Maya API: Stitch plugin – Stepan Jirka

Maya API / 07 Oct 2016

Maya API: Stitch plugin

The Stitch plugin might not be a tool for everyday use but it’s better to have it and not need it, than need it and not have it.

I’ve spent last few months building car interiors in Maya. Because I mostly made models for initial sketch phase, I never cared about stitches. One day my colleague Alex showed me his model of a car seat. It had split lines and stitches all over it created with his own MEL script and my eyes almost popped out. I’ve immediately decided to take it to the next level and create something a bit more powerfull and elegant – the Stitch plugin. For those who’re looking for something reliable there’s Stitch from Ticket01. For those who want to save 249€ and have some fun there’s this article covering few challenges I had to face during the project.

Introduction

The Stitch plugin is basicaly a bit more advaced tool for duplicating objects along a curve. Although I could simply model a single stitch and duplicate it along a curve I’ve decided to define the stitch parametricaly and use combination of mesh normal and curve tangent to define the stitch orientation. I also added the posibility to use an actual maya geometry instead of my predefined stitch. I’m planing to add more features in the future, so stay tuned.

Project Curve on Mesh

If we want the stitches to follow a curve on a surface, we first have to figure out how to project a nurbs curve on a mesh surface. Maya built-in function Project Curve on Mesh is out of question since it is based on unsmoothed mesh and also not available in API (except through MEL command). Let’s do it the hard way then.

Lets first smooth the base mesh to ensure the projected curve is going to follow it nicely. We’ll get the base mesh from a node’s input attribute and smooth it in-place with the following helper function.

// Simple in-place mesh smoothing function
MStatus StitchNode::generateSmoothMesh(MObject& mesh, int divisions) {
	MStatus status(MStatus::kSuccess);

	MFnMesh meshFn(mesh);

	MMeshSmoothOptions smoothOptions;
	smoothOptions.setDivisions(divisions);
	smoothOptions.setKeepBorderEdge(false);

	meshFn.generateSmoothMesh(mesh, &smoothOptions, &status);
	CHECK_MSTATUS_AND_RETURN_IT(status);

	return status;
}

// Simple in-place mesh smoothing function

MStatus StitchNode::generateSmoothMesh(MObject& mesh, int divisions) {

MStatus status(MStatus::kSuccess);

MFnMesh meshFn(mesh);

MMeshSmoothOptions smoothOptions;

smoothOptions.setDivisions(divisions);

smoothOptions.setKeepBorderEdge(false);

meshFn.generateSmoothMesh(mesh, &smoothOptions, &status);

CHECK_MSTATUS_AND_RETURN_IT(status);

return status;

}

As for the curve projection, it is actually pretty easy to project a single point on mesh via MFnMesh::getClosestPoint() function. So we’ll simply divide the curve and find the closest point on mesh to each sample point.

Project curve - perfect scenario — Project curve – perfect scenario

But…

Unfortunately this only works when the mesh surface doesn’t have any gaps/holes and is larger than the original curve. To check whether the sampled point actually lies above the surface we first take the surface normal of the closest point and shoot a ray from the original point back to the surface.

// Find closest point on mesh, returns true if the original point lies over the mesh //////////////
bool StitchNode::closestPointOnMesh(MObject& mesh, MPoint& point, MVector& normal){
	MFnMesh meshFn(mesh);

	// First get the closest point on the surface and mesh normal
	MPoint closestPoint;
	meshFn.getClosestPointAndNormal(point, closestPoint, normal, MSpace::kObject);

	// Shoot a ray from original point and look for a collision
	MFloatPoint fClosestPoint;
	MMeshIsectAccelParams accelParams = meshFn.autoUniformGridParams();
	int hitFace, hitTriangle;
	float hitBary1, hitBary2, hitRayParam;

	bool overMesh = meshFn.closestIntersection(point, normal, NULL, NULL, false, MSpace::kObject, 99999.9f, true, &accelParams, fClosestPoint, &hitRayParam, &hitFace, &hitTriangle, &hitBary1, &hitBary2, (float)1e-6);

	point = closestPoint;
	return overMesh;
}

// Find closest point on mesh, returns true if the original point lies over the mesh //////////////

bool StitchNode::closestPointOnMesh(MObject& mesh, MPoint& point, MVector& normal){

