Updating, Thanks!!!
Hello I am trying Maya 2016 and ran into a few problems one of them is when I try to create a character rig i get this warning and nothing works: Warning The-bs/-borderStyle flag is obsolete and should not be used. How do I get passed that?
When I see this, it is usually because I have a model in my scene that is named the same as something else in my scene. The most common is having a head mesh and a head bone named the same. Or a mesh and a material. The other time I’ve seen it is when the model is not polygonal, and instead a nurbs or subD model.
If you can turn on the stack trace in the script editor as well as show line numbers, and post the result, that might help narrow it down if it isn’t the above two issues. Anytime you can send a file as well will really help me get you an answer quickly (.@epicgames.com)
Cheers!
oh! You’re in 2013! I think that file may have been saved in 2014, breaking compatibility. Let me see if I can’t update that.
I have not tested in 2016 yet, but I will give it a shot tonight. I recently got it installed, though we’re still using 2014 at work.
I haaaate it when autodesk makes code obsolete. It’s the worst…
I just tested in 2016 and all worked well with the 4.8 scripts. (I do get the warning spam, but it doesnt seem to effect anything). It looks like the UI doesn’t show up, but it’s actually there on the far right side in a tab. Something about this version changed and the UI doesn’t auto-focus to show now.
I went all the way through the entire process and built the final rig without issue.
Hi ,
First off thanks so much for this awesome tool. My wife is an animator and she absolutely loves the tool. We’re working on some projects together and have a few questions:
NOTE: we are using 4.8 tool set and maya 2014.
- Why is there only one big toe controller instead of two?
- Why is toe animation not preserved when exporting as anim?
- Why is the Y forward? (Is it because Z up in maya makes Y forward instead of X?)
- We have noticed that AutoHips does not seem to work. Is this a known issue?
- We’ve noticed that when building the rig Maya will sometimes crashes two or three times before it succeeds. Is this expected or known? (I can post error when we see it again, but it’s fatal error)
Lastly, when editing the joints positions in the export file via going back and updating per the skeleton placement. Rebuilding the rig works and we can export and import the new Skeletal Mesh fine.(It looks as expected in engine) But the previous animations we imported are broken on the new SK. If we update the animations (aka load the Anim and re-export as FBX) they look fine. Is this normal? I assume, because the translation of the joints changed the previous animations no longer work?
If this is the case and all the animations need to be updated. Is something like a mass Anim Exporter possible? Re-exporting 10-20 anims is not a big deal but if things grow to 50-100 it could be much more troublesome. (Of course edits this late are a worst case scenario kind of thing.)
Thanks for the speedy reply, sorry I forgot about the expanded script editor options, heres the full report from load to error:
I’m assuming from the more detailed version there is saved weights that isn’t jivving with the actual file?
Hey guys, is it possible to create animation on my character trough Unreal Engine, or does I have animate my model with another program like blender or maya ? 
Thanks
Hi ,
I don’t know if it has been asked before but how can I export the skeleton with IK end effectors like the official rig? When I opened my export rig file I could not find them.
Did I miss something or do I need some pre/post build scripts.
Thanks.
Maya 2016 is really buggy with this kit, I know you said you did rig a character and go through the process in 2016, but did you export one and not have like a billion warnings through the typical rig creation process? Because I re-installed and tried for hours and maya 2015 seems to run perfectly smooth but 2016 is just a chaos nightmare if you really get into it, hopefully it can be fixed
Also do you have any rig recommendations for quadrapeds and other types of non humans?
Rapid rig modular? http://www.creativecrash.com/maya/script/-rapid-rig-modular-procedural-auto-rig-for-maya
Hey ,
I noticed that the Facial Rigging Toolkit will be in a future release. Is that being worked on at all, or do you have an idea of the time-frame for it’s release? Thanks.
Hi ,
first, thanks for this toolkit!
With the latest download from dropbox on win7x64 and Maya 2015Ext1sp6, when I try to edit the Mannequin Rig file, have it assume the Model Pose, I get:
Error: RuntimeError: file F:/UNREAL_database/Epic Games/4.8/Engine/Extras/Maya_AnimationRiggingTools/MayaTools/General/Scripts\ART_skeletonBuilder_UI.py line 6641: setAttr: The attribute ‘root.translateX’ is locked or connected and cannot be modified.
Trying to assume Model pose for the Export file (Mannequin_Export.mb) works.
I´m not sure I understand how I could achieve the following:
- Use the Mannequin_Export.mb in Model pose during modeling as a reference/template while creating a character mesh that´ll work nice with the default/sample animations in engine.
- Use the Mannequin Rig in Model pose as a starting point for a new skeleton template with proper proportions and positioning to rig the custom character with
Of course, I could build a new rig using the Character Rig Creator but I want to try and minimize general proportional differences.
Is the EpicGames_Mannequin_Settings.txt the proper Template to load into Rig Builder?
