Assembler documentation

Process 3d - Max

This process is use to render 3d scenes. The calculations are delegated to Maya.

Features Maya Definitions How the process works Examples Process Specifications

Create Objects: sphere, cone, plane, etc. See Maya Object Use Case Maya Reserved Object Use Case
Set Object Attributs: geometry, light, shader, etc.
Get Object Attributs: update the process param values from Maya scene
Transform Object: position, roation, scale, etc. See Maya Transform Use Case
Deform Object: bend, twist, etc. See Maya Object Deformer Use Case
Shader: assign to an object, change shader, etc. See $link(basical_3d_shader_maya)
Merge Scene: merge a secondary scene into a main scene. See Maya Merge Use Case
Rendering: render a scene, change rendering paramters, etc. See Maya Render Use Case
Animation: animate object position, object properties, etc. See Maya Animation Use Case
Motion Object: simple to complex motion. See Maya Motion Use Case
Template: apply data template on an Object. See $link(basical_3d_template)
Export animated Object Attributs
Execute Maya scripts

Node

Maya is built around nodes. A node is defined by its attributs. Nodes are used to build scene objects, shader, deformer, light, renderer, etc.

See more details Maya Sepcifications - Nodes and Attributes

In Maya, Object term only concerns the scene objects. In these specfications, Object and Node are the same terms to define Maya nodes.

Nodes Link

Nodes can be linked together. The process uses three kind of link:

History list: Each node has an history list, containing the dependant nodes (ex: a sphere object has a bend deformer included in it's history list)
Attribute connection: a node A attribute is binded with a node B attribute (ex: a blinn material color connected with a file outColor)
Shader assignation: a shading node is assigned to a scene object (ex: blinn material assigned to a sphere)

Mel

Maya Embeded Language is the interpeted programming language used in Maya.

How the process works

The process consists essentially on creating node, linking node and setting node attribute. To do that, Assembler converts the process XML definition into MEL commands.

Mel command examples:

Create a sphere: sphere -radius 2 -name sphere
Set the sphere radius: setAttr "sphere.translateZ" 6
Create a blinn material: shadingNode -asShader blinn -name blinn1
Assign the blinn material to the sphere: hyperShade -assign blinn1

Examples

Render a sphere with a spot light

<Process id="mayaRender1" type="3d" delegate="maya">
    <Param name="reset">1</Param>
    <Object create="object" name="sphere">
        <Param name="class">sphere</Param>
        <Param name="radius">2</Param>
        <Param name="material">blinn</Param>
        <Param name="material.class">blinn</Param>
        <Param name="material.color">map(wood, wood)</Param>
    </Object>
    <Object create="object" name="spot">
        <Param name="class">spotLight</Param>
        <Param name="coneAngle">80</Param>
        <Param name="intensity">2</Param>
        <Param name="pos.z">6</Param>
    </Object>
    <Object name="persp">
        <Param name="pos">8;6;8</Param>
        <Param name="rot">-30;45;0</Param>
    </Object>
    <Render>
        <Param name="creationId">outputMaya</Param>
        <Param name="resolution">1920;1080</Param>
        <Param name="camera">persp</Param>
        <Param name="default.gammaCorrection">2</Param>
    </Render>
</Process>

Process Specifications

Attributes: id type delegate creationGroup

Params: reset

Nodes: Input Output Object Merge Render Export Script

Attributes

Attribute id | String | mandatory

process identifier. This identifier is used to execute the process.

Attribute type = "3d" | String | mandatory

process type

Attribute delegate = "maya" | String | optional

The delegation software name.

Values:

maya: Maya
max: 3d Studio Max

Attribute creationGroup | creationGroupId | optional

Creation group identifier used by the process. See details Creation Group. If this attribute is defined, creations identifiers declared in the process must be included in the creation group.

Params

Param reset | Boolean | optional

This param is used to reset the 3d scene.

example

<Param name="reset">1</Param>

Nodes

Input Output Object Merge Render Export Script

Node Input | optional

This node is used to open a file in Maya at the begining of the process execution, especially a maya scene.

example

<Input creationId="scene1" />

Attributes: creationId

Node Attributes

Attribute creationId | creationId | mandatory

The creation identifier. The creation type must be "*.ma".

Node Output | optional

This node is used to save the scene at the end of the process execution.

example

<Output creationId="scene1b" />

Attributes: creationId

Node Attributes

Attribute creationId | creationId | mandatory

The creation identifier. The creation type must be "*.ma".

Node Object | optional

This process node is used to manipulate a Maya node.

