Blend Shape Deformers

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At a glance
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The key takeaways are that blend shape deformers allow you to animate the deformation of objects using target shapes, and they can be created for single objects or groups of objects. Multiple blend shape deformers can also be created on a single object.

To create a blend shape deformer, you select the base object to be deformed and use the Shape Editor or menu options to add a blend shape deformer. This creates a Blend Shape node and associated Tweak node to drive the deformation using target shapes.

To create a blend shape deformer using multiple target objects, you first create the base object and duplicate it to create target objects in different poses. You then select the target objects and base object to generate the blend shape deformer. Target shapes are automatically added corresponding to each target object.

Create blend shape deformers

You can create a blend shape deformer for an object that you want to be deformed by a series
of shapes. This object is known as the base object. You can create multiple blend shape
deformers on an object, each with its own set of target shapes. For example, you could have
one deformer for the mouth and one for the eyes to keep the shape animation calculations
separate for different parts of the face.

For more complex shape deformations, you can also create a group of objects to be deformed
and apply a blend shape deformer to that group. For example, you could create a group that
includes a character's T-shirt and jeans, and create a single blend shape deformer for the
group. Then you could edit the target shapes so that the t-shirt overlaps the jeans.

When you create a blend shape deformer, a Blend Shape node (blendShapen) and a Tweak
node are created for each blend shape deformer that you create on the base object.

To create a blend shape deformer

1. Do any of the following to get set up, depending on your method of shape animation:

- If you're deforming the base object directly, select the base object

- If you're deforming a group of shapes, create the group (select the objects and press
Ctrl+G), then select the group transform node.

- If you're using multiple target objects to deform the base object, press Shift and
select the target objects, then select the base object you want to deform (you must
select the base object last) –

Do any of the following to create the blend shape deformer:

o Open the Shape Editor and click the Create Blend Shape button to use automatic
settings.
o Choose Create > Blend Shape Deformer in the Shape Editor. Click the Options icon
to first set options.
o Right-click in an empty area of the Shape Editor and choose Add Blend Shape
Deformer to use automatic settings.
o In the Animation menu set, select Anim Deform > (Create) Blend Shape > .
o In the Rigging or Modeling menu sets, select Deform > (Create) Blend Shape > .
2. If you selected the to open the Blend Shape Options, select the creation options you
want, including Advanced options that let you choose where the Blend Shape node will be
located in the object's history.

Note: If you're working with multiple target objects, select Check Topology to check that the
target objects have the same number of vertices as the base object. Errors occur (such as a
"No Deformable Objects Selected" message) when this is not the case.
3. With the base object selected, the new blend shape deformer appears in the Shape Editor,
and the Blend Shape node and Tweak node appear in the INPUTS list in the channel box for
the base object.

If you created the blend shape deformer using multiple target objects, a target shape is
added for each target object that you selected.

4. With a blend shape deformer on the base object, you can now add target shapes to it or add
more blend shape deformers.

The blend shape deformer (Blend Shape node) uses the target shape weight settings to
create the blend shape deformation on the base object.

Note: When you create blend shape deformers using the Shape Editor, new blendShape nodes are
chained sequentially by default. If you want to put one blendShape node in conjunction with another
one, open the Blend Shape Options and change the Deformation order on the Advanced tab to
Parallel.

Selecting a blend shape deformer

To select a blend shape deformer (blendShape node), do either of the following:

 In the Shape Editor, right-click a Blend Shape Deformer (BSD) name and choose Select.
 Select the base object, then in the Channel Box, select the blendShape node in the object's
history under INPUTS.

Shape Editor
The Shape Editor is your main tool for creating, editing, and managing shapes for Shape
Authoring.

To open the Shape Editor:

 Click the icon on the Sculpting shelf.


 In the main menu bar: Windows > Animation Editors > Shape Editor
 In a panel: Panels > Panel > Shape Editor

See the table below this image for information on each part of the Shape Editor:
Adjust the Shape Editor  Right-click any column header to display a menu from
layout which you can toggle the display of each column.
 Drag and drop the headers to change the order of the
columns in the editor.
 Double-click the dividers between columns to auto-fit to
the longest row.

