ngSkinTools user guide¶
ngSkinTools is a skinning plugin for Autodesk Maya, introducing new concepts to character skinning such as layers, any-pose-mirroring, enhanced paint brushes, true smoothing, and more.
Quick Links¶
- ngskintools.com - project homepage;
- Quick start guide for new users;
- ngSkinTools user list at Google Groups.
- Contact form if you feel like sending an author direct message.
- Issue tracker (pivotaltracker.com) - where further development gets planned.
- ngSkinTools API guide
Installing¶
ngSkinTools installs itself as module into Maya, therefore it's important that when using manual installation from archive packages, folder structure is preserved when extracting. With instructions below, ngSkinTools module file (through which Maya locates ngSkinTools plugin and it's other important files) is created in current user's module dir (<user dir>/maya/<maya version>/modules
); if you want ngSkinTools installation to be available for all users, you should move that file to <maya-home-folder>/modules
instead.
Windows¶
Executable installer¶
This is your ordinary automated install. Files are extracted into your specified directory, and module discovery file placed into <user dir>/maya/<maya version>/modules
folder. If you're installing newer plugin version, uninstalling previous one is not required, but recommended.
Manual install¶
- Extract archive somewhere you'll keep it, for example
C:\my-maya-plugins\ngSkinTools
. -
If you have Python installed, running install.py should do the rest of the work. Otherwise, manually copy file ngSkinTools-module.txt to
<user documents>\maya\<maya version>\modules
directory, where:<user documents>
is your windows user home folder (under WinXP that'sC:\Documents And Settings\Username\Documents
and in Win7 that'sC:\Users\Username\My Documents
)-
<maya version>
is the folder for your Maya version. If you've downloaded plugin for 2016 64bit Maya, folder will be named "2016 x64". This folder should already exist, as this is where Maya keeps your personalized settings, custom shelves, etc.Edit the ngSkinTools-module.txt, replacing
C:\Path\to\ngSkinTools\base\dir
with location where you extracted archive contents.Note
If
modules
directory does not exist, just go ahead and create it as well. It's not created by default by Maya, though added automatically into module search path.
-
(Re)start Maya.
- New shelf should be available, ngSkinTools. Open ngSkinTools UI and, just in case, check the "About" window to verify that plugin version matches the one you've downloaded.
OSX¶
- Download archive from downloads section; extract somewhere in permanent location;
- From extracted files, copy
ngSkinTools-module.txt
to/Users/<user name>/Library/Preferences/Autodesk/maya/2015-x64/modules
; “modules” folder might not exist - just create it. - Edit copied module file: replace text "/path/to/ngskintools/base/dir" with absolute path to folder where you extracted zip in step #1;
- From extracted files, copy
shelves/shelf_ngSkinTools.mel
to/Users/<user name>/Library/Preferences/Autodesk/maya/2015-x64/prefs/shelves
- Launch Maya. Click the single button on ngSkinTools shelf.
Linux¶
- Extract archive somewhere you'll keep it, for example
/home/myself/maya-plugins/ngSkinTools/
. - Go to that directory.
- Run "
install.py
" script. It should be extracted as executable, if not - run that from shell as "python ./install.py
" or "chmod u+x ./install.py;install.py
". This creates Maya module description file in<user home dir>/maya/<maya version>/modules
, through which Maya will be able to find plugin files. - (Re)start Maya.
- New shelf should be available, ngSkinTools. Open ngSkinTools UI and, just in case, check the "About" window to verify that plugin version matches the one you've downloaded.
If anything goes wrong with install.py, or you just want to install manually, instead of step 3, manually copy file ngSkinTools-module.txt to <user home dir>/maya/<maya version>/modules
directory, where:
<maya version>
is the directory for your Maya version. If you've downloaded plugin for 2011 64bit Maya, folder will be named "2011 x64". This directory should already exist, as this is where Maya keeps your personalized settings, custom shelves, etc.modules
subdirectory might not exist and might have to be created manually.- Edit the ngSkinTools-module.txt, replacing
/path/to/ngskintools/base/dir
with location where you extracted archive contents.
Getting help¶
If you have a problem, a question, a feature request, let me know. Your feedback is what drives the project forward!
Frequently Asked Questions¶
Got a question? Checkout frequently asked questions list - maybe it's already been answered?
Mailing list¶
ngSkinTools user list at Google Groups.
This is the most preferred way to ask new questions and provide feedback. You might need a google ID for this, though you can contact me personally if you just want to be added to the group with a non-google email:
Contact me personally¶
If you're feeling shy or just want to contact me personally, use this contact form instead.