MFnMesh meshFn(mesh);

// First get the closest point on the surface and mesh normal

MPoint closestPoint;

meshFn.getClosestPointAndNormal(point, closestPoint, normal, MSpace::kObject);

// Shoot a ray from original point and look for a collision

MFloatPoint fClosestPoint;

MMeshIsectAccelParams accelParams = meshFn.autoUniformGridParams();

int hitFace, hitTriangle;

float hitBary1, hitBary2, hitRayParam;

bool overMesh = meshFn.closestIntersection(point, normal, NULL, NULL, false, MSpace::kObject, 99999.9f, true, &accelParams, fClosestPoint, &hitRayParam, &hitFace, &hitTriangle, &hitBary1, &hitBary2, (float)1e-6);

point = closestPoint;

return overMesh;

}

If we ignore all the points that lie outside the surface, we end up with a projected curve that doesn’t start on the boundary of the mesh even though the original curve is crossing it. That’s why we keep the points that come immediately before or after the points lying inside the surface. This solution isn’t completely accurate though – points on the boundary are not exact projection of the curve.

Project curve – curve extends outside surface

// Project curve on mesh
MStatus StitchNode::projectCurveOnMesh(MObject& mesh, MObject& curve, int samples, MObjectArray& projectedCurves) {
	MStatus status(MStatus::kSuccess);

	projectedCurves.clear();

	// Distribute samples along the curve
	MFnNurbsCurve curveFn(curve, &status);

	double domainStart = 0;
	double domainEnd = curveFn.length();
	double distance = (domainEnd - domainStart) / samples;

	MPointArray curvePoints;
	bool onSrf = false;

	for (int i = 0; i < (samples + 1); i++) {
		MPoint point;
		MVector normal;
		status = findPointAtLength(curve, (domainStart + distance*i), point);

		// Get the closest point and info about its position
		bool prevOnSrf = onSrf;
		onSrf = closestPointOnMesh(mesh, point, normal);

		// If two points in the row lie outside the surface, delete the first one
		if (!prevOnSrf && !onSrf)
			curvePoints.clear();

		curvePoints.append(point);

		// If the previous point lies inside the surface and the current one outside,
		// finish the point list and create curve. Repeat.
		if ((prevOnSrf && !onSrf) || (onSrf && i == samples)) {
			if (curvePoints.length() < 2)
				continue;
			MObject projectedCurve;
			status = generateNurbsCurve(curvePoints, projectedCurve);
			projectedCurves.append(projectedCurve);
			curvePoints.clear();
		}
	}

	return status;
}

// Project curve on mesh

MStatus StitchNode::projectCurveOnMesh(MObject& mesh, MObject& curve, int samples, MObjectArray& projectedCurves) {

MStatus status(MStatus::kSuccess);

projectedCurves.clear();

// Distribute samples along the curve

MFnNurbsCurve curveFn(curve, &status);

double domainStart = 0;

double domainEnd = curveFn.length();

double distance = (domainEnd - domainStart) / samples;

MPointArray curvePoints;

bool onSrf = false;

for (int i = 0; i < (samples + 1); i++) {

MPoint point;

MVector normal;

status = findPointAtLength(curve, (domainStart + distance*i), point);

// Get the closest point and info about its position

bool prevOnSrf = onSrf;

onSrf = closestPointOnMesh(mesh, point, normal);

// If two points in the row lie outside the surface, delete the first one

if (!prevOnSrf && !onSrf)

curvePoints.clear();

curvePoints.append(point);

// If the previous point lies inside the surface and the current one outside,

// finish the point list and create curve. Repeat.

if ((prevOnSrf && !onSrf) || (onSrf && i == samples)) {

if (curvePoints.length() < 2)

continue;

MObject projectedCurve;

status = generateNurbsCurve(curvePoints, projectedCurve);

projectedCurves.append(projectedCurve);

curvePoints.clear();

}

return status;

}

In the source files I’m also using function MFnNurbsCurve::findLengthFromParam(), which is not available in versions older than Maya 2016 extension 2. If you’re writing your code for older version, you can get away with using parameter instead of length. This might result in uneven spacing of samples, which can be fixed by reparametrizing the input curve.

