• Updated licensing. Previous licenses need to be updated.
• Minimum supported Maya version is 2020.
• RBF algorithm update for the weightDriver node. This breaks compatibility with previous versions of the node.
• Requires weightDriver 4.0.0 or later.
• Improved interaction for the sculpt compare dragger tool.
• Added a preference setting to define a custom prefix/suffix when splitting target shapes. This also applies to extracting split region maps.
• Added a new action to convert in-between shapes to a shape sequence for export to a game engine.
• Fixed a sculpt compare related issue with Maya versions 2022 and above.
• Fixed some error messages when invoking the sculpt compare dragger tool without a valid mesh.
• Fixed that custom added weightDriver nodes can appear with a doubled identifier.

• Added support for Maya 2024

• Added support for Maya 2023

Changed

• Improved error message with meshes which have unnecessary intermediate shape nodes.
• Reduced the tolerance for detecting matching poses when working with the RBF solver.

Fixed

• The included python modules produce a name clash with default Maya modules.
• rampWeights: Fixed an issue related to an empty deformer component list.
• weightDriver: Fixed the loss of stored data in generic mode after the Active check box has been toggled to temporarily bypass the solver.

Fixed

• Error during exiting edit mode in Maya 2022 if the mesh doesn’t have a standard shader applied.

Fixed

• Added support for Maya 2022
• Adding new targets to a secondary blend shape node while other targets are active leads to double transformations.
• Rotation value problems with drivenSets when working in Maya 2019 and later.

Fixed

• Updated the link to the SHAPES main tutorial page.
• When mirroring an RBF solver setup the warning message is too vague when naming conventions or side identifiers are the issue.
• Combo targets get disconnected when manually changing their value with the channel slider.

Fixed

• Creating a new shape with sculpt compare active uses the same frame range as the previously created shape.
• Error when adjusting the value of a driven set.
• Driven sets, which are controlled by the RBF solver, don’t get connected properly upon rebuilding the setup.

Fixed

• After exiting edit mode for non-skin meshes and post-deformation blend shape nodes the entire shape gets applied as the new target instead of only the deltas.

New

• Added that only the selected shape/s can be extracted and connected.
• Added a new option to set the current blend shape node as the shape driver.

Changes

• Moved the menu items for extracting and connecting shapes to the additional actions menu.
• Renamed the “Edit Mode” button to “Create New” and the “Tweak” button of the channel slider to “Edit”.

Fixed

• Group attributes are listed when the blend shape node is set as the driver for a direct connection.
• A mesh doesn’t load if the isHistoricallyInteresting attribute on the blend shape node is not at it’s default.
• When dragging the slider with multiple shapes selected which are connected only one shape updates.
• Fixed a small lag when entering edit mode in some cases.
• Fixed a regression that a weight map can only be pasted onto a single target only.
• Removed an error when adding a secondary post-deformation blend shape node.
• After leaving edit mode on a secondary blend shape node a hidden mesh remains in the scene.
• Adding new shapes to a post-deformation blend shape node only works correctly in shot-fix mode.

New

• New options for renaming list items with search/replace and prefix/suffix.
• Weight maps will be respected when mirroring, symmetrizing or flippping target shapes.

Changes

• SHAPES Brush: Re-introduced support for the legacy viewport.
• SHAPES Brush: Defining the blend-to mesh can be performed through selection order.
• Icons files are not organized in their respective folders due to a Maya module bug on Linux systems.
• Replaced the command-line installer by the drag-and-drop installer.

Fixed

• Setting blend shape weights to black on a vertex selection sets the weights to an invalid value for the entire shape.
• Script error upon opening SHAPES after the window has been floating and closed by the default window close button.
• Unable to create opposite when the shape is driven by a direct connection with a source attribute carrying a side identifier.

New

• Option to keep the mesh connected when adding the selection as a new target.
• Improvements to which attributes of a shape driver node are made available through the UI.

New

• Improved and faster symmetry mapping.
• Added filters to the target list.
• Added that the search for target shapes and drivers can be performed with or without case sensitivity.
• Added the option of a direct connection to the list of available shape drivers.
• New symmetrise button during Edit mode.
• Added a menu item to open the weight or region map folder in the file system.
• Added a right-click menu to the buttons which set each list to a specific size.
• New menu item for the target list to expand all groups.
• Blend shape nodes can be selected as a driver when creating direct connections or set driven keyframes.