1 - Menu commands See below for a list of all menu commands.


2 - Create Blend Shape Click this button to create a Blend Shape Deformer (BSD) for
the selected object. It automatically sets the correct
deformation order based on object information.

You can also right-click in an empty area of the Shape Editor


and choose Add Blend Shape Deformer.

If you want to set options before creating the BSD, choose


Shapes > Create Blend Shape Deformer > .
3 - Add Target (Shape) Select a Blend Shape Deformer and click this button one or
more times to create empty target shapes using the automatic
settings. The Edit button for the target shape is automatically
selected so that you can immediately deform the base object
for this shape.
You can also choose Shapes > Add Target > to create
different types of target shapes (such as tangent-space or
transform-space types)
4 - Blend shape deformers Represents each blend shape deformer (blendShape node) on
the base object. This node is a "container" for all target shapes
in it. Only those target shapes are calculated together to
deform the object.

Drag and drop the blend shape deformers in the tree to change
their order. You can also create groups of blend shape
deformers.

Right-click a blend shape deformer name to open a contextual


menu with these commands: Add Target, Add Selection as
Target, Select, View in Node Editor, Solo/Unsolo, Export,
Import, Group, Rename, and Delete.
5 - Target shapes Also known as targets or blend shape targets, target shapes
are the individual "poses" that you create in order to deform
the base object. The offsets of vertices from the base object in
its original state (the base shape) are saved in each target
shape.

The color of the icon indicates the type of target shape:


orange for object space, green for tangent space, and blue for
transform space.

Drag and drop the target shapes within their blend shape
deformer in the tree to change their order or to remove them
from the group.

Right-click a target shape name to open a contextual menu


with these commands: Key, Reset, Add In-Between Target,
Add Selection as In-Between Target, Rebuild Target,
Duplicate Target, Flip Target, Mirror Target, Add
Combination Target, Select Combination Drivers, Select
Mesh, Rebuild Target, Solo/Unsolo, Export, Group, Rename,
and Delete.
6 - Groups You can organize target shapes and blend shape deformers

into groups and subgroups. See the Group icon below


and Create groups of target shapes or blend shape deformers
for more information.
7 - Visibility/Solo Click the circle to toggle the visibility of the effect of the
target shape on the base shape. You can also select multiple
items and click the circle for one of them to toggle the
visibility for all of them.

You can click the circle for a blend shape deformer or group
to see the effect of all its target shapes on the blend shape.
When you toggle the visibility for a BSD or a group, its target
shapes don't change their visibility state.

To solo a selected item's effect on the blend shape, press


Alt+click on the little circle, or right-click the selected item's
name and choose Solo/Unsolo.

Weighting and editing are disabled when the visibility is off.


8 - Weight/Drivers Drag the slider to set the weight (influence) of that target
shape, group, or blend shape deformer to a value between
0.000 and 1.000, or enter a value in the Weight text box.

A setting of 0 means that the target shape, group, or blend


shape deformer has no effect on the base shape. A setting of 1
is 100% of its influence.

In the Weight text box, you can enter values outside the 0.000
- 1.000 range to either invert (negative values) or amplify
(values over 1) the target’s influence.

Tip: To enter negative weight values, turn on Support Negative


Weights in the blendShape node attributes.

If you enter a value greater than the current maximum value


(by default, 1), the maximum value changes to double the
value, or to 10 if double the value is greater than 10.

If you enter a value less than the current minimum value (by
default, 0), the minimum value changes to double the value or
to -10 if double the value is less than -10.

When you enter values less than 0 or greater than 1.000, the
weight sliders' length changes to reflect the new range of
values.

See Set weights for target shapes for more information.


9 - Edit Click the Edit button to enter edit mode for this target shape.
Modify the base object or corresponding target object in the
view with the sculpting, Move, Rotate, and Scale tools. When
you're done, click the Edit button again to save your changes
to this target shape and exit Edit mode.

