File Referencing ( Low Def to High Def swap)

[bayareadeck]

I do understand about file referencing, very powerful.
Does referencing make sense to use in animation for film or just games ?
Say I want to use referencing to bring in a high def mesh for film over an already animated
rig that has a low def version bound to it. Would this workflow be correct ?

1. Create parent scene file.
2. Create reference: rig bound to low def model.
3. Create reference: rig bound to high def model.
4. Load in reference: low def model / rig into the parent scene file.
5. Create animation on referenced low def model / rig in the parent scene file.
6. In reference editor, replace reference to: rig bound to high def model.

Do I need to export my referenced asset as a proxy asset as well ?

[mcw0 · Accepted solution]

You have it correct.  Another way you can do this is to have the low and high def in the same rig.  And control them with a custom attribute.  This way, you can animate in low def mode.  And when ready to render, switch it to high def mode without having to swap references.  The switch can control the visibility of the geo.  

[bayareadeck]

mcw0
Wow, Ok. That sounds possibly simpler.
So I bind both meshes to the same rig?
Question about UV mapping:
Would the high def model need to be UV mapped
before binding, and what about low def model?

[mcw0]

Ideally the UVs would be good to go as well.  But you can always update the UVs in the rig by connecting the shape nodes.  When you deform a mesh, Maya saves the original shape and appends "Orig" to the name.  Maya sets it as an intermediateObject so it's hidden.  You can connect the outMesh of your final UV'd mesh to the original shape node of your rigged mesh's inMesh.  And voila, your UVs have now been updated.  Now you can confirm that by selecting the rigged mesh and opening the UV editor.  Once it has been verified, you can disconnect the shapes and the update will hold.