–edit–
In UT 4.8.x, looking at the skeleton mesh of the Mannequin, the default pose exported/shipped with the engine seems to be the model pose, not the animation pose
as in loading a Mannequin_Export.mb. I like the model pose better but could understand why the T-Pose is in the Mannequin_Export.mb, as that probably makes alignment
to Maya´s HIK for using other sample files easier, like from any Motionbuilder samples or Autodesk Character Creator files coming in as HIK T-Pose meshes&rigs?
Looking through the latest dropbox download, I found
EpicGames_Mannequin_Settings.txt (should go into …/SkeletonTemplates)
and
EpicGames_Mannequin_Placement.txt (should go into …/JointMoverTemplates)
It would be nice if you could place these in their respective folders, so they show up as presets without having to manually copy them first.
It took me a few brute force trial&error runs to properly understand which *.txt file to load where and when while creating a new rig using
the Character Rig Creator. I also didn´t realize one has to load two presets, one for the “number of bones” and then in the
next step one for “placement of bones”. Maybe you can hint to that (separate presets, same button location) in the help files?
Another thing:
Thanks again for all this stuff! It´s very, very rewarding to be able to use all the samples you guys provide to learn from.
The image I´ve added shows the first draft of my character mesh, hands still mannequin, everything else pretty much kite demo, except for the first few textures…
I didn’t see a reply to this, and I’m having the same issue. Here’s the stack trace:
# Error: Freeze Transform was not applied because result_leg_ball_l.rotateX has incoming connection.
# Traceback (most recent call last):
# File "C:/Projects/MyProj/MayaTools/General/Scripts\ART_skeletonBuilder_UI.py", line 8657, in screenshot_take
# self.publish(project, characterName, handCtrlSpace)
# File "C:/Projects/MyProj/MayaTools/General/Scripts\ART_skeletonBuilder_UI.py", line 7477, in publish
# ART_autoRigger.AutoRigger(handCtrlSpace, self.widgets"publishUI_ProgressBar"])
# File "C:/Projects/MyProj/MayaTools/General/Scripts\ART_autoRigger.py", line 74, in __init__
# self.finishLegs()
# File "C:/Projects/MyProj/MayaTools/General/Scripts\ART_autoRigger.py", line 3962, in finishLegs
# cmds.makeIdentity(thighJoint, t = 0, r = 1, s = 0, apply = True)
# RuntimeError: Freeze Transform was not applied because result_leg_ball_l.rotateX has incoming connection. #
C:/Users/Johnny/Documents/maya/2014-x64/scripts/
C:/Users/Johnny/Documents/maya/2014-x64/prefs/
C:/Users/Johnny/Documents/maya/2014-x64/scripts/mayaTools.txt
Custom Maya Menu: SetupScene
Update, I think I found the issue. With a clean Prefs folder I did some tests. Upon opening a new instance of Maya before building a character, I made:
- A rig with Skeleton Creation Settings to default – works fine
- A rig with Skeleton Creation Settings: in the Left Leg menu click “Include Ball Joint”. In this order: then in Right Leg menu click “Same as Left Leg” (notice the “Include Ball Joint” in right leg gets auto checked). – this builds fine.
- A rig with Skeleton Creation Settings: in the Left Leg menu click “Include Ball Joint”. In this order: then in Right Leg menu click “Same as Left Leg”, but unclick the Right Leg menu’s “Include Ball Joint” – this will not build and throws the error.
So with #3, I guess I was assuming that it didn’t matter that the Ball Joint box was checked – I thought ‘Same as Left Leg’ kept it checked behind the scenes or something. It might be better to check that box and grey it out, so it is only editable when “Same as Left Leg” is set to off.
Anyway hope that helps anyone stumbling upon this.
Not sure if anyone else is having this issue. I’m on latest scripts as of 7/21/15 and am noticing that while the IK knee twists work in 2014, they don’t in 2015 or 2016. In the later versions, the IK knees move the entire foot as well and don’t keep it locked in place.
I’m making the rig in 2014, and then opening it in later versions, so I’m guessing it might be some kind of Maya update causing it.
Edit: If I clear my Prefs folder it works fine in 2015/16. No idea what’s up with that yet.
Hey everyone, I was wondering if anyone can help me figure out why none of my co-workers can open my files made through the art tool? I am using maya 2013 and this is the error they are getting:
“Error: RuntimeError: file Z:/raw_assets/art_rig/MayaTools/General/Scripts\customMayaMenu.py line 343: Unknown Maya file version: 2013ff10.”
Any ideas?
EDIT
Looks like my computer had 2013.5 (extended edition) installed instead of 2013. This seems to be the caused of the issue. Decided to share in case other people had similar problems. Now I have to figure out how to transfer my files over to maya 2013 version. Checking “ignore version” doesnt’t work, and it looks like I can edit the file if they were .ma, but the art tool doesn’t allow that?
