MGtools is an mel package for Maya character animator.This tool package
is written for great efficiency and speed in your workflow so that
animator can focus more on animation acting.
All tools are written in MEL language, All operation are Maya's default
node operation, So don't be worried about the universal aspect of your
scene file.
This Help system will explain every single tool in detail.
MGtools' main feature list:
•Neat, flexible, decent designed UI.
•U can embed any user MEL, integrate them into a single bar and into
popupMenu of MGtools's MGshelf icon as well.
•U can embed any folder shortCut.by this animators can visit certain
folder very quickly. There are "Maya program directory","Maya script
directory","Maya failSave directory " quick entry in popup Menu as well.
•U can embed any file / program shortCut to quickly visit them.
•Floating MGchannelBox, and there are special features beside the
default features of Maya's channelBox.These functions are all base on
MarkingMenu.
•Selection set feature which is base on exterior ".set" file. All this
set could be listed both in long name and shelf mode in Selection set
UI. meanwhile the selection set can be retargeted to select the other
characters. All sets could be converted into traditional shelf and vice
versa 。(Which is often the favorite of most animators.) They could be
saved with your scenes if U want .(Using Loators)
•Selection Manager, U can manager selection temporarily very easily. for
example : Current selection plus / Minus / Intersect the former
selection / Copy paste animation.
•Constraint Tool, which is build for great efficiency in constraint
objects. When doing constrainting, it will autoSkip the locked channels
of the object to be contrainted, or constraint the second selection's
parent,etc.
•Constraint lister. Select constrainted object and load it ,U r able to
select among the contrainter , contrainted object and the contraint node
quickly, clear constraint, correct weight attr name,or export / Import
constraint offset ,etc.
•Select smoothBind joint via selected vertex.Use this joint to
constraint props or something.
•Two or three viewport configuration switch which could be customized.
No longer need to click all stuff in maya's viewPort menuItems.
•Display layer set. U can store the display layer information as an
external file.Use them to build displayLayer quickly.
•Snap feature. This could be the tool U gonna used most. Other than most
other snap tools, it is speciallized for animation stage other than
rigging stage . U can quick snap feet, point snap, orient snap, or
relative snap. all this snap will be resulted in keyframe. A boring snap
progress could be finished in a jiffy and intuitively .
•Animatable pivot stuff. Make selected controller 's pivot be animatable
without a pop. The Pivot stuff will be independent to selection and
control the latter with constraint.
•MG-Animation Library. U can built and update your library directly
through the Mel UI. Export / Import animation become so easy.
•MG-Timer. record time in any frame rate or HH:MM:SS like form. U can
input time data to covert to other frame rate as well.
•MB-MA Converter .Sometime maya will popout "Scenes can't change format"
warning which u can used this tool to handle.
•Reference tools. Export / Import reference, remove reference( with the
namespace ), correcting namespace by force.
•HUD Display. U can display Current Frame / Total Frames, Animator name,
Scene name,Camera name information in your model panel view. U can also
customize the position of them and after that it could be save as a
external config file which could be reused in future.
•Make the selection sticky in your model panel viewport, such as emotion
control panel. U can build "sticky viewport " via current selection as
well.
•BackUP / Restore animation. These will be saved as locators with your
working scenes.
•Position marker. supports multi-selections and multi-frames.
•Draw a curve via current selection's keyFrames / allFrames .The curve
could be used in motionPath animation.
•MotionPath calculator. input necessary information ,it will give u the
right U value and the frame that helps preventing your character from
floating feet.
•All main futures could be set hotkey through MGtools config. also they
could be installed to shelf, set to be autoloaded with maya.U can switch
MGtools all UI language between English and Chinese.
All these issues are fairy simply theoretically, but all of them are
written for troubleshooting in animation stage. They really costed me a
lot of time to write and debug. Hopes they could help U well.