Stitch placement and orientation

Now the fun part…

For each stitch we need 3 vectors that will define orientation matrix. I learned this from a post from Chad Vernon (yes, THE Chad Vernon) in Aligning an object’s rotation to that of a vector discussion. For the vector T we use MFnNurbsCurve::tangent() or create a vector from two neighboring points. That way the stitch geometry will follow the direction of the curve. The vector N comes from MFnMesh::getClosestPointAndNormal() which will orient the stitch normal to the mesh surface. Finally the last vector is a simple cross product of the two.

stitch3 — 3 vectors defining local space

Here you can see how it works in the code. First we have to get position of our samples on the projected curve. Then we find the closest point on mesh, surface normal and define the tangent vector. Finally we construct an orientation matrix and call helper function which builds the oriented stitch geometry.

MStatus StitchNode::distributeStitches(MObject& curve, MObject& mesh, MPointArray& points, MIntArray& counts, MIntArray& indices) {
	MStatus status(MStatus::kSucces);	

	MFnNurbsCurve curveFn(curve);
	MFnMesh meshFn(mesh);

	// Calculate distribution of stitches
	int count = int(round(curveFn.length() / m_distance));
	double distance = curveFn.length() / count;

	for (int i = 0; i < count; i++)
	{
		// Get endpoints of the stitch
		MPoint pointA, pointB;
		status = findPointAtLength(curve, (distance*i), pointA);
		status = findPointAtLength(curve, (distance*(i+1)), pointB);

		// Get surface normal for each point
		MVector normal, normalB;
		if (!closestPointOnMesh(m_mesh, pointA, normal))
			continue;
		else
			if (!closestPointOnMesh(m_mesh, pointB, normalB))
				continue;

		// Get vector T and crossproduct
		MVector tangent = pointB - pointA;
		double length = tangent.length();
		MPoint position = pointA + tangent / 2;
		tangent.normalize();
		MVector cross = tangent^normal;

		// Feed XYZ values of each vector in 4x4 matrix
		double orientation[4][4] = {{ tangent.x,	tangent.y,	tangent.z,	0 },
									{ cross.x,		cross.y,	cross.z,	0 },
									{ normal.x,		normal.y,	normal.z,	0 },
									{ 0,			0,			0,			1 } };

		MMatrix orientationMatrix(orientation);

		// Generate stitch
		generateStitch(length, points, counts, indices, position, orientationMatrix);	
	}
	return status;
}

MStatus StitchNode::distributeStitches(MObject& curve, MObject& mesh, MPointArray& points, MIntArray& counts, MIntArray& indices) {

MStatus status(MStatus::kSucces);

MFnNurbsCurve curveFn(curve);

MFnMesh meshFn(mesh);

// Calculate distribution of stitches

int count = int(round(curveFn.length() / m_distance));

double distance = curveFn.length() / count;

for (int i = 0; i < count; i++)

{

// Get endpoints of the stitch

MPoint pointA, pointB;

status = findPointAtLength(curve, (distance*i), pointA);

status = findPointAtLength(curve, (distance*(i+1)), pointB);

// Get surface normal for each point

MVector normal, normalB;

if (!closestPointOnMesh(m_mesh, pointA, normal))

continue;

else

if (!closestPointOnMesh(m_mesh, pointB, normalB))

continue;

// Get vector T and crossproduct

MVector tangent = pointB - pointA;

double length = tangent.length();

MPoint position = pointA + tangent / 2;

tangent.normalize();

MVector cross = tangent^normal;

// Feed XYZ values of each vector in 4x4 matrix

double orientation[4][4] = {{ tangent.x, tangent.y, tangent.z, 0 },

{ cross.x, cross.y, cross.z, 0 },

{ normal.x, normal.y, normal.z, 0 },

{ 0, 0, 0, 1 } };