You can enter Edit mode for only one target shape at a time
and its Weight value must be greater than 0. A value of 1 is
recommended for editing.
10 - Key
Click the Key icon to set a key on the selected target
shape or group's current Weight value at this frame.

Click the Key icon beside the Blend Shape Deformer's slider
to key the overall weight of the blend shape.You can also
middle-drag and drop this icon on a frame in the Time Slider
to set a key for the target shape.

Right-click the key icon to open a menu with these


commands: Key at current, Key at 0, Key at 1, or Remove
key.
11 - Icons
 Group : Select target shapes or Blend Shape
Deformers, then click this icon to create a group
containing them. You can also press Ctrl+G or right-click in
an empty area of the Shape Editor and choose Group. You
can create any number of subgroups. Rebuild Blend Shape

Target creates a new object based on the selected


target shape.
 Delete deletes whatever is selected in the Shape
Editor: target shapes, Blend Shape Deformers, or groups.

If you delete a Blend Shape Deformer, its target


shapes are also removed.

If you delete a group, its members are also removed.

Shape Editor Menu Commands


File menu

 Export Shapes exports the selected target shapes as shape (*.shp) files. You can also right-
click a blend shape deformer or target shape and choose Export.
 Import Shapes imports a target shape (*.shp) file for the selected blend shape deformer. You
can also right-click a blend shape deformer and choose Import.

Edit menu

 Group creates a group with the selected target shapes or blend shape deformers. If nothing
is selected, it creates an empty group. You can also press Ctrl+G or click the Group icon

.
 Deselect All deselects whatever is selected: the base object, BSD, target shape, or group. You
can also press Alt+D.
Create menu

 Blend Shape Deformer creates a Blend Shape Deformer (blendShape node) for the selected
object.

Select to set up the blend shape deformer in Blend Shape Options before creating it,
such as selecting the Deformation Order on the Advanced.

Add Target creates a new target shape for the selected Blend Shape deformer, the
same as clicking the Add Target button.

Select to create different types of target shapes (such as tangent-space or transform-


space types).

 Add Selection as Target bakes the base object's current blend shape state into a new target.
You can also use this command to create target shapes from selected target objects that you
add to the blend shape deformer.

Select to create different types of target shapes (such as tangent-space or transform-


space types).

 Add In-Between Target creates an in-between target shape at the current weight for the
selected target shape.
 Add Selection as In-Between Target creates an in-between target shape at the current
weight for the selected target shape based on the base or target object you have selected -
Add in-between target shapes.
 Add Combination Target creates a target shape that is driven by one or more other target
shapes. When you edit the driver (contributing) target shapes or their weights, the
combination target shape is also affected.

Shapes menu

 Set as Combination Target makes the last-selected target shape a combination target shape
when you select two or more target shapes in sequence.
 Duplicate Target creates a copy of the target shape or group of target shapes. You can also
press Ctrl+D.
 Flip Target flips the selected target shape's deformation on the base object's axis or topology
that you define in its Options box (click the icon).
 Mirror Target adds a mirror of the selected target shape's deformation to it using the base
object's axis or topology that you define in its Options box (click the icon).
 Rebuild Target creates a new object based on the selected target shape, the same as clicking

the Rebuild Blend Shape Target icon .


 Key sets a key for the current weight values of all selected target shapes or groups.
 Reset sets the weight values for selected target shapes or groups to zero (0).

Options menu

 Show Edit HUD toggles the display of the message line that appears in the view panel when
you're editing target shapes.
Blend Shape Options
 In the Shape Editor, choose Create > Blend Shape Deformer >
 In the Animation menu set: Anim Deform > (Create) Blend Shape >
 In the Rigging and Modeling menu sets: Deform > (Create) Blend Shape >

Basic tab
BlendShape Node

Specifies the name of the blend shape deformer (the blendShape node). You should
rename this node so that it indicates the role of the blend shape deformation (for
example, lipSync). If you don’t specify a name, Maya provides the default name
blendShapen. You can create multiple blend shape deformers on an object or a group
of objects.

