Setting MASH Point positions with JSON
A while ago I was asked by how you can set MASH points using JSON – a fairly specific request, but it’s pretty easy because the MASH Placer node uses a JSON dictionary to store it’s painted points, so we can tap into that to set the positions (and...
read moreMASH & Python & meshes – Part 2: Colour Sets
Following on from part 1, in this example we take things a small step further. Instead of just sampling the mesh for the closest normal to the MASH point, we sample the mesh for the closest point and normal, this call has the added benefit of also returning the...
read moreMASH & Python & meshes – Part 1: Normals
There are many reasons you might want to access mesh information in a MASH network, we’ll take a look at two of those reasons here. In part 1 we’ll look at turning points off based on mesh normals. In part 2 we’ll look at setting point Ids based on...
read moreAccessing MASH Point Data with the Maya API
Good news, MASH only uses Maya’s default data types, so all MASH data can be accessed via normal Maya APIs. Ordinarily this isn’t needed as MASH provides two built in ways to extract data: For the non scripter there’s the Breakout node, which can...
read moreMASH API Examples
Maya 2017 Update 3 includes a new API to help quickly create MASH networks with Python. Below are 4 examples that will hopefully get you started. To use them, copy and paste the Python into the Script Editor, and then run the script. Python import MASH.api as mapi...
read moreShuffling MASH Points with the Python node
Say you want to create the above animation of random spokes moving about; to do this you’ll need to shuffle the MASH points, read on to find out why, and how. Let’s start with a grid distribution: As you can see, when MASH creates a grid distribution, all...
read moreMultiple looping animations with the Instancer
The Time node in MASH is really useful for creating looping or offset animations inherited from an input model. Check out this tutorial for more on that. The problem is that the Time node is only available when MASH is creating an output mesh via the Repro node (this...
read moreGetting Particle Positions with the MASH Python node
If for some reason you don’t want to plug your particle system directly into your MASH network you can get particle positions via the Python node like this. You’ll need to edit the name of the particle system in the Python script, but other then that, you...
read moreStrange Attractors with MASH and Python
Here’s a quick and dirty implementation of a couple of strange attractors in MASH using the Python node. To use them simply copy and paste the Python into the Python node and click run (top right of the Python Editor). I used the Trails node in Join the Dots...
read moreRandom 90 Degree rotations in MASH
Add random 90 degree rotations to all MASH objects. To use the code, simply copy and paste it into the Python node. The below variation will give you random Y rotation, you can use the same idea to adjust the X and Z rotations as well if you need to. Python import...
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