MMatrix orientationMatrix(orientation);

// Generate stitch

generateStitch(length, points, counts, indices, position, orientationMatrix);

}

return status;

}

Generating stitch geometry

This is the function that creates lists of points, vertex counts and vertex indices we need to to feed in MFnMesh::create() function. It looks a bit complicated but only because we’re defining a mesh from scratch. If you want to duplicate model you built in Maya, you simply call MFnMesh::getPoints() and MFnMesh::getVertices() to get these values. Note how we “multiply” the geoPoints with the orientation matrix and move them to the new position.

MStatus StitchNode::generateStitch(double length, MPointArray& points, MIntArray& counts, MIntArray& indices, MPoint& position, MMatrix& orientation){
	MStatus status(MStatus::kSuccess);

	// Calculate correct dimensions of a stitch
	// Variables starting with m_ come from node input attributes
	double radius = m_thickness / 2;
	double outside = length / 2;
	double inside = outside - m_thickness;

	// Mesh points
	double polyPoints[16][4] = {{ -outside,		-radius+m_skew,		-m_thickness,		0 },
								{ outside,		-radius-m_skew,		-m_thickness,		0 },
								{ -outside,		radius+m_skew,		-m_thickness,		0 },
								{ outside,		radius-m_skew,		-m_thickness,		0 },
								{ -inside,		radius+m_skew/2,	0,					0 },
								{ inside,		radius-m_skew/2,	0,					0 },
								{ -inside,		-radius+m_skew/2,	0,					0 },
								{ inside,		-radius-m_skew/2,	0,					0 },
								{ inside,		-radius,			m_thickness,		0 },
								{ outside,		-radius,			m_thickness,		0 },
								{ inside,		radius,				m_thickness,		0 },
								{ outside,		radius,				m_thickness,		0 },
								{ -inside,		-radius,			m_thickness,		0 },
								{ -outside,		-radius,			m_thickness,		0 },
								{ -outside,		radius,				m_thickness,		0 },
								{ -inside,		radius,				m_thickness,		0 } };

	// Number of vertices in each polygon
	int	polyCounts[12] = { 4,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,4 };

	// Indices of vertices forming each polygon
	int	polyIndices[48] = { 15, 12, 6, 4,
							14, 15, 4, 2,
							13, 14, 2, 0,
							12, 13, 0, 6,
							11, 9, 1, 3,
							10, 11, 3, 5,
							8, 10, 5, 7,
							9, 8, 7, 1,
							0, 1, 7, 6,
							6, 7, 5, 4,
							4, 5, 3, 2,
							2, 3, 1, 0 };
	
	MPointArray geoPoints(polyPoints, 16);
	MIntArray geoCounts(polyCounts, 12), geoIndices(polyIndices, 48);
	unsigned firstIndex = points.length();

	// Append points
	for (unsigned i = 0; i < geoPoints.length(); i++) {
		geoPoints[i] *= orientation; // Apply orientation matrix
		geoPoints[i] += position; // Move to correct position
		points.append(geoPoints[i]);
	}

	// Append counts
	for (unsigned i = 0; i < geoCounts.length(); i++)
		counts.append(geoCounts[i]);

	// Append indices
	for (unsigned i = 0; i < geoIndices.length(); i++)
		indices.append(firstIndex + geoIndices[i]);

	return status;
}

MStatus StitchNode::generateStitch(double length, MPointArray& points, MIntArray& counts, MIntArray& indices, MPoint& position, MMatrix& orientation){

MStatus status(MStatus::kSuccess);

// Calculate correct dimensions of a stitch

// Variables starting with m_ come from node input attributes

double radius = m_thickness / 2;

double outside = length / 2;

double inside = outside - m_thickness;