Envelope

Specifies the blend shape deformation's scale factor (amount of influence). Use the
slider to specify values from 0.0000 to 1.0000 (the default). This is the same as setting
the Envelope value in the Attribute Editor, or setting the Weight value for a Blend
Shape Deformer in the Shape Editor.

Origin

Specifies whether the blend shape will be relative to the base object shape’s position,
rotation, and scale (Local or World). The default is Local.

Local

Local blends the base object shape to the target object shape(s) while ignoring
differences in position, rotation, and scale between the base object and the target
object(s). For facial animation setup, you would typically want to select Local. In
general, Local is useful when you want to have your target object(s) in various
separate positions for easy viewing, but don’t want their positions to affect the
deformation.

World

World blends the base object shape to the target object shape(s), taking into account
any differences in position, rotation, and scale between the target object shape(s).

Target Shape Options

Select from the following:

In-Between

Specifies whether the blending will be in series or in parallel (the default).


If on, the blending will be in series. Shape transitions will occur in the order in which
you selected the target objects. The effect will be that the blend shape will be able to
change from the first target shape, to the second, and so on, back and forth through
the series of target shapes chained together as “in-between” shapes.

If off (the default), the blending will occur in parallel. Each target shape can influence
the blending simultaneously in a parallel fashion rather than one after another in a
series. Typically, for facial animation setup, you want In-Between off so that you can
have a variety of basic facial expressions that form the basis of all the possible
expressions. Because the blending is in parallel, you can control the influence of each
basic expression at any moment to get a nearly infinite variety of highly nuanced
expressions.

Check Topology

Select this option to check if that the base object and the target object(s) have the
same topology (vertices for polygon objects or CVs for NURBS objects) before you
create a blend shape deformer.

Delete Targets

Select this option to delete the target object(s) after creating the blend shape deformer.

Advanced tab
Deformation order

Specifies the placement of the blendShape node in the base object’s history. For most cases,
you can select Automatic (the default) and let Maya figure out where to put the blendShape
node. You shouldn't need to change the order unless you are performing a specific task and
know where you need the blendShape node to be in the object's history.

Automatic (formerly called Default)

The default recommended setting. Maya determines where the blendShape node
should be located in the object's history based on the deformers that are currently
connected on the selected object. The blendShape node will be placed using either the
Pre-deformation or Post-deformation options:

 The blendShape node uses the Pre-deformation option if the selected object has no
deformers, or it has a Skin, Cluster, Blend Shape, or Delta Mush deformer in its
history. These types of deformers are supported by the Shape Inverter.
 The blendShape node uses the Post-deformation option if the object has any
nonlinear deformers (Bend, Flare, Sine, Squash, Twist, Wave) or any of the following
deformers in its history: Lattice, Wrap, ShrinkWrap, Wire, Wrinkle, Muscle, Soft
Modification, Sculpt, Texture, Jiggle, and Point on Curve. These types of deformers
are not supported by the Shape Inverter.
The Shape Inverter essentially allows blend shapes to be added before skinning by
inverting the shapes so that they produce the proper results after the skinning deforms
the mesh.

Pre-deformation (formerly called Front of chain)

Maya positions the BlendShape node so that it's evaluated before all the deformers
(including Skin nodes) in the selected object’s shape history, but after any of the Tweak
nodes. Tweak nodes keep track of the translation of the points on the base object as it's
deformed.

Blend shape deformers are often used to create deformation effects on a skinned
character, so Pre-deformation assures that the effects from blend shape deformation
occur before those caused by the skin.

You shouldn't use the Pre-deformation option if there are nonlinear deformers (Bend,
Flare, Sine, Squash, Twist, Wave) or any of the following deformers in the object's
history: Lattice, Wrap, ShrinkWrap, Wire, Wrinkle, Muscle, Soft Modification,
Sculpt, Texture, Jiggle, and Point on Curve. This is because the effects of these
deformers are not supported by the Shape Inverter, so the results from the Blend
Shape deformer won't be correct when they're evaluated after Blend Shape.

