About
F_Tools is an eclectic toolbox built in PyMel to aid an array of aspects of DCC in Maya.
The Toolbox
The F_Tools toolbox is a modular and dynamic GUI. Resizeable and easily rebuildable so tools can be easily added or removed.
The button spacing will automatically adjust when buttons are added, removed, or moved to a new position.
Tools
Convert Shader
Shader conversion script which supports Arnold, Redshift, and Mental Ray. This tool takes an input shader from one format, and produces a comparable shader for another supported format.
Consolidate Nodes
Scans selected nodes for parity, and then consolidates inputs and outputs. The tool is intended to reduce unnecesary weight in shader networks, but is also useful for animCurve nodes and more.
Random
A simple randomider utility to randomly rotate, translate, or scale any collection of selected nodes.
Variation Assist
A tool which helps artists fine control over attribute variation across multiple selected nodes. An existing attribute may be specified, or a new attribute can be injected on all selected nodes. A useful demonstration of this capability is wit UserData nodes, which adapt a shader at render-time based on the value of a corresponding attribute for geos to which the shader is assigned.
Artists can edit ramps to control the variation of the attribute value across the selection body
Assembly Toggle
Maya’s Scene assembly can be a bit opaque for those unfamiliar with its in-built workflow. Assembly toggle is a sub-toolbox with a few marking-menu enabled buttons to make navigating Assembly Reference nodes quicker and more intuitive. Artists can change representations en masse, alter values inside references, and recursively set representation levels for nested assembly references.
