Shape Manager

Create NURBS curves for custom controllers, then make a library out of it so you can store and re-use them anytime.

Getting Started

1. Download and uzip the shape-manager package under %USERPROFILE%/Documents/maya/[current maya version]/scripts/ or a custom directory under PYTHONPATH env variable.

2. Launch through script editor:

   from shapeManager import shapeManager
   shapeManager.show()

Dependencies

• Qt: a module that supports different python qt bindings (Only needed if you need UI support functionalities)

  pip install Qt.py
  

Already packaged dependencies with locked version of the following, but you could also manually clone the latest using git clone --recursive

• pipelineUtil
• mayaUtil
• guiUtil

How To

Right-Click Menu:

Load: load the selected controller in your scene Delete: delete the selected entry in the shape library

Create:

Select all the nurbs curves (transform) you want to save out, enter the name of the controller and boom!

Folder Structure:

All data and thumbnails live in <ModulePath>/shape-library folder. In which, controller shape is stored as .json files and thumbnails as .jpg in thumbnail folder.

The pathing can be easily changed in code (SHAPE_PATH in shapeFile.py), but I didn't add the gui yet.

Shape Object

A controller shape is constructed by one or more nurbs curve(s). With each curve sharing same data structure: curve CVs, form, and degree represented in a .json file.

example of circle.json

{
    "shapes": [
        {
            "pts": [
                [
                    0.7836116248912245, 
                    4.798237340988473e-17, 
                    -0.7836116248912246
                ], 
                [
                    6.785732323110912e-17, 
                    6.785732323110912e-17, 
                    -1.1081941875543877
                ], 
                [
                    -0.7836116248912245, 
                    4.798237340988472e-17, 
                    -0.7836116248912244
                ], 
                [
                    -1.1081941875543881, 
                    3.517735619006027e-33, 
                    -5.74489823752483e-17
                ], 
                [
                    -0.7836116248912245, 
                    -4.7982373409884725e-17, 
                    0.7836116248912245
                ], 
                [
                    -1.1100856969603225e-16, 
                    -6.785732323110917e-17, 
                    1.1081941875543884
                ], 
                [
                    0.7836116248912245, 
                    -4.798237340988472e-17, 
                    0.7836116248912244
                ], 
                [
                    1.1081941875543881, 
                    -9.253679210110099e-33, 
                    1.511240500779959e-16
                ]
            ], 
            "form": 2, 
            "degree": 3
        }
    ], 
    "version": 0.1
}