However, if you need to use the Pre-deformation option in this case, the best solution
is to turn off all unsupported deformers, either by selecting the Has No Effect option
for the deformer node's Node Behavior > Node State attribute, or by setting the
deformer's Envelope attribute value to 0 (no influence).

Post-deformation (formerly called Before)

Maya positions the blendShape node so that it's evaluated after all the other deformers
on the selected object. In the object’s history, the BlendShape node will be placed
above all other deformers, directly below the object's Shape node.

Post-deformation shapes are mainly used for sculpting corrective shapes on skinned
characters. These target shapes must be either Tangent Space or Transform Space
type.
The Post-deformation order ensures that the corrective shape is evaluated after the
effect of the skin deformation has been calculated, so the deltas are smaller and the
deformation is generally smoother than with Pre-deformation shapes.

After

Maya positions the deformer immediately after the deformable object's Shape node in
the stack so it's evaluated after the other deformers.

This actually creates a new shape with its own Tweak node. You can use After to
create an intermediate deformed shape somewhere in the middle of the object’s
history. The original shape of the object is not hidden.

Split

Maya splits the blend shape deformation into two deformation chains. You can use
Split to deform an object in two ways at the same time, creating two final shapes that
originate from the same original shape.

Parallel

Maya places the blendShape node in parallel with the existing INPUT nodes in the
object’s history, and then blends the effects provided by the INPUT nodes and the
deformer. A parallel blender node (default name: parallelBlendern) that blends the
effects of the existing INPUT nodes and the new deformer is placed before the final
Shape node at the top.

Parallel is useful when you want to blend the influences of several deformers acting
on a single object. For example, if you create a blendShape deformer with Automatic
placement for an object, and then create a Sine deformer with Parallel placement, you
can directly control how much influence each deformer has on the object by blending
each of their influences.

The parallelBlender node provides a weight channel for each deformer node, which
you can edit.

Exclusive

Specifies whether the deformer set is in a partition. Sets in a partition can have no
overlapping members. If on, the Partition To Use and New Partition Name options
become available. Default is off.
Partition To Use

Only available if Exclusive is on.

Lists any existing partitions, and a default selection Create New Partition. If you
select Create New Partition, you can edit the New Partition Name field to specify the
name of a new partition.

New Partition Name

Only available if Exclusive is on.

Specifies the name of a new partition that will include the deformer set. The
suggested partition name is deformPartition, which will be created if it does not
already exist. Typically, you might put all your exclusive deformer sets in the
partition named deformPartition. However, you can create as many partitions as you
like, and name them whatever you want.

Create blend shapes using only the base


object
With this method of shape animation, you can create target shapes directly on the base object
without needing to create separate multiple target objects. This means less geometry in the
scene to slow down the interaction time.

Of course, if you later decide that you want to create actual target objects for the target shapes
you have created. This allows you to work without worrying about which method you choose
because you can always delete and rebuild target objects as you like.

Note: This video illustrates how to create blend shape deformations in Maya, but you can do
the same in Maya LT.

1. Select base object that is to be deformed.


2. Open the Shape Editor and click the Create Blend Shape button to create a blend
shape deformer. You can create multiple blend shape deformers for an object.
3. In the Shape Editor, the blend shape deformer you just created is automatically
selected. If not, select it or another blend shape deformer in the tree view.

Tip: You can give each blend shape deformer a descriptive name by right-clicking it
and choosing Rename.

4. Add an empty target shape to the selected blend shape deformer by clicking the Add
Target button. Keep clicking to add multiple target shapes as you like.

You can give each target shape a descriptive name by right-clicking it and choosing
Rename.
5. When you add a target shape, its Edit button is automatically selected so that you can
immediately edit it.

If not, select it or another target shape, make sure that its Weight value is not 0 (1 is
probably best), then click its Edit button to enter Edit mode.

6. Modify the position of the vertices on the base object using the Sculpting tools, or any
of the Transform tools (Move, Rotate, or Scale).

Each modification you make is a delta to the vertex positions of the base object's
original shape. This particular information is stored for that target shape and used by
the blendShape node to calculate the shape deformations on the base shape.