// Mesh points

double polyPoints[16][4] = {{ -outside, -radius+m_skew, -m_thickness, 0 },

{ outside, -radius-m_skew, -m_thickness, 0 },

{ -outside, radius+m_skew, -m_thickness, 0 },

{ outside, radius-m_skew, -m_thickness, 0 },

{ -inside, radius+m_skew/2, 0, 0 },

{ inside, radius-m_skew/2, 0, 0 },

{ -inside, -radius+m_skew/2, 0, 0 },

{ inside, -radius-m_skew/2, 0, 0 },

{ inside, -radius, m_thickness, 0 },

{ outside, -radius, m_thickness, 0 },

{ inside, radius, m_thickness, 0 },

{ outside, radius, m_thickness, 0 },

{ -inside, -radius, m_thickness, 0 },

{ -outside, -radius, m_thickness, 0 },

{ -outside, radius, m_thickness, 0 },

{ -inside, radius, m_thickness, 0 } };

// Number of vertices in each polygon

int polyCounts[12] = { 4,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,4 };

// Indices of vertices forming each polygon

int polyIndices[48] = { 15, 12, 6, 4,

14, 15, 4, 2,

13, 14, 2, 0,

12, 13, 0, 6,

11, 9, 1, 3,

10, 11, 3, 5,

8, 10, 5, 7,

9, 8, 7, 1,

0, 1, 7, 6,

6, 7, 5, 4,

4, 5, 3, 2,

2, 3, 1, 0 };

MPointArray geoPoints(polyPoints, 16);

MIntArray geoCounts(polyCounts, 12), geoIndices(polyIndices, 48);

unsigned firstIndex = points.length();

// Append points

for (unsigned i = 0; i < geoPoints.length(); i++) {

geoPoints[i] *= orientation; // Apply orientation matrix

geoPoints[i] += position; // Move to correct position

points.append(geoPoints[i]);

}

// Append counts

for (unsigned i = 0; i < geoCounts.length(); i++)

counts.append(geoCounts[i]);

// Append indices

for (unsigned i = 0; i < geoIndices.length(); i++)

indices.append(firstIndex + geoIndices[i]);

return status;

}

Conclusion

The Stitch plugin is a great tool to add detail to your model. Although the projection method works quite nicely, it is somewhat primitive and definitely needs improvements. Let me know if you have any questions or suggestions. As always the displayed code is just a scoup from the plugin. For the complete code check the source files.

Download

Tags:
API
C++
Maya

37 Comments

MATTHEW STEVENS
06 Nov 2022 - 10:22 am
Reply

Hi stepan, can you shed some light on using custom geom it seems to be greyed out for me. Maya2017, win10, Also it would be amazing if the curve function could be added to seameasy plugin for those more complex stitch arrangements.
MATTHEW STEVENS
21 Oct 2022 - 3:08 pm
Reply

Hi,

Does anyone know how to add custom geom. When i tick the box it replaces the stitch with a elongated cube but the option to map is geom is still greyed out

thanks

matt
MATTHEW STEVENS
21 Oct 2022 - 12:08 pm
Reply

Hi Stepan did you ever get curves to work in seameasy?

thanks
MATTHEW STEVENS
21 Oct 2022 - 12:07 pm
Reply

Hi Stepan

Does stitch node work in maya 2022?

thanks

Matt
Sean
26 Aug 2022 - 12:36 am
Reply

where to put sauce code?:
Jason
03 Jan 2022 - 11:42 pm
Reply

Hello, Stepan,

I’m having trouble with installing the stitch plugin..

I’ve got my .mll in the plugins folder, the mel file in scripts, and the icon file in the prefs\icons folder, but I’m still unable to load the plugins for this (or crossSections).

I’m using Maya 2022—is that part of the problem?

Also thank you so much for all these incredible tools!
- Stepan Jirka
  10 Jan 2022 - 8:29 am
  Reply
  
  Hi Jason,
  
  I’m afraid most of my plug-ins are not compiled for 2022 yet. I’ll see if I can fix that sometimes in the beginning of this year.
  
