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Boolean Toolkit

Boolean Toolkit

The Booleans workflow and tech in Maya needs updating - do something similar to Mesh Fusion or Hard Mesh (links below).

Some suggestions:

  • Booleans should be more interactive (allow users to more easily move around Boolean operands after the Boolean is executed)
  • Boolean intersections should have beveling/chamfering options
  • Boolean results should require less clean-up
  • Booleans workflow should have a clean, dedicated UI for easy editing of Boolean operations and operands (like sculpting and interactive grooming tools do)

 

MeshFusion: http://www.thefoundry.co.uk/products/modo/plugins/meshfusion/

Hard Mesh: http://www.hard-mesh.com/

LightWave: http://lesterbanks.com/2015/07/latest-meta-mesh-update-for-lightwave-looks-pretty-amazing/

Blender: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iIyGlkOUpH4

KTools:

https://vimeo.com/165604195

https://vimeo.com/165630569

https://vimeo.com/165640713

Bool: https://lesterbanks.com/2017/08/new-live-boolean-plugin-maya/

 

More links:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T-ccEk3P5g0

https://vimeo.com/117960504

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R0Ytc-TeOGM

https://vimeo.com/153168705

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U0rAcUdDdn0

https://vimeo.com/165166193

https://vimeo.com/201536219

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MozVo4zGrmA

38 Comments
Anonymous
Not applicable

oh man, this is gonna save me time! 

mddub
Explorer

I absolutely have to add my vote to this. MeshFusion is the primary reason I open Modo these days. I own Bool and Prosets by Mainframe, and I am seriously considering purchasing PlugIt for Maya the next time I take on a serious hard-surface project. Integrating this functionality into Maya would be a game changer. The Meta Mesh plugin by 3rd Powers for Lightwave looks incredible, especially the live topology aspect. Maya absolutely needs this!

tsungyuw
Contributor

Recently I developed a tool to speed up boolean in maya , take a look!

 

https://youtu.be/JLAY1_Ity1s

ferdinand.gleinser
Participant

Hard-Mesh is the best, most powerful boolean tool I have seen. It completely changed my game in terms of speed and quality in modeling for Automotive design. To me it is a miracle how such a small team can come up with a plug-in that astonishing, and then not being appreciated by Autodesk. 

 

I would really love to see this being integrated into Maya and replace the current, quite unusable integration of booleans.

 

As an example, here I am moving a door handle of a finalized model in real time with everything being updated on the fly in seconds. Before Hard-Mesh this would have taken me hours, not even reaching the same quality.

 

MAYA AUTOMOTIVE TECHNIQUES 1.0 

mickeal_alex
Enthusiast

Best would be to let the plugin be developed by the creators, we all know when Autodesk buys a plugin/program it stagnates the development and then kills it.  Not sure if you're aware but u can move objects that are used in a Boolean operation by their components without any plugins it's just a hidden feature.

BenediZ
Collaborator

The Boolean system in May is unfortunately destructive. I had an huge issue once, which I will never forget:
I could not get the boolean operations undone and it destroyed all my effort on a keyed rig. All my work was lost, because there was no way to get the boolean deleted while keeping everything else. A deadlock. And it was also no option to just shift the boolean away, because it also wasn’t compatible with some deformers or bevel, which I needed in the last step to go on. I don’t remember anymore exact details. Just experienced a nightmare with these software tools, which were not compatible to each other. So bad…
Just want to warn everyone to use the current Boolean in Maya if you have a more sophisticated task.

mickeal_alex
Enthusiast

Yes unfortunately the Boolean in Maya will break after a while just like the bevel, usually u can always go back to the initial mesh before using the Boolean/bevel ( it works for any node and operation) by looking in the Node Editor before all the operations that u used and before the Boolean node. I think Houdini Boolean system when used in conjunction with the nodal system allows u to procedural model anything u want, Maya Boolean wasn't designed to be used like this.

Anonymous
Not applicable

Yes please add better boolean  tools , with dedicated menu . Clean topology would be great. But to be honest you could just buy Hard Mesh and it's developing team and put them to work to make Maya modeling tools as they are brilliant, better than any other Maya modeling developer in and out there.

ferdinand.gleinser
Participant

@Anonymous 

I absolutely agree. The hard mesh plugin is extremely well designed. Just imagine Autodesk would put this much effort into the tools shipped with Maya 😉

BUT check out these tools ( Crossection, SeamsEasy, CurvatureComb) of a former college of mine:

http://www.stepanjirka.com/download/

...I'd say they are on the same "level of genius" from somebody who just learned programming and mathematics to write tools for his personal use on the side as a hobby. And to me they are still way more helpful than everything combined Autodesk/Maya has added in terms of modelling in the last 5 years.  Somehow that's quite mind-boggling.😑

 

Anonymous
Not applicable

@ferdinand.gleinser 

Thanks for the link.  Seams Easy and future final Curvature Shader seem to have a lot of potential.
 
Cheers!
ferdinand.gleinser
Participant

@trevor.adams 

May I add that a "future Boolean tool" would really benefit from a mode, where it outputs quad only geometry without remeshing / Retopo as you most likely want to keep the topology of the input objects.

 

Please have a look at this mind blowing tech demo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mOgC8lFE6tI 

 

Best,

jaktt
Contributor

When will this function be available? I am very anxious to wait, thank you!!!

g2m.agent
Collaborator

ticket01 Boole is a good c++ plugin for Boolean, but it's very expensive, cost €149!!

A few years ago, I saw that the Autodesk trademark appeared on its website. Could it be that Autodesk acquired it? I look forward to this tool being integrated into Maya. Years passed, nothing happened! Now, ticket01's website updates again without the Autodesk trademark, what happened?

 

Mainframe North Bool is another great C++ Boolean plugin for Maya. It only costs £20. But I am very puzzled, isn't it acquired by Autodesk? Why can it still sell plug-ins separately? Why can't this plugin be integrated into Maya like MASH? ? Now the development of this plugin has ended, which is a pity! why? Fortunately, you can download plugins that support the 2018 and 2019 versions for FREE.

BenediZ
Collaborator

I unfortunately bought BoolTool from Mainframe North and was so in hope they would keep it.

It's so sad and that tools just last for a few years until they become buggy or abandoned - instead of developed further.

 

When Autodesk has not enough developers, they need IMHO to invest a year just in maintenance to keep things running. That's the reason for my proposal: https://forums.autodesk.com/t5/maya-ideas/stop-developing-new-tools-for-1-year-instead-spend-everyth...

Kloworks
Advocate

any update from the developers ? 
its from 2018 

Why this thread wasn't been updated with the current progress of Boolean implementation !!!??

aerys.bat
Enthusiast

This is considered implemented now right 

whats the status of this!

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