Editing blendshapes in Maya involves modifying the target shapes or managing the blend shape deformer itself.
Blendshapes are a powerful tool for facial animation and creating deformations based on target poses. To edit them effectively, you'll primarily interact with the blend shape node and its associated target meshes.
Accessing Blendshape Editing Options
A key way to manage and edit your blendshapes is through the blend shape deformer node. You can access various commands by right-clicking the blend shape deformer's name, often found in the Channel Box or the Attribute Editor when the deformed object is selected.
According to the reference, right-click a blend shape deformer name to open a contextual menu with these commands:
- Add Target: Adds a new, un-morphed duplicate of the base mesh that you can then sculpt into a new target shape.
- Add Selection as Target: Adds a selected mesh (which should be a duplicate of the base mesh morphed into your desired shape) as a new target shape for the blendshape node. This is the common workflow for creating new targets externally.
- Add Selection as Combination Target: Adds a selected mesh as a combination target, used for corrective shapes or complex interactions between existing sliders.
- Select Base mesh: Selects the original geometry the blendshape deformer is applied to.
- Select Blend Shape node: Selects the blend shape deformer node itself, allowing access to its attributes in the Attribute Editor or Property Editor.
- View in Node Editor: Opens the blend shape node and its connections in the Node Editor for visualizing the rig setup.
- Solo/Unsolo: Isolates the effect of a specific blend shape target or combination target for easier viewing and editing.
- Export: Exports blendshape targets, often to formats like .obj or Maya's own blendshape formats.
- Import: Imports blendshape targets, allowing you to bring in shapes created in other files or software.
- Group: Groups the blend shape node within the Outliner or Node Editor for organizational purposes.
- Rename: Allows you to rename the blend shape deformer node.
- Delete: Removes the blend shape deformer node and its effects from the geometry.
Modifying Existing Blendshape Targets
To actually change the shape of an existing blendshape target:
- Identify the Target Mesh: Blendshape targets are often kept as separate pieces of geometry in your scene, sometimes on a hidden layer or grouped away. Find the specific mesh that represents the target you want to edit (e.g., "smile_target_geo").
- Select the Target Mesh: Select this piece of geometry.
- Edit the Geometry: Enter sculpting mode (e.g., Mesh Tools > Sculpting Tools) or component mode (vertex, edge, face) and use Maya's modeling tools to refine the shape.
- Update the Blendshape (if necessary): In most modern Maya workflows, the blendshape node maintains a live connection to the target geometry. As you sculpt the target mesh, the deformation on the base mesh driven by that blendshape slider should update automatically. If the connection is broken or you used an older workflow, you might need to re-add the edited mesh using "Add Selection as Target" (making sure to replace the old one) or use a specific 'Edit Target' function within the Shape Editor.
Using the Shape Editor
Maya's Shape Editor (Window > Animation Editors > Shape Editor) is the primary interface for managing, creating, and testing blendshapes.
- Adjust Sliders: You can activate and scrub the sliders for each blendshape target to see its effect on the base mesh.
- Create New Targets: The Shape Editor has buttons to create new blendshape targets.
- Edit Targets: You can often double-click a target name in the Shape Editor or use its own right-click menu or Edit options to activate editing mode for that specific target, often creating a temporary editable copy of the base mesh influenced by that target.
By combining the context menu options from the blend shape node and working directly on the target meshes or using the Shape Editor, you have comprehensive control over your blendshapes in Maya.