Changes

• Changes to the weight driver UI with less focus and need for the driver list.
• New combos are created with the multDoubleLinear node instead of the multiplyDivide node.
• Combined the menus ‘Add Helper’ and ‘Additional Actions’ into one.
• Several icon updates for consistency.

Fixed

• Symmetry mapping crashes with hires meshes on Windows.
• Importing blend shape deltas for selected target shapes imports all shapes from the file if remapping is not enabled.
• It’s not possible to remove multiple shape drivers at once from the driver list.
• Error when renaming a driven set.
• Driven sets are not removed properly from the data node when deleted.

New

• Added basic compatibility with the upcoming SHAPES Framework extension.

Changes

• The shape range can now be defined with float point values.

Fixed

• Some RBF solver attributes of the weight driver node aren’t included in the export of the setup.

Changes

• Several improvements when editing secondary blend shape nodes along with a large and mixed history of the mesh.

Fixed

• Error when mirroring a pose interpolator setup when the control node is not a joint.

New

• support for macOS Catalina

Fixed

• Error when trying to enter Edit mode on a secondary blend shape node when the mesh has non- deformer history.
• Re-installing over an existing installation causes the installer to hang on Windows systems.
• Minor licensing bugfixes.

New

• support for Maya 2020
• new licensing system
• new installation procedure
• new menu item in the Maya main menu bar instead of a generated shelf button
• the accompanying plug-ins are part of the SHAPES installation but reside in their own modules just as they would when installed separately in order to avoid compatibility issues
• several fixes for the SHAPES Brush, which is now open source as well
• all SHAPES related tool commands are now compatible with python
• added an auto tolerance option to the symmetry mapping to calculate the tolerance based on the average edge length (this can help the process to find the correct center vertex but also can fail on some meshes and therefore is off by default)
• when loading a scene with SHAPES open or loading a mesh a check is performed if a legacy setup of the ramp weights or weights server node needs to be converted.

Changes

• Maya 2017 is the lowest supported version
• the default name of a custom attribute always receives an increment number
• when creating a combo the involved multiplier nodes are now hidden from the channel box

Fixed

• creating a shape based on a sculpted overdriven shape doesn’t produce the expected result
• when exporting the setup the weight driver blend curve gets removed even if a rebuild is not performed
• nodes without any keyable or visible attributes cannot be used as a shape driver
• full length side identifiers are not being identified correctly
• error with the extraction of combo shapes
• combo sliders are displayed even when more than one combo is active in compare mode
• unable to create a driven set when no blend shape node exists
• the SHAPES workspace control doesn’t get properly removed at startup
• side identifier error when exporting a mirrored sequence
• JSON weight map files are not supported when importing the blend shape setup
• deleting a weights controller doesn’t properly check for the type of controller
• the weights controller doesn’t get renamed with the blend shape node
• compatible weight driver version is not checked properly
• symmetry mapping fails on seemingly symmetrical mesh
• propagating a tweak edit when there is more than one combo attached to the shape

New

• topological symmetry support for single- and multi-shell meshes
• export and import of blend shape deltas as a JSON file
• new weightsServer node to create and control blend shape weights based on influence positions,
  curves or textures
• new influence map feature to make blend shape weights paintable through a skin cluster node
• a custom path for storing blend shape setup related data can be defined via the preferences
• the custom path for the setup export gets remembered as a preference
• added preference to use the undeformed original mesh as the blend mesh when in Edit mode
• added a new preference setting to display joints in the shape driver list as mesh related
• ability to export and import frozen maps at all times
• hidden faces are now preserved when entering Edit mode (Maya 2017 and later)
• component selections are maintained when entering Edit mode
• added a check that the side identifier lists have the same number of entries
• new helper command to find which poses cause a RBF decomposition error