Operations are:

Create a node
Copy a node
Set an attribute node, especially a transform attribute
Create an apply a deformer
Create an assign a shader
Link nodes: assignation or attribute connection

example: create a cone and set it's position

<Object create="polyCone" name="cone">
     <Param name="radius">2</Param>
     <Param name="height">2</Param>
     <Param name="pos.y">1</Param>
     <Param name="pos.z">6</Param>
</Object>

example: create a squashed sphere

<Object create="sphere" name="sphere">
     <Param name="radius">2</Param>
     <Param name="squash">deformer</Param>
     <Param name="squash.factor">1</Param>
</Object>

Attributes: name copy create

Params: Maya Node Attribute Tranformation Deformer Shader Maya Nodes Linking

Node Attributes

Attribute name | String | mandatory

Object name. This is the name used in Maya.

Attribute copy | String | optional

Object name to be copied. This is the name used in Maya.

Attribute create | String | optional

This attribute is used to create a Maya node.

Values:

A Maya Node Type: sphere, polyCone, polyPlane, etc. See Maya Object Attributes
A Reseved Object: box, floor, wall. See Maya Reserved Object Attributes

A reserved object can be used to share it's geometry between Maya an Nuke.

Node Params "Maya Node Attribute"

These params are used to set a Maya node attribute. See Maya Node Attributes

The param can set:

A node attribute: ex: radius, height, etc. See Maya Node Attributes
An attribute of a dependant node: the attribute of a node included in the node history list. See Maya Definitions

The Param name matching can be:

<attribute name> (ex: radius, height, etc.)
<begin of the dependant node name>.<attribute name> (ex: make.endSweep, bend.curvature, etc.)
<begin of the dependant node name>-<end of the dependant node name>.<attribute name> (ex: bend-handle.translateX, bend-handle.rotateY, etc.)

example I: create a sphere, set the radius and the endSweep of the makeNurbSphere node

<Object create="sphere" name="sphere">
     <Param name="radius">2</Param>
     <Param name="make.endSweep">240</Param>
</Object>

listHistory sphere;
// Result: sphereShape makeNurbSphere1 //

example II: set the radius of a cone and the translateY of the bendHandle node

<Object name="grass1">
     <Param name="radius">0.5</Param>
     <Param name="bend.highBound">6</Param>
     <Param name="bend-handle.translateY">0</Param>
</Object>

listHistory grass1;
// Result: grass1Shape bend bend1GroupParts tweak1 groupParts2 grass1ShapeOrig
 polyCone1 groupId2 bendGroupId bendHandleShape bendHandle //

Node Params "Tranformation"

These params are used to transform the Maya scene object: position, rotation, scale and size. See Maya Transform Use Case

Param Name	Value Format	Description
pos	Vector	XYZ position
pos.x	Float	X position
pos.y	Float	Y position
pos.z	Float	Z position
rot	Vector	XYZ rotation
rot.x	Float	X rotation
rot.y	Float	Y rotation
rot.z	Float	Z rotation
scale	Float	uniform scale
scale.x	Float	scale only on X axe
scale.y	Float	scale only on Y axe
scale.z	Float	scale only on Z axe
size.x	Float	bounding-box X dimension (an uniforme scale is applied)
size.y	Float	bounding-box Y dimension (an uniforme scale is applied)
size.z	Float	bounding-box Z dimension (an uniforme scale is applied)

Node Params "Deformer"

These params are used to assign a deformer to the Maya Node. See Maya Object Deformer Use Case

The deformer params can be use to:

Create and assign a new deformer to the Maya node
Set the deformer attributes

example I: create and assign a squash deformer

<Object create="object" name="sphere">
     <Param name="class">sphere</Param>
     <Param name="radius">2</Param>
     <Param name="squash1">deformer</Param>
     <Param name="squash1.category">nonLinear</Param>
     <Param name="squash1.type">squash</Param>
     <Param name="squash1.factor">1</Param>
</Object>

example II: create and assign a twist deformater and set the handle rotation

<Object create="object" name="plane">
     <Param name="class">polyPlane</Param>
     <Param name="width">2</Param>
     <Param name="height">4</Param>
     <Param name="subdivisionsX">10</Param>
     <Param name="subdivisionsY">10</Param>
     <Param name="twist">deformer</Param>
     <Param name="twist.startAngle">90</Param>
     <Param name="twist-handle.rotateX">60</Param>
</Object>

Param Name	Value Format	Description
<deformer name>	String	The deformer name: the param name must be equal to the deformer name and the param value to deformer keyword.
<deformer name>.category	String	The Maya deformer category. If not declared, the default category is nonLinear
<deformer name>.type	String	The Maya deformer type (ex: squash, twist). If not declared, the default type is equal to the deformer name
<deformer name>.<attribute>	any	The Maya deformer attribute (ex: squash.factor, twist.startAngle, etc.) See Deformer Node Attributes

Node Params "Shader"

These params are used to assign a shader to the Maya Node. See $link(basical_3d_shader_maya)

The shader params can be use to:

