Next me and me wife had a kid! So I have been learning how to be a dad. I hope to post some new code examples and ideas soon.

Cheers,

Ryan

Ipad and Iphone webpage gesture example

The only way I could get it to work was to use three Javascripts that were on the guys page. One of the scripts is basically unreadable because its unformated and all one line of code that spans many lines. I am sure if I look into this more I could find the original source or a better version of the code.

Scripts that you must have loaded to make this work:
www.rtrowbridge.com/scripts/jquery.cycle.all.min.js
www.rtrowbridge.com/scripts/jquery.touchwipe.1.1.1.js
www.rtrowbridge.com/scripts/jquery-1.4.2.min.js

Other than those three scripts you just need to use a short bit of javascript to make it work. Check out the source code of the example page.

I welcome others doing this since its cool to have more interactive webpages with gestures.

Cheers,
Ryan

Click on the image below to see the trailer on the GameTrailers website:

-Ryan

One thing I failed to mention to everyone at my talk is that me and my co-author Adam Mechtley are working on a Maya Python book. However if you want to start learning Python now you can start with a good book called Learning Python by Mark Lutz.

http://evolve3d.net/

Cheers,
Ryan

Cheers,
Ryan

Class Description:
“Since the formal introduction of Python into Maya, it has been rapidly gaining ground as the scripting language of choice among technical artists and tools developers. Its host of built-in features and its support for programming with the Maya API allow Python developers to interact with Maya in many exciting ways. In this MasterClass, Adam and Ryan discuss different scenarios that may appear during production and for which Python is ideally suited to provide a quick and flexible solution. Using two example projects, Adam and Ryan will demonstrate practical applications of threading as well as Maya plug-in development.”

http://area.autodesk.com/gdc/class2

Last but not least Uncharted 2 received five awards at the 10th annual Game Developers Choice Awards including the Game of The Year award. More info here:

http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/27649/GDC_Uncharted_2_Wins_Big_At_10th_Annual_Game_Developers_Choice_Awards.php

Cheers,
Ryan

http://evolve3d.net/feature-speaker-ryan-trowbridge/

Cheers,
Ryan

Type in and execute the following code into your script editor in a Maya Python tab:

print __name__

Which will print:

__main__

When you print __name__ in a module it will give you the namespace of the module itself. So why did printing __name__ work inside of the Script Editor? Now write a quick function and execute it in the Script Editor:

def test():
    """this function is a test"""
    print "test"

Next type and execute the following line:

help(test)

#Result:
Help on function test in module __main__:

test()
    testing

Ok so your thinking its just calling it module __main__ its not really a real module is it? Try executing the following:

import __main__
dir(__main__)
# Result: ['__builtins__', '__doc__', '__main__', '__name__', '__package__', 'test'] #

You can see that by calling dir on the __main__ module that test has been defined inside of the __main__ module. So Python is adding functions that we write and variables on the fly to this __main__ module. If you import a module it will also go into this list.

import math
dir(__main__)
# Result: ['__builtins__', '__doc__', '__main__', '__name__', '__package__', 'math', 'test'] #

Every Python program starts with a __main__ module. If we were to make a Python program outside of Maya the first module loaded and executed would become the __main__ module. Some people write a line that states:

if __name__ == "__main__":
    print "do special stuff if your the main module"

Python docs state:

http://docs.python.org/library/__main__.html

“This module represents the (otherwise anonymous) scope in which the interpreter’s main program executes — commands read either from standard input, from a script file, or from an interactive prompt. It is this environment in which the idiomatic “conditional script” stanza causes a script to run:”

In the end the __main__ module is not an actual file though, but you could call it the main module.

Have fun,
Ryan

This post has nothing to do with Python or anything to do with character rigging. With that warning given I thought I would post something I had made to remember Uncharted 2: Among Thieves. My last project was by far the best project I have ever worked on. So far we have won more awards than we can count. Last time I looked there were 98 major magazine or online publications that had given us the Game of the Year award for 2009. So to celebrate this I decided to make something to remember the game by.

I had a poster we had on hand signed by all my colleges at ND, then I had a plaque engraved with Uncharted 2:Among Thieves Game of the Year 2009. I had all of these framed in a shadow box style frame. The boarders use the black, red, and white Naughty Dog colors. The shadow box style frame let me put the game cd, box, and plaque to the side of the poster. The frame shop did a great job.

I look forward to shipping our next game,
Ryan

A good way to setup your UI is to encapsulate the UI in a class including the functions you will use with the UI. You dont need all of your functions inside of the class. If you need to work with a function that is external to the class, you can use a partial function. When you set a button command to use a function it is best not to give it a string like you would in MEL. You should pass the functions directly to the command. You should not pass the functions as if you called them however like function() but by just giving it the name. If you need to pass an argument you need to use a partial function so the function does not get called until the user presses the UI item. You should note the UI button command happens to always pass one argument even if you dont pass anything to the function. If you pass your function one argument it will receive two, or if you pass two it will receive three. This is easily remedied by adding an extra unused argument.

I have several personal projects taking up my time right now so I am going to be brief on the how to and what does what part. The following example should help you get started. You can execute it from the script editor and start playing around with it.

import maya.cmds as cmds
from functools import partial

def myfunc(inst=None, thing=None, arg=None):
    print 'arg: ', arg
    print 'inst: ', inst
    print 'thing: ', thing
    data = cmds.button(inst.btnA, query=True, label=True)
    print data

class ui():
    def __init__(self, winName="winTheWindow"):
        self.winTitle = "The Window"
        self.winName = winName

    def create(self):
        if cmds.window(self.winName, exists=True):
            cmds.deleteUI(self.winName)

        cmds.window(self.winName, title=self.winTitle)
        self.mainCol = cmds.columnLayout( adjustableColumn=True )
        self.btnA = cmds.button( label='Press Me - External Func', c=partial(myfunc, self, 'say...') )
        self.btnB = cmds.button( label='Press Me - Internal Func', c=partial(self.a, 'something...') )
        self.btnC = cmds.button( label='Press Me - Internal Func No Args', c=self.b)
        cmds.showWindow( self.winName )
        cmds.window(self.winName, edit=True, widthHeight=[250,75])

    def a(self, myarg=None, arg=None):
        print 'myarg: ', myarg

    def b(self, arg=None):
        print 'buttons require an argument'
        print 'the argument passed in will always be the last argument'

# create the window
inst = ui()
inst.create()

Have fun,
Ryan