Script
By thedour · 2010-08-18
This tool will change the color of bones based on their squash/stretch amount, providing the user with feedback if they have gone beyond a desired threshold. It will live update as you move around and animate in the viewport.
I work with PxlMnky and he asked if I could help him get a little script going to give feedback on how much bones were stretching in his rig. Things got a bit out of hand and boneStretch is the result. 😆
• Download & Unzip to MAXROOT\Scripts\Startup\ **MUST INSTALL HERE**
• In Max: Utilities Panel > MAXScript > Select "boneStretch" from the 'Utilities' drop down
• Enable and change settings as desired
• Additionally, "Toggle boneStretch" macro can be applied to a Quad, Toolbar, Menu, or Hotkey: Customize > Customize UI > (under "Animation Tools" category)
New in version 1.0.1:
• Dramatically increased performance
• Expanded legacy support; compatible w/ 3ds Max 9 (and possibly older)
version 1.0:
• Stretch limit: The distance at which the bone will be fully colorized to the stretch color
• Enable/Disable toggle macro
• Customizable colors
**thanks to PxlMnky for testing and requesting this tool.
Tags: Animation, Bone, rigging, Bones, viewport, Color, toon, utility, IK, gizmo, skinning, Rig, Utilities, stretch, colorizer, squash, cartoon, FK, contraint, flexible
RobH2 · 2012-10-03
Works great in MaxDesign 2013. Thanks. Very handy.
br0t · 2010-09-19
nice script, thanks for sharing! I had to do this with script controllers once, which really wasnt that comfortable anyway i don't know why you encrypt the script, I'd like to have a look at the code :(
Poker · 2010-08-23
this looks really promising. did a script myself that was similar, but less advanced. I couldnt find the boneStretch in the utilities.
using 2011 32-bit.
thedour · 2010-08-23
Thanks! Let me know what you think of it. To open boneStretch you actually need to run the "MAXScript" item on the Utilities Tab, then a dropdown will show up; this dropdown is also labeled "Utilities". Other than that, be sure that you installed it to the proper folder (as written in description). Hope you get it running with that info. Sorry for any confusion.
Matyrix · 2010-08-19
It's perfect. Thanks again!
Matyrix · 2010-08-19
The "freeze length" filter sounds cool, but where can i download the 1.01 version? I just see the "bonestretch.mse" in the "Attachment" section. And it is match with the earlier version.
thedour · 2010-08-19
Changed attachment to .ZIP so that version info is visible.
Contains 'boneStretch.mse' which should overwrite older versions.
Matyrix · 2010-08-18
Thanks for this script, it's really useful!
Only thing is not the best in this script is the calculation speed... I tried it in a clear max scene on one bone, it worked fine.. but when i opened my character rig system, it had started work very slowly. After it i created a lot bones in a reseted max scene, and the result is the same.
So is there opportunity to make a "work on selected bones", or "work on picked bones"? For example when only one or two "strechable" bones are in a scene, the script counting it with all of bones unnecessary.
thedour · 2010-08-19
You are welcome!
Nice Idea, I will see about only updating bones that have "Freeze Length" turned off. I'll also see about speeding up performance in general. Thanks for your feedback.
**EDIT: Fixed performance. v1.0.1