Create and assign a new shader to the Maya node
Set the new shader attributes
Assign an existing shader to the Maya node

example I: create and assign a blinn material

<Object create="sphere" name="sphere">
     <Param name="radius">2</Param>
     <Param name="blinn1">shader</Param>
     <Param name="blinn1.type">blinn</Param>
     <Param name="blinn1.color">1;0;0</Param>
</Object>

example II: create and assign a blinn shader with a texture map

<Object create="sphere" name="sphere">
     <Param name="radius">2</Param>
     <Param name="pos.z">6</Param>
     <Param name="blinn2">shader</Param>
     <Param name="blinn2.type">blinn</Param>
     <Param name="blinn2.color">map(wood, wood)</Param>
</Object>

example III: assign an existing blinn shader

<Object create="sphere" name="sphere">
     <Param name="radius">2</Param>
     <Param name="pos.z">12</Param>
     <Param name="shader">blinn1</Param>
</Object>

Param Name	Value Format	Description
<shader name>	String	The shader name: the param name must be equal to the shader name and the param value to shader keyword. This param is used to create an assign a new shader to the object.
<shader name>.category	String	The Maya shader category (ex: shader, texture, light, etc.). If not declared, the default category is shader. This param is used to create an assign a new shader to the object.
<shader name>.type	String	The Maya shader type (ex: blinn, phong, etc.). If not declared, the default type is equal to the shader name. This param is used to create an assign a new shader to the object.
<shader name>.<attribute>	any	The Maya shader attribute (ex: shader.color, shader.transparency, etc.). This param is used to create an assign a new shader to the object. See Shader Node Attributes
shader	any	The existing shader name to assign to the object.

Node Params "Maya Nodes Linking"

These params are used to link Maya nodes together, by attribute connection or shader assignation

example I: create a blinn shader and connect the color attribute to the outColor of the Maya node name 'file'

<Object create="blinn" name="material1">
     <Param name="transparency">0.5</Param>
     <Param name="color">connect(file.outColor)</Param>
</Object>

example II: create a sphere object and assign the shader shader1

<Object create="sphere" name="sphere">
     <Param name="radius">2</Param>
     <Param name="assign">material1</Param>
</Object>

Node Merge | optional

This node is used to merge a secondary scene into the main scene.

example

<Merge>
     <Param name="prefix">merge1</Param>
     <Param name="creationId">roof</Param>
     <Param name="pos.z">10</Param>
     <Param name="rot.z">30</Param>
</Merge>

Params: prefix creationId Tranformation

Node Params

Param prefix | String | optional

Name used to prefix all objects merged.

Param creationId | creationId | mandatory

Scene creation to merge.

Node Params "Tranformation"

These params are params defined for the Object Node. Here, the transformation is applied on the merged objects group.

Node Render | optional

This node is used to render a scene. See Maya Render Use Case

example

<Render>
     <Param name="creationId">outputMaya1</Param>
     <Param name="frames">1-100</Param>
     <Param name="resolution">1920;1080</Param>
     <Param name="camera">persp</Param>
     <Param name="default.gammaCorrection">2</Param>
</Render>

Params: creationId camera resolution frames Default Render Globals

Node Params

Param creationId | creationId | mandatory

This param is used to set the rendering output creation. The creation must be an image, a video or a frameset.

Param camera | String | mandatory

The camera name

Param resolution | Point | optional

Output resolution: width;height. By default, the output resolution will be the project's resolution. See details Configuration

Param frames | Render Frames | optional

Begin and end frames for a sequence rendering. Optionnaly, a frame count can be set.

Example: 1-250 251 frames will be rendered

Example: 1-250/6 only 6 frames will be rendered: 1, 50, 100, 150, 200, 250

Node Params "Default Render Globals"

These params are used to set the Maya defaultRenderGlobals attributes. See Maya Render Use Case Maya Node Attributes

example

<Render>
     <Param name="creationId">outputMaya1</Param>
     <Param name="resolution">1920;1080</Param>
     <Param name="camera">persp</Param>
     <Param name="default.gammaCorrection">2</Param>
</Render>

Node Export | optional

This node is used to export animated Maya node attributes into a file.

example

<Export creationId="perspExport">
     <Param name="frames">1-100/11</Param>
     <Param name="persp/pos.x">x</Param>
     <Param name="persp/pos.y">y</Param>
     <Param name="persp/pos.z">z</Param>
</Export>

Attributes: creationId

Params: frames Maya Node Attribute

Node Attributes

Attribute creationId | creationId | mandatory

The creation identifier. The creation type must be "*.txt".

Node Params

Param frames | Frames | optional

Begin and end frames export. Optionnaly, a frame count can be set.

Example: 1-250 251 frames will be rendered

Example: 1-250/6 only 6 frames will be rendered: 1, 50, 100, 150, 200, 250

Node Params "Maya Node Attribute"

These params are used to set the Maya node attributes to export.

These params are defined like:

Param name: <node name> / <attribute name>
Param value: the label for this exported attribute

Node Script | optional

This node is used to execute script.