Marcus Chen
In Maya, paint effects must be converted to polygons to render. This is because the Maya software renderer is not suitable for photo-realistic rendering, and scene lighting no longer works in this workflow. To convert paint effects to polygons, you can go to Modify > Convert > Paint Effects to Polygons. This will allow you to render in any renderer and use other polygon editing tools. It's important to control the level of detail when converting paint effects to polygons, as they can be very heavy and cause performance problems.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Conversion Process | Modify > Convert > Paint Effects to Polygons |
| Conversion to Curves | Modify > Convert > Paint Effects to Curves |
| Conversion to NURBS | Modify > Convert > Paint Effects to NURBS |
| Benefits of Converting to Polygons | Render in any renderer, show effects in reflections and refractions, use polygon editing tools |
| Benefits of Converting to Curves | Use resulting curves for modelling, render curves in other renderers |
| Performance Considerations | Pay attention to polygon count to avoid performance problems |
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What You'll Learn
Converting paint effects to polygons in Maya 2020
Firstly, it's worth noting that paint effects strokes can be rendered directly in the Legacy Maya software renderer without being converted to polygons. However, as pointed out by an instructor on LinkedIn Learning, this workflow has limitations. The scene lighting no longer works, forcing users to rely on fake lighting built into the brush node, which may not be suitable for photorealistic rendering.
To convert paint effects to polygons, follow these steps:
- Go to the "Modify" menu in Maya 2020.
- Select "Convert".
- Choose "Paint Effects to Polygons".
This process will convert your paint effects strokes into polygonal meshes, retaining the construction history. With this conversion, you can render in any renderer, have your paint effects show up in reflections, refractions, and transparent objects, and utilise other polygon editing tools.
It's important to pay attention to the polygon count when converting paint effects. Paint effects can be heavy, and a high polygon count may lead to performance issues. Therefore, controlling the level of detail and optimising the mesh quality during conversion are crucial steps to ensure a smooth workflow.
Additionally, when dealing with paint effects that have animations, be mindful that some effects may disappear upon conversion. This behaviour depends on the type of paint effect used and whether it has mesh parameterisation. Custom brushes can be switched to mesh in the stroke to ensure proper conversion and retain animations.
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Using Modify > Convert > Paint Effects to Polygons
To convert paint effects to polygons in Maya, you can use the 'Modify > Convert > Paint Effects to Polygons' tool. This feature allows you to render the paint effects in any renderer and have them show up in reflections, refractions, and through transparent objects.
When you use this tool, you are converting paint effects strokes into polygonal meshes, which include construction history. This gives you the ability to use other polygon editing tools and control the level of detail of your scene. Paint effects can be very heavy, so it is important to pay attention to the polygon count to avoid performance problems.
Additionally, shaders that closely match the look of the paint effects render are automatically generated and assigned to the resulting meshes. You can also choose to output colour per vertex and bake lighting onto the mesh.
It is worth noting that there are other conversion options available, such as converting paint effects to curves or NURBS using the 'Modify > Convert' tool. These options provide different benefits, such as the ability to use the resulting curves for modelling or to maintain the animations from the paint effects.
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Controlling polygon count to avoid performance problems
Reducing the number of polygons in a mesh is a useful way to control polygon count and avoid performance problems. Maya's Reduce feature allows users to automatically reduce the number of polygons in a mesh by specifying a target number of vertices or triangles, or by setting a percentage of the overall polygon count. This feature helps retain the original shape of the mesh while reducing the polygon count.
To begin the process of reducing polygons, it is important to first triangulate your model if it isn't already. This can be done by going to Mesh > Triangulate. Subsequently, the Poly Count window can be opened by navigating to Display > Heads-up Display > Poly Count. This window provides information on the total number of triangles in the scene and the selected object, helping users stay within the compatibility limits of certain platforms.
The Reduce Options window can then be accessed by going to Mesh > Reduce. Here, users can adjust the percentage of polygon count reduction, allowing for more or less polygons as needed. It is important to exercise caution when setting this percentage, as an overly high value can damage the mesh. The Reduce feature also allows for the preservation of hard edges, helping to avoid smoothing artifacts that may distort UVs.
Additionally, it is recommended to incrementally save different iterations of the model during the optimization process. This facilitates easy reversion to previous states if needed. Users should also check that shaders and materials are correctly assigned, as these may be lost or corrupted during optimization. By carefully monitoring the UV layout during the process, it is possible to achieve an optimized model suitable for animation without significantly altering the UV map.
For further control over the polygon reduction process, users can extract polygons from the mesh before reducing them. This can be done by turning on the Mesh Borders option, allowing for easy reattachment of the extracted mesh later. When reducing the weights during painting, it is important to note that Maya automatically selects the original mesh if the Reduce Weights tool is used on the reduced version.
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Converting paint effects to curves
To convert paint effects to curves in Maya, follow these steps:
- Go to the "
- Choose "Paint Effects to Curves" from the options.
- If you want to hide the strokes, select the Options box during the conversion process.
It's worth noting that while converting paint effects to curves provides benefits, there may be cases where you prefer to work directly with paint effects. For example, in Maya, paint effects strokes that use a Brush Type "Paint" are rendered directly as curves by RenderMan. In such cases, translating paint effects into curves might be unnecessary.
When converting paint effects to curves, you can also choose to include construction history. This allows you to edit brush attributes and immediately see the impact on the output curve. Additionally, shaders that match the look of the paint effects render are automatically generated and assigned, ensuring a seamless transition from paint effects to curves.
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Baking animation after converting paint effects to polygons
To bake animation after converting paint effects to polygons in Maya, you need to ensure that your construction history is on. This is essential for the conversion to polygons to retain the animation of the paint effects.
Firstly, go into the main Maya menu and display the polygon count. Paint effects can be heavy, so careful attention to the polygon count is necessary to avoid performance problems.
Next, follow these steps:
- In a new scene, create a BirchSpringHeavy tree from TresMesh in the visor.
- Modify > Convert > Paint Effects to Polygons.
- Select the main root birchSpringHeavy1Main and then Geometry Cache > Create a new cache.
- Select the leaves birchSpringHeavy1Leaf and cache again.
- Select everything, then File > Export Selection and save as an FBX file.
- Create a new scene, import the FBX tree.
- Select the Root object, then Geometry > Import cache and choose the corresponding xml file.
- Repeat this process for the leaves.
By following these steps, you can successfully bake the animation of the tree after converting the paint effects into polygons in Maya.
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Frequently asked questions
To convert paint effects strokes to polygons, go to Modify > Convert > Paint Effects to Polygons.
Converting paint effects to polygons allows you to render in any renderer and use other polygon editing tools. It also enables paint effects to show up in reflections, refractions, and through transparent objects.
Yes, you can convert paint effects strokes to curves using Modify > Convert > Paint Effects to Curves. This is beneficial as you can use the resulting curves for modelling and render them in other renderers such as Pixar RenderMan.
To keep the animations, create a new scene with a BirchSpringHeavy tree from TresMesh in the visor. Then, follow the steps to convert paint effects to polygons. After that, select the main root birchSpringHeavy1Main and create a new cache under Geometry Cache. Finally, select the leaves birchSpringHeavy1Leaf and cache again.
