems using it, feel free to post here. Thanks!