For Maya 2022+ compatibility, please update to Pathfinder_Python3 (v1.8)!
Pathfinder Home Edition v1.8 is an Autodesk Maya tool that allows animators to retarget their animation into a path.
Lightwave and easy to set up., this tool is much more powerful than the inbuilt Maya's Motion Path tool. Pathfinder delivers a final result with no foot sliding and preserving it as intact as possible.
Important! To update, just replace your version with the zip'z contents.
Key features:
No foot sliding.
Easy to setup.
Easy to delete at any point without damaging the animation.
Easy to bake into a different layer.
Results are in real time.
FAQ:
- The Linear path seems broken after deleting an existing path and creating a new one?
Solution: Some of the old variables may still be living in memory. Try using the refresh button, or close the tool and open it again, this will ensure that the memory is clean.
- Some of the features are grayed out when switching to Non-Linear path?
Unfortunately some features are not available on the Non-Linear path, due to using a different algorythm than the Linear one. However, they will be added in the future!
- My character looks destroyed (flipped hip) after creating a Linear path! Help!
There are many ways of creating rigs, so trying to cover all of the existing rigs is very tricky. The tool has the most common orientation by default, which may not be your rig's standard. To fix this, after creating the path select the Master Control and set the Bank attribute to -90 or 90 (in very few cases you may need to set a different value like 45, -45, 180 or -180). Hopefully this will fix the orientation of your rig!
Version History:
V1.0 - First version of the tool.
V1.1 - Fixed freezing bug when using Non-Linear while Maya prefs was set to meters instead of centimeters.
V1.2 - Updated so the curve is visible when creating a Non-Linear path.
V1.3 - Fixed path back slashes to normal slashes (\ui\images to /ui/images/) so it runs correctly in Windows and Linux.
V1.4 - Minor bug fixing regarding control size.
V1.5 - Added new algorithm to calculate the Non-Linear path
v1.6 – Fixed namespace bug that prevented changing the pivot on controls.
v1.7 - Vector Up option allows for characters to follow paths in 360 degrees.
v1.8 - First pivot control bug fixed. Unlocked number of joints and number of lattice divisions. Python 3 compatibility (Maya 2022+)