  Stepan
  - Jason
    18 May 2022 - 8:20 pm
    Reply
    
    Thanks for replying! I look forward to the upgrades~~
    
    A quick question, though: is the difference between Stitch Node and the StitchEasy plugin just the custom curve projection element, instead of relying on edge loops as the basis for the stitches?
  - Jason
    10 Aug 2022 - 6:11 pm
    Reply
    
    I was wondering if there’s any way we could just take a load off you; is there a simple process we could use to recompile the codes for each successive version of Maya without having to come to you every time? I’m on 2023 now and as one might expect the plugins aren’t working but I hate bothering you about it….
- tet
  17 Nov 2022 - 6:11 am
  Reply
  
  Hi J, can this plug-in do the cross stitch? like something they do in the steering wheel?
John
30 Aug 2021 - 8:56 am
Reply

Hi,

how do i put it in shelf? i cant figure it out, is there a shelf file or something to copy in the script editor?

Thx
- Stepan Jirka
  30 Aug 2021 - 9:18 am
  Reply
  
  Hi John,
  
  this one doesn’t seem to have a shelf file included but you can add buttons to your shelf by typing the command in the Maya command line and dragging it from there to your shelf with the middle mouse button. The command is simply “stitch” (without apostrophes)
  
  Stepan
Thisara Yasasvi Jayasekara
22 Mar 2021 - 6:02 pm
Reply

Awesome, I’m a student CGI artist from Sri Lanka. This plugin helps me a lot. I will donate some money soon.
- Stepan Jirka
  23 Mar 2021 - 6:08 pm
  Reply
  
  Thank you!
seungnamyang
30 Apr 2020 - 9:24 am
Reply

Hello Stepan.

I really want to buy stitch node 2020 version.

Do you have a plan to selling this plugin?
- Stepan Jirka
  11 May 2020 - 8:23 pm
  Reply
  
  Honestly, I’m not planning to update StitchNode for 2020. Sorry
Hamed Mousavi
14 Feb 2020 - 8:48 am
Reply

Hi Stepan

Do you have plans of updating the script for Maya 2020?
matthew stevens
29 Mar 2019 - 11:25 pm
Reply

Hi,

first off thanks for giving away your scripts. A true community spirit. I have been using seameasy for a while now and i love it. Just installed this plugn as i need to do more complex stitch pattern but i have noticed unlike seameasy there are no uvs on the generated stitches. Am i missing something?

thanks in advance

matt
- Stepan Jirka
  01 Apr 2019 - 8:58 am
  Reply
  
  Hi Matthew
  
  this plug-in is an older one and unfortunately I never programmed the UV part of it. If I ever find the time and motivation I’d like to just add possibility to use curves in the StitchEasy.
  
  Regards
  
  Stepan
  - Matthew Stevens
    01 Apr 2019 - 9:29 am
    Reply
    
    Hi Stepan,
    
    Thanks for your feedback i managed to get around the problem but transfering uvs from seameasy geo to stitch geo. Thanks for you reply. You really must be rewarded for your efforts! Please let me know how, if you dont want to take money let me know a prefered charity and i will donate to it on your behalf
    
    thanks for you amazing contribution to the community
    
    thanks
    
    matt
    - Stepan Jirka
      01 Apr 2019 - 12:23 pm
      Reply
      
      Hi Matt,
      
      I’m glad you found a workaround for the UV issue!
      
      As for the donation – I have always admired volunteers who make 3d printed arm prosthetics, so if you really mean it, a donation to e-NABLE foundation would mean a lot to me.
      
      Stepan
Josh
17 Dec 2018 - 11:39 pm
Reply

Hi Stepan

Awesome work on the script, been using it on a pretty regular basis! Would this script work on linux?
- Stepan Jirka
  20 Dec 2018 - 10:22 am
  Reply
  
  Hi Josh,
  
  I’m glad you find it helpful. You could try to compile it for linux from the source code but I myself have no experience compiling for linux.
  