7. When you're finished editing the object, click the Edit button again to save these
changes to the target shape and exit Edit mode.
8. Continue editing the other target shapes in this way.
9. Select a target shape and drag its Weight slider (or enter a value in the text box) to set
its influence on the blend shape for the base object.

Note: You can also set the Weight values for each target shape in the Channel Box or
the Attribute Editor.

10. In the Time Slider, go to the first frame where you want to set a key (such as for a
neutral expression or pose).
11. Repeat the last three steps to animate the shape deformation over time.

Create blend shapes using multiple target


objects
With this method of shape animation, you create multiple target objects that are duplicates of
the base object, then modify the vertex positions on each one of the target objects into the
forms you want. For example, you can use this method for facial animation, with each target
object representing a different facial expression.

This method of shape animation creates more geometry in the scene, but it's easy to return to
the target object for modifying. Having target objects also lets you take their geometry into
sculpting programs, such as Autodesk Mudbox, to do further editing and then import them
back into Maya LT. As well, you can use deformers such as lattices to deform a target object.
See below for tips on dealing with target object geometry.

You can also blend a hierarchy or group of target objects on a hierarchy or group of base
objects. Make sure that both hierarchies have the same number of children and parenting
relationships. Each child in the target object hierarchy blends with its corresponding child in
the base hierarchy. The order of children in the Outliner (or Hypergraph) determines which
children blend, so you can change the order of the children by middle-dragging them in the
Outliner so that the hierarchies match.

To create blend shapes using multiple target objects


1. Create the base object in a neutral pose. This is the object to be deformed with the target
shapes.

For more predictable deformation results, it's best to not change the number of
vertices, faces, or edges on the base object after you have created the blend shape
deformer. They should match those of the target objects. However, if you do, you can
propagate those changes to the target objects. This deletes the Input history on an
object.

2. Duplicate this object as many times as the number of the target shapes you want to set to
create target objects. Move them out of the way of the camera.

When you create the target objects, don't freeze their transformation after you have
moved them. They need to have the same transform values as the base object. It's
better to create the target objects where the base object is (the scene origin is best),
freeze their transforms (choose Modify > Freeze Transformations from the main
menu), and then move them to where you want them.

3. Deform the components (vertices, faces, edges) on the target objects using any method of
deformation (Sculpt tools, Transform tools, or other deformers).
4. When you're finished with editing the target objects, press Shift and select each of the
deformed objects in the order that you want the target shapes to be animated, then add the
base object to the selection last. You can change the order of the resulting target shapes
later in the Shape Editor.

If you're blending hierarchies or groups, select the parent (its transform node) of the
target object hierarchy or group first, then add the parent of the base object hierarchy
or group to the selection last.

If you want to delete the target objects automatically when you create the blend shape
deformer.

5. In the Shape Editor, you can see that a Blend Shape Deformer (blendShape node) is created,
and a target shape is created for each target object you selected.
6. In the Time Slider, go to the first frame where you want to set a key (such as for a neutral
expression or pose).
7. Select a target shape and drag its Weight slider (or enter a value in the text box) to set its
influence on the blend shape for the base object .

Note: You can also set the Weight values for each target shape in the Channel Box or the
Attribute Editor.

8. In the Shape Editor, click the Key icon ( ) at the right end of each target shape's weight
slider to set a key at this frame for the current value, or right-click the icon and choose one
of the options (Key Current, Key at 0, or Key at 1).

Note: You can also key the weight values for each target shape in the Channel Box.

9. Repeat the last three steps to animate the shape deformation over time.
Tips for using multiple target objects

Having geometry for target objects can make your scene larger, but here are some ways of
optimizing that:

 Delete the target objects automatically when you create the blend shape deformer. If you
later decide that you want the target objects back, you can easily rebuild them from their
target shapes.
 Delete the target objects after you're done creating the blend shape animation.
 Add the target objects to a display layer and then hide or template this layer.
 Save the selected target objects in another scene (File > Export Selection) and import this file
(File > Import) when you need the objects in your scene again.

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