Corrective Shape Keys

From the Author(s):

I merged and converted two old scripts, to let you make corrective shape keys. The first script was created by Tal Trachtman in 2007 and the second one I believe was done by Brecht. That one works with any combination of modifiers, but it is very slow (like three minutes for a mesh with 4,000 points). The other one works only with objects that have no more than one armature.

Activation

  • Open Blender and go to Preferences then the Add-ons tab.

  • Click Animation then Corrective Shape Keys to enable the script.

Interface

Located in the Properties ‣ Object Data ‣ Shape Keys Specials.

Usage

  1. Select a posed character object and click on Create duplicate for editing in the shape keys panel. This will create a copy of the mesh that you can edit/sculpt.

  2. Select your sculpted copy and then the character object. In Shape Keys Panel go to the specials menu and choose one of the options:

    Create duplicate for editing

    Create a duplicate object with all modifiers applied.

    Add as corrective pose-shape (slow, all modifiers)

    Adds first object as shape to second object for the current pose while maintaining modifiers.

    Add as corrective pose-shape delta” (slow, all modifiers + other shape key values)

    Adds first object as shape to second object for the current pose while maintaining modifiers and currently used other shape keys with keep other shape key value, generate new shape key which deform to source shape.

    If your object has only Armature modifiers, choose the faster method. If other (more complex?) modifiers are involved, or you want to use Preserve Volume. In this case, you will have to use the slower method.

If all went right, your character or object should have the new shape key for your pose. If not, double check that your mesh and armature object have no translation or rotation and try again.

Known Limitations

  • Target mesh may not have any transformation at object level, it will be set to zero.

  • Fast/Armature method does not work with Bone envelopes or dual quaternions, both settings will be disabled in the modifier.

Reference

Category:

Animation

Description:

Creates a corrective shape key for the current pose.

Location:

Properties ‣ Object Data ‣ Shape Keys Specials

File:

animation_corrective_shape_key.py

Author:

Ivo Grigull (loolarge), Tal Trachtman, Tokikake

Maintainer:

to do

License:

GPL

Support Level:

Community

Note:

This add-on is bundled with Blender.