• Maya

Softening weight influence

Soften the influence of weights and change the weight distribution for smoother transitions and more natural model movements.


00:03

Now we have the main areas blocked in, we just need to soften the influence.

00:08

So when he bends, he won't end up with angular sections

00:12

to do this. All I'm going to do is use the smooth paint operation

00:17

there. We can see it softening. So there's more of a gradual influence.

00:22

Looks like we missed a section here.

00:24

Let's make sure this is fully weighted to the pelvis

00:28

and then soften the edges.

00:31

There was once a time when I'd hate painting whites using Mayer's built in tools.

00:36

The issue was mainly when using smooth,

00:38

the weights would seemingly be applied randomly all over the model.

00:42

So I'd end up chasing the weights around the model. It was frustrating at times

00:48

that was until I discovered that changing weight distribution

00:51

in the bind skin options to neighbor, kept the weights close to the selected joint,

00:57

which is essential when using smooth.

00:60

So if you're having issues, try changing it.

01:04

OK. Now we have one side done, we can just mirror the weights across,

01:09

let's pose the leg again. So we can see how this area deforms.

01:14

Not too bad,

01:16

but there's too much of a crease.

01:19

OK. Let's see how the thigh twist joint is looking.

01:23

So it's pretty solid here

01:26

and there are some rogue weights. So let's remove those,

01:30

let's use replace.

01:33

Oops, forgot to change the value.

01:36

We want it to be zero because we are removing the influence.

01:40

That's better.

01:42

Ok. Let's remove this up here too.

01:45

Now, let's soften the crease a little more.

01:50

There's too much of an angle up here.

01:52

Let's switch back to replace

01:55

and let's use a smaller opacity this time.

01:57

So we can gradually paint away the influence

01:60

and a softer brush.

02:05

We want to reduce the weight here

02:07

to close this gap.

Video transcript

00:03

Now we have the main areas blocked in, we just need to soften the influence.

00:08

So when he bends, he won't end up with angular sections

00:12

to do this. All I'm going to do is use the smooth paint operation

00:17

there. We can see it softening. So there's more of a gradual influence.

00:22

Looks like we missed a section here.

00:24

Let's make sure this is fully weighted to the pelvis

00:28

and then soften the edges.

00:31

There was once a time when I'd hate painting whites using Mayer's built in tools.

00:36

The issue was mainly when using smooth,

00:38

the weights would seemingly be applied randomly all over the model.

00:42

So I'd end up chasing the weights around the model. It was frustrating at times

00:48

that was until I discovered that changing weight distribution

00:51

in the bind skin options to neighbor, kept the weights close to the selected joint,

00:57

which is essential when using smooth.

00:60

So if you're having issues, try changing it.

01:04

OK. Now we have one side done, we can just mirror the weights across,

01:09

let's pose the leg again. So we can see how this area deforms.

01:14

Not too bad,

01:16

but there's too much of a crease.

01:19

OK. Let's see how the thigh twist joint is looking.

01:23

So it's pretty solid here

01:26

and there are some rogue weights. So let's remove those,

01:30

let's use replace.

01:33

Oops, forgot to change the value.

01:36

We want it to be zero because we are removing the influence.

01:40

That's better.

01:42

Ok. Let's remove this up here too.

01:45

Now, let's soften the crease a little more.

01:50

There's too much of an angle up here.

01:52

Let's switch back to replace

01:55

and let's use a smaller opacity this time.

01:57

So we can gradually paint away the influence

01:60

and a softer brush.

02:05

We want to reduce the weight here

02:07

to close this gap.

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