Fixed

• error when trying to mirror a pose interpolator or weight driver with a side identifier suffix
• error creating a RBF solver node when the driving node is referenced
• error when trying to mirror a RBF or pose interpolator setup when meshes with the names of the
  contained poses exist in the scene
• the weightDriver RBF node doesn’t get correctly mirrored when the parent is placed at the symmetry center
• error when trying to replace a target shape with a mesh which has the same name as one or more
  other objects in the scene
• incorrect shapes are created when sculpting with the maya sculpt brushes in certain rigs
• smoothing an entire weight map doesn’t affect the selected target shape but a different one
• the channel slider cannot be found after closing the UI in certain cases
• driver names are not updated when the blend shape node is renamed outside SHAPES even the
  change gets noted upon loading the mesh
• creating driver groups doesn’t work
• blend shape shape maps don’t get applied when rebuilding the setup when a custom data path is
  defined in the preferences
• the custom export path option gets disabled when cancelling the the file dialog but doesn’t get
  stored as a preference setting which saves the setup to the custom location even though this is not
  preferred
• the blend shape edit warning appears when transferring the setup
• using export setup and transfer setup alternatively resets the settings in the other window
• error when selecting a target shape after the setup has been transferred and the shape is controlled by the master blend shape node
• issues when mirroring a blend shape setup with shape drivers
• the SHAPES brush button is disabled when entering Edit mode
• SHAPES brush issue when toggling between blend to original and a second shape because the
  setting behaves the opposite way
• error when storing brush settings when the marking menu hasn’t been invoked yet
• issue when sculpting with the SHAPES brush if the freeze map contain false colors
• fixed that the generic RBF mode for the weightDriver looses it’s rest pose at 0 when the scene is
  saved
• issues when setting new poses in shot fix mode before the first pose
• bug when trying to find the tweak node

New

• channel action to remove the target deltas for the entire mesh or selected components only
• weight and region maps can now be stored in an optional JSON file format
• paint value submenu when painting weight or region maps
• ability to lock regions from editing and normalisation
• when entering Edit Mode the selected components are maintained on the sculpt mesh
• the behavior of the base weights warning message can now be controlled from the preferences
• added a check if the meshes transform and shape node names are unique
• if the blend shape data node doesn’t match the blend shape node’s name anymore when changed outside of SHAPES it gets automatically renamed when loading the mesh the next time
• improved the handling of asymmetrical meshes when mirroring shapes
• added a brush symmetry and color display toggle to the paint shape weights context menu
• SHAPESBrush: size and strength attributes can now be adjusted with a higher precision in the tool settings window
• SHAPESBrush: the default SHAPES brush type can now be set from the SHAPES preferences or the brush tool settings
• SHAPESBrush: new grab and twist brush type

Updated

• compatibility with Maya 2018

Fixed

• values of 1 are discarded after inverting a region map
• error message occurs after the SHAPES window got closed and the last selected target shape’s value is changed when moving the time slider
• SHAPESBrush: Paint Freeze Symmetry is enabled by default
• SHAPESBrush: several issues when setting options from the brush marking menu

Fixed

• the Pose Interpolator is not available as a shape driver for Maya 2016 Extension
• referenced nodes cannot manually be added to the driver list
• joints with a custom shape node don’t display correctly as joints in the driver list
• after updating the setup to the new data model some driving nodes don’t show up in the driver list in particular cases

New

• added a twist axis option to the shape driver folder when working with the weightDriver in RBF mode or Pose Interpolator

Updated

• added a version check for the weightDriver plug-in to make sure that the right version is used

Fixed

• the Pose Interpolator gets shown when having Maya 2016 with an update installed (pre Maya 2016 Extension 1)
• after exporting and rebuilding a blend shape setup it doesn’t get loaded automatically
• the twist axis for the weightDriver in RBF mode is set to the z-axis when there is no child to the driving node
• the icon size for the weightDriver in RBF mode is set to zero when the driving node has no children
• when adding an existing mesh as a new target with the option to keep the mesh it will stay connected to the blend shape node

New

• new Weight Driver RBF mode for enhanced interpolation of multiple shapes per driving node
• support for the Maya Pose Interpolator for Maya 2016.5 and later
• added the ability to define a custom blending of RBF or Pose Interpolator controlled blend shape targets before entering Edit Mode
• all target shapes can now be quickly extracted and connected as meshes to the blend shape node
• added a check for externally added target shapes

See video for version 4.1.