EDIT #2
Found a work around! There is most likely a better way to do this, but here is what I did:
1. Open the .mb file in Maya 2013.5
2. Run the following in a mel script.
file -type "mayaAscii";
3. Save As an .ma
4. Open the above file in Maya 2013
a. If you are having trouble opening the file, make sure "ignore version" is checked on in the "Open" settings (under the File menu)
5. Run the following in a mel script (for the current art tool version, I wanted to keep everything .mb)
file -type "mayaBinary";
6. Save As an .mb file
Hopefully I helped someone out!
Hey man,
Super sorry I’m just now getting to this. It’s been a bit crazy over here.
**Why is there only one big toe controller instead of two?
**
Are you referring to the control rig and not the joint mover? I’ll need to look into this when I get into work tomorrow. Off the top of my head, I can’t think of why that would be. I will say though, that we hardly ever use the toes here, just due to our character designs, so I wouldn’t be too surprised if there were some issues. I will look into it asap.
**Why is toe animation not preserved when exporting as anim?
**
heh, see above! Probably never implemented because we didn’t use them. It shouldn’t be hard for me to add. I’ll check into it.
Why is the Y forward? (Is it because Z up in maya makes Y forward instead of X?)
You got it. Because Unreal is Z up, we set our Maya to be Z up as well, something Epic has just always done. Max is also Z up, which our modelers use, so it keeps us all in sync. Where it becomes an issue is that things in the engine generally want to be X forward, but this is easily solved by adding those values in the character blueprint or on import, you can add transformation values.
**We have noticed that AutoHips does not seem to work. Is this a known issue?
**
It is. I should have posted something, I apologize. The animators at work hated the automated stuff, so it fell into rot.
**We’ve noticed that when building the rig Maya will sometimes crashes two or three times before it succeeds. Is this expected or known? (I can post error when we see it again, but it’s fatal error)
**
Definitely not expected! At work, we use Maya 2014, which it works best in (on a Win7 PC). If you’re in 2015 or 2016, it is advised to open the JointMover.mb file and simply resave. That has been known to fix lots of crashes for some reason.
I just started a public trello board to track these issues, and others I find. You can track it here:
Cheers!
sorry for the late reply!
That particular line of code seems to be going through all of the objects in the scene that have skinning, and going through each vert, finding the values. It seems something in that file it’s trying to iterate over that doesn’t actually have any verts. Is it possible you have something non-polygonal? Like a NURBS or SubD? If you like, I will check the file out. Just email it to me at .@epicgames.com.
Thanks!
Kinda! It wouldn’t be the smoothest experience in the world, but it technically is possible since 4.7. In Persona, you can create a new animation asset, and begin setting keys. It’s entirely FK, so that would be painful.
It’s definitely recommend you use some external app for the best results when authoring content like animations and models.
Hey there! Are you referring to the bones that shoot off from the root?
Those get generated in a post script:
In Python:
def addIkBones():
try:
#create the joints
cmds.select(clear = True)
ikFootRoot = cmds.joint(name = "ik_foot_root")
cmds.select(clear = True)
cmds.select(clear = True)
ikFootLeft = cmds.joint(name = "ik_foot_l")
cmds.select(clear = True)
cmds.select(clear = True)
ikFootRight = cmds.joint(name = "ik_foot_r")
cmds.select(clear = True)
cmds.select(clear = True)
ikHandRoot = cmds.joint(name = "ik_hand_root")
cmds.select(clear = True)
cmds.select(clear = True)
ikHandGun = cmds.joint(name = "ik_hand_gun")
cmds.select(clear = True)
cmds.select(clear = True)
ikHandLeft = cmds.joint(name = "ik_hand_l")
cmds.select(clear = True)
cmds.select(clear = True)
ikHandRight = cmds.joint(name = "ik_hand_r")
cmds.select(clear = True)
#create hierarhcy
cmds.parent(ikFootRoot, "root")
cmds.parent(ikHandRoot, "root")
cmds.parent(ikFootLeft, ikFootRoot)
cmds.parent(ikFootRight, ikFootRoot)
cmds.parent(ikHandGun, ikHandRoot)
cmds.parent(ikHandLeft, ikHandGun)
cmds.parent(ikHandRight, ikHandGun)
#constrain the joints
leftHandConstraint = cmds.parentConstraint("hand_l", ikHandLeft)[0]
rightHandGunConstraint = cmds.parentConstraint("hand_r", ikHandGun)[0]
rightHandConstraint = cmds.parentConstraint("hand_r", ikHandRight)[0]
leftFootConstraint = cmds.parentConstraint("foot_l", ikFootLeft)[0]
rightFootConstraint = cmds.parentConstraint("foot_r", ikFootRight)[0]
except:
cmds.warning("Something went wrong")
addIkBones()