Creating Poses With "MFS Poses"

The "MFS Poses " tool is invoked with the "POSE" button in the character's Helm GUI and/or the Maya shelves. It allows the animator to create non-keyed attribute poses of selected objects.

Good pose organization is strongly recommended: a dedicated directory to save to, good pose file naming (per character), and clear pose organization & naming.

"add Pose" creates a pose for all keyable attrs on the selected object(s). The script is smart enough to include parent & IK toggle information for related body parts.

A pose is simply a set of attribute settings - NOT a keyframe (you have to set keys yourself).

Multiple poses can be saved to one file. Poses are written continuously to that file (so if you delete a pose and want it back, it's gone). Good practice is to save poses to files according to class (ie. - body poses in one file, hand poses in another, facial poses in another).

When you click on "read" to access an existing pose file, the computer will ask you if you want to "replace" the pose file which you are opening. Although it seems counter-intuitive, click "Yes". What you are saying is that it is OK for "MFS Poses" to write into that existing file as you create your new poses. You will not lose your existing poses unless you "remove Pose" in the "MFS Poses" GUI.

The "set" button applies the selected pose. Double-clicking on a pose also applies that pose. Double-clicking on a control within a pose applies the pose values for that control only. Double-clicking on an control's attribute within a pose applies the pose value for that attribute only.

To apply a Tommy pose to Shadow, set "match" to "tomy" and set "replace" to "shad" before applying the pose.

The "exclude" field can be used to designate controls to exclude from the general selection when added or applying a pose. The "exclude" field applies global matches by default, so entering "upperCheek" has the same effect as entering "*upperCheek*".

The "add/update Control" and "remove Control" buttons apply to controls which are selected in the Maya viewport, not the "MFS Poses" window. The "select Controls" button selects objects in Maya which are highlighted in the "MFS Poses" window.

Workflow example:

• open Tommy rig in Maya
• click on "POSE" button in the rig GUI or in the "animate" shelf
• click on "read" in the MFS Poses GUI, go to "M:\poses" directory, and select "tomy_body_poses" file
• click "Yes" when asked if you want to replace the file
• double-click on the "tomy_body_relaxed" pose to see the relaxed pose
• double-click on the "tomy_body_neutral" pose to return to the neutral pose
• now, position the rig into a pose you like
• click on "add Pose", and enter a pose name when prompted (recommended to include character name and a good description)
• your new pose is automatically saved into "tomy_body_poses" file, along with the others
• if you don't like your pose, select it and click on "remove Pose" (the deletion is automatically saved)
• after exiting Maya, copy pose files from the "M:" drive of one system onto the other, for consistency

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