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Documentation

Requirements for running MocapX Maya plugin and MocapX Application (iOS) are:

MocapX Maya plugin 

Windows – Maya 2016, 2016.5, 2017, 2018.1 – 2019.1 or 2019.2   *(iTunes for Windows installed)

MacOS – Maya 2016, 2016.5, 2017, 2018.1 – 2019.1 or 2019.2

Linux (Centos 7.4) Maya 2016, 2016.5, 2017, 2018.1 – 2019.1 or 2019.2

*Linux version support only connection over Wifi

*minimum Service Pack 1 for Maya 2016

Application (iOS)

A device running iOS 12 or iOS 13

Facial tracking is supported for these devices:

 

 

  • iPhone 11
  • iPhone 11 Pro
  • iPhone 11 Pro Max
  • iPhone X
  • iPhone XS
  • iPhone XS Max
  • iPhone XR
  • iPad Pro 12.9-inch (3rd generation)
  • iPad Pro 11-inch

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Keypad feature is available for:

  • iPhone 6s and 6s Plus.
  • iPhone 7 and 7 Plus.
  • iPhone SE.
  • iPad Pro (9.7, 10.5 or 12.9) – both first-gen and 2nd-gen.
  • iPad (2017)
  • iPhone 8 and 8 Plus.
  • iPhone X 
  • iPhone XR
  • iPhone XS and Max
  • Ipad 2017 and higherX

Installation

1.Unzip the Maya plugin to a folder called Mocapx on your hard drive

2. Add the path to the location of Mocapx folder in your Maya.env

For example when your folder is located in C:\Mocapx 

Open Maya.env and add a line:

MAYA_MODULE_PATH=C:\Mocapx

Maya.env file can be found

drive:\Users\username\Documents\maya\version

 
  •  

1.Unzip the Maya plugin to a folder called Mocapx on your hard drive

2. Add the path to the location of Mocapx folder in your Maya.env

For example when your folder is located in C:\Mocapx 

Open Maya.env and add a line:

MAYA_MODULE_PATH=C:\Mocapx

Maya.env file can be found

/Users/username/Library/Preferences/Autodesk/maya/version

1.Unzip the Maya plugin to a folder called Mocapx on your hard drive

2. Add the path to the location of Mocapx folder in your Maya.env

For example when your folder is located in C:\Mocapx 

Open Maya.env and add a line:

MAYA_MODULE_PATH=C:\Mocapx

Maya.env file can be found

    • (Linux®)
      • ~/maya/version
      • ~/maya
        Note:

        Make sure to capitalize Maya.env

Shelf and icons

MocapX offers a shelf menu with the most important functions available. Here is a list of all:

PoseLib Editor

Attribute collection

Create PoseLib

Create Pose

Create Realtime device

Create Clip Reader

Live (Realtime device)

Pause (Realtime device)

Bake tool

Demo rig

Help

Realtime device

Realtime device is a node that communicates with the MocapX iOS application. 

All important functions are available through the Attribute editor.

Realtime playback controls give user ability to connect to iOS application either with Wifi or USB.

In order to successfully connect the iOS app to Maya, you need to fill right the IP address and the port from the application (located in the top section of the app).

Wifi – IP address and port 

USB – only port has to be filled in

Record controls

To record a clip, specify a file path (default path is set to the current Maya project) and how many seconds of already passed action you want to save and hit Save Clip button.

MocapX creates a clip and stores all animation data within that clip. 

Clip reader

Clip reader is used for reading a clip of MocapX data from the local drive.

Attribute collection

The attribute collection is a node that stores rest values for PoseLib.

PoseLib editor

The PoseLib editor allows user to create, preview, and edit Poses. The purpose of working with a MocapX is to create a pose (definition of neutral face and face with expression) similar to a blendshape, but created from the rig controllers.  Each pose is defined as a relax or zero pose and extreme of a pose. For example, jaw open or eye blink. Then a transition between these states is represented by 0 and 1. Mocap data is then driving these poses and transfer the expression back to the rig.

MocapX (Adaptor)

The MocapX node (Adaptor) is used to quickly switch the data source from the realtime device to the clip reader. So the user can perform an action, record it and then quickly load a clip and preview it. Then you can switch back to live and record more clips.

Description of poses (facial expressions)

Example video here

 

These two images above showcase the combination of jawOpen set to 1 and tongueOut set to 1

FAQ

Most frequently asked questions and answers

MocapX runs on every iPhone and tablet with iOS 12. Please note that facial tracking is only supported on devices with FaceID. Click here for a full list of hardware features.

Apple’s True depth camera, which is responsible for facial mocap, is exactly the same in iPhone X and 11. 

Yes, of course. The MocapX app and plug-in were created for animators to speed up the animation process. You can use the MocapX plug-in for any commercial and non-comercial projects. If you do anything interesting in MocapX, let us know and we will be happy to share.

Please note that more complicated rigs may decrease real-time performance depending on your computer’s processing power and graphics card. However, MocapX data is captured and saved at a full 60 fps.

Facial tracking in the MocapX app uses Apple’s Face ID technology to capture facial expressions and transfer the data directly to Maya. This is a paid feature in the application and is only available for devices with Face ID capability. Click here for a full list of hardware features.

We support all Maya versions from 2016 to 2019. The operating systems we recommend are Windows 10 with iTunes installed, MacOS HighSierra or later and Linux with Centos 7.4 (wifi connection only).

Generally speaking, yes! You can connect MocapX data directly to your rig controller or use PoseLib to drive multiple controllers on your rig. We provide demos as well as a tutorials and other useful information.

Sliders and joysticks are available in the free version of the MocapX app and allow you to control objects and attributes in real time in Maya. You can record live action sequences and save them as animation clips for later use – for example, you can animate a car or plane just by rotating your iPhone.

The Android version of MocapX is in the works and is coming soon.

Please be aware that for the Android version, you will have to use a device with similar technology to Apple’s True depth camera (Infrared + dot projector).

Google Pixel 4 looks like a good fit for now.

We support only Maya real-time facial motion capture with our Maya plug-in and PoseLib editor. The Unity plug-in for live mocap will come in 2Q 2020 and Unreal connection in late 2020.

With PRO version you can both stream to Maya in real-time and record a clip locally for later use in Maya (the clip length is limited only by available storage on your device). The basic version includes 30 seconds of free local recording and you can buy additional minutes up to 45 minutes. With basic version you are not able to stream facial expression to Maya directly. However you can test the connection with your pc and Maya using keypads and sliders.

History of purchases can be found only in your AppStore account.

Currently no. Your purchase is tied to Apple ID and to device where the purchase was done.

Tutorials

01/ Getting started with MocapX

Learn how to quickly setup MocapX

02/ Pose library

Learn how work with pose library

03/ Sample data

Download sample data and project files

04/ Basic connection

Learn how to connect attributes

05/ Windows Installation

Learn how to install MocapX on Windows

06/ macOS Installation

Learn how to install MocapX on macOS

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