  Stepan
GooDroN
29 May 2018 - 1:34 pm
Reply

Good day!!! \~/
I’m wildly sorry!
StitchNode does not work!!! (Maya 2018.3)
C:\Users\username\Documents\maya\2018\plug-ins\stitchNode.mll
C:\Users\username\Documents\maya\2018\scripts\AEstitchNodeTemplate.mel
C:\Users\username\Documents\maya\2018\prefs\icons\stitchNode.png
https://yadi.sk/i/C7jIq6A93WfLTy

SEAMS EASY works fine!!! (Maya 2018.3)

Will you advise something?
Thank you!!!
- Stepan Jirka
  29 May 2018 - 5:54 pm
  Reply
  
  Hi,
  
  I’m glad the SeamsEasy works. As for the StitchNode, it unfortunately doesn’t work in 2018 at the moment. I’ll see if I can at some point transfer the functionality of StitchNode in the SeamsEasy plugin.
  
  Stepan
  - GooDroN
    29 May 2018 - 8:21 pm
    Reply
    
    That would be wonderful !!!
    And thank you very much for the tool !!! \ ~ /
Simon
01 Mar 2018 - 2:29 pm
Reply

Hi Stepan,

I have a beginner question. Which part of the Shelfbutton.mel has to be copied into the script editor ?
The content of the mel is:

// The stitch command can be called with following flags
// -d or -distance, takes double
// -c or -count, takes int
// -l or -length, takes double
// -th or -thickness, takes double
// -sk or -skew, takes double
// -t or -translate, takes double double double
// -r or -rotate, takes double double double
// -s or -scale, takes double double double

if(pluginInfo -q -l "stitchNode.mll"==0)
loadPlugin “stitchNode”;

stitch -d 5 -th 0.5 -sk 0.2;

source AEstitchNodeTemplate;
refreshEditorTemplates;

Sorry for another noob question 😉
- Stepan Jirka
  01 Mar 2018 - 2:33 pm
  Reply
  
  Hi Simon,
  
  You can copy the whole thing. But only the line with “stitch” is actually important.
  
  Best regards
  
  Stepan
  - Simon
    01 Mar 2018 - 2:57 pm
    Reply
    
    Thanks very much for your super quick answer 😉 Work perfectly. Tool is amazing.
Seb James
24 Feb 2017 - 2:53 pm
Reply

Hi again,

Any chance you could just say where to install the parts of the download? (Noob question, sorry!)

Thanks,

Seb
- Stepan Jirka
  24 Feb 2017 - 3:48 pm
  Reply
  
  Hi Seb,
  
  here’s example:
  C:\Users\username\Documents\maya\2017\plug-ins\stitchNode.mll
  C:\Users\username\Documents\maya\2017\scripts\AEstitchNodeTemplate.mel
  C:\Users\username\Documents\maya\2017\prefs\icons\stitchNode.png
  
  Load the plugin through Plug-in manager, simply copy content of shelfButton.mel in script editor and drag on your shelf and assign icon if you want. shelfButton.mel also contains short list of flags u can use with “stitch” command.
  - Seb James
    24 Feb 2017 - 3:50 pm
    Reply
    
    Perfect, thanks very much!
Sascha
21 Feb 2017 - 10:31 am
Reply

This looks great man, thanks for sharing 🙂
Is it only for Maya2017?
- Stepan Jirka
  21 Feb 2017 - 10:37 am
  Reply
  
  Hi Sascha,
  
  I can compile it for 2016 EXT 2 if that helps, but as I’m using some functions from the latest API I’d have to rewrite the code to make it work in 2016 or lower. In few days I expect to release another plugin with stitches distributed along edges rather that projected curve, that one will be for 2016, 2016.5, 2017
Seb James
16 Feb 2017 - 1:38 pm
Reply

Many thanks for giving this away for free, it looks great! I’m looking forward to checking out your seam plug-in; I do quite a lot of modelling of seats for aircraft, and this will save SO much time.
- Stepan Jirka
  16 Feb 2017 - 6:29 pm
  Reply
  
  Hi Seb. I’m currently working on a car seat project and its already a huge time and ass saver. I still want to optimize few things, but it shoudn’t take long.
Fan
15 Feb 2017 - 7:02 pm
Reply

Great work! Thank you for sharing all your excellent scripts.

Introduction

Project Curve on Mesh

But…

Stitch placement and orientation

Generating stitch geometry

Conclusion

37 Comments

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