New

• general: it’s now possible to add multiple meshes as target shapes as new default or posed targets
• general: when selecting an incoming node a new option lets the user choose to select the upstream dag node; in case there is no dag node the next node upstream gets selected
• general: new preference setting to keep the undo state when undoing; turning it off keeps the undo state but erases the redo queue
• ui: added a close button to completely remove the SHAPES UI
• weights: added a new menu item to smooth shape weights
• region maps & weight maps: added functionality to duplicate or backup a map, as well as loading the map backup
• region maps: added new menu items to invert and mirror region maps
• region maps: it’s now possible to change the target selection when in region edit mode
• region maps: changed the region extraction so that now all selected target shapes are considered
• region maps: new option to extract regions to existing shapes only
• region maps: added the option to paint from buffer, which contains the previous maps
• transfer: added the wrap deformer auto weight threshold preference to the transfer options window

Updated

• compatibility with Maya 2017

Fixed

• some intermediate meshes remain in the scene after some operations when working with secondary blend shape nodes
• if the driving node for a weight driver is not listed in the driver list it doesn’t get automatically added
• when working with a secondary blend shape node the mesh doesn’t stay selected after some blend shape weights operations
• the exported setup contains false connections when a combo driving shape is driven by a direct connection
• target shapes using the ramp weights node don’t get exported/transferred correctly and result in non-working target shapes
• crash, when cleaning up the tweak node when a ramp weights node is present
• sculpt compare doesn’t get activated when entering edit mode for the first time
• issue with saving weight maps when the blend shape node is within a namespace

New

• new option to create a post deformation blend shape node through the Add Blend Shape Node menu for Maya 2016.5 and later
• added a new rampWeights node to create ramp effects for target weights
• shape drivers in the driver list can now be grouped and organized
• the driver list can be reset individually
• the about window now displays the plugin versions
• added a token option to place extracted regions underneath the source shape

Updated

• compatibility with Maya 2016.5
• when in Shot Fix mode and no blend shape node exists a new post deformation node gets
  created
• adding an empty target creates the name ’emptyTarget’ for better readability

Fixed

• when creating a new weight driver the range field doesn’t correctly display node rotations past 90 degrees
• reduced the display of errors when a target channel is empty
• exporting empty targets creates no target channels upon import
• SHAPES Brush symmetry setting is not properly set when opening the Maya tool settings
• importing a weight map onto a region ignores values of 1 when switching between regions

Note:
Due to the transfer of the SHAPES brush settings to the Maya tool settings window the current installation does not include a SHAPES brush shelf button anymore. The brush can now be activated through the brush button below the target list and the tool settings window can be opened with a double-click.
Any existing brush shelf button keeps its behavior as long as the SHAPES brush plug-in is loaded. To make it work in any case change the button command to SHAPESBrush;

New

• new shot fix feature for corrective animation

Updated

• new weight driver options for translation and custom ramp interpolation
• symmetry improvements for the SHAPES brush
• the SHAPES brush tool settings are available through the Maya tool settings window
• unassigned/partial region map weights can now be displayed as a color ramp
• unassigned/partial weights can be assigned to any region on object or vertex level
• auto distribution for unassigned/partial weights
• region extraction now supports in-between shapes
• option to toggle between black/white and color feedback when painting regions

Fixed

• error when trying to send the sculpt mesh to zBrush
• error when a target channel name contains a dash
• error/crash when a target channel with a live mesh connection is selected and edit mode is entered
• live mesh connections can get disconnected under certain conditions
• error when mirroring a shape in order based mode
• weight driver attributes are not in a layout for Maya 2015 and below
• error using a node as a shape driver when message attributes are present
• error when exporting the setup and node names already exist in the scene
• flushing a region map with white doesn’t store the new values
• reducing region map weights leads to unassigned weights
• when transferring the setup to a hires mesh deformation artifacts can appear because of the used wrap deformer

New

• complete rewrite

All parts of SHAPES have been touched and many have been modified. The main changes and additions include:

• general speed improvements for all major actions
• region map feature to extract partial shapes based on a complex shape
• shape sequence feature as an alternative to in-betweens
• driven set feature to control set driven key setups
• sculpt compare feature
• tweak auto mirror option
• symmetry check/match feature when loading the mesh
• preference option to define the default Maya sculpt tool
• tweak propagation for combo shape editing
• updated export options
• improved setup transfer to another mesh
• ability to mirror the entire blend shape setup
• batch mirror for all shapes contained in one group
• ability to toggle the wireframe display when working with the SHAPES brush
• option to keep the selected mesh when adding it as a new target
• added some basic paint operations when working with blend shape weights
• new check for existing base weights
• added progressive in-betweens
• the blend brush can now be used to blend to the original mesh/undeformed shape
• weights maps can be added or subtracted from each other
• added the ability to store the freeze information from the Maya sculpting tools freeze brush for Maya 2016 and higher