Transferring a Cached Animation from Maya to Softimage for ICE Use
When you face the wonderful task of transferring a cached animation from Maya to Softimage, especially if your ultimate goal is to leverage ICE to create advanced effects, you enter a technical minefield where nothing is plug and play. But don't worry, at foro3d.com we know that easy things are boring and complicated ones… well, they make for many hours of coffee and consultations. And no, you don't need to be an animation expert to do it! 🎬
The Real Problem When Transferring Animation Caches Between Maya and Softimage
What’s probably blocking you is that Maya and Softimage don't use the same caching or vertex deformation system. Maya exports its animated geometry in .mcx or .mc format (Alembic, Geometry Cache), while Softimage handles ICE or Point Cache (with its own .pc2 or .mc format).
So you can't just export the cache from Maya and expect Softimage to understand it by magic. Between Autodesk and its dark humor with export formats, we're quite used to these little details.
Solutions and Recommended Workflow for Correct Transfer
- Export from Maya in Alembic format (.abc): This is the most universal format today for exchanging animated geometry. In Maya, use the Alembic export command selecting the cached mesh. Don't forget to enable the Write UVs option if you need to preserve textures.
- Import into Softimage via Alembic Import: If you have Softimage 2015 or versions that support it, you can use the built-in Alembic Import that comes with ICE. If your version of Softimage doesn't accept Alembic directly, you'll have to go through an external converter like Exocortex Crate.
- If Alembic is not an option, as plan B you can export in .obj sequence format or a .pc2 cache using scripts or intermediate tools like Point Oven or even Blender as a bridge.
- Once inside Softimage, use ICE to manipulate the geometry however you want. This is where the real party starts… crazy deformations, particles, or anything your graphics card can handle without starting to smell burnt.
Important detail: If the geometry is very heavy, prepare to optimize the polygon count or work with proxies, because Softimage is not exactly known for being the best friend of giant caches.
And as always… if after all this the file still won't open in Softimage… well, you can always print the frame sequence and move them by hand like a flipbook. So hands on and transfer those animations! 🔄
With these tips, you'll be able to transfer a cached animation from Maya to Softimage to use ICE effectively. And remember, if the transfer doesn't go as expected, you can always check your formats! 🔧