Maya 2025 Support for GS CurveTools and GS Toolbox plug-ins!

GS CurveTools and GS Toolbox are now updated to support Maya 2025!

GS CurveTools v1.3.6:

NEW FEATURES:

• Full Maya 2025 support (please report bugs)

BUG FIXES:

• Minor bug fixes and code refactoring

GS Toolbox v1.1.8:

NEW FEATURES:

• Maya 2025 Support (please report bugs).

IMPROVEMENTS:

• Old versions are now available as a download (v1.1+).
• Snap to Poly algorithm was improved. 
  • Snapping multiple selected objects to multiple faces will now work as expected.
  • If the number of selected faces is bigger than the number of selected objects it will now snap everything in a repeating pattern, so all the faces are populated.
• General code improvement for maintainability.
• Hotkeys system was changed internally for better maintainability. You might need to check your hotkeys for GS Toolbox.

BUG FIXES:

• Fixed a rare bug with custom materials that prevented them from being created.
• Fixed a Snap to Poly bug that prevented it to be functional if only one poly is selected.
• Extract Snapshot bug was fixed.
• Several small bug fixes with regex and other boring stuff.

HOW TO UPDATE (IMPORTANT):

1. Close Maya and delete the old gs_toolbox folder (backup the custom materials (presets) folder if needed)
2. Download and paste the new gs_toolbox folder to "Documents / maya / {your maya version} / scripts"
3. Paste the custom materials (presets) back (if you had them before).
4. Open Maya and run the init command found in the readme.txt

Maya 2025 was released not long ago.

Great news for all the users who've been asking: GS CurveTools and GS Toolbox will indeed be updated to support Maya 2025!

I already have a working version of the plug-ins for my internal testing and there's no breaking incompatibilities found so far.

If you are interested in more technical details of why this update is a bit special:

Autodesk switched from using python UI library called PySide2 to a newer version of it, called PySide6. This new version, although generally compatible, has a bunch of modules and classes shuffled around so it all needs to be confirmed working before the plug-ins can be released to the public. Also, the version of Python used was also changed but that's not a problem for the tools.

As to when it will be updated - stay tuned and wait for the notification. It should be a fairly quick update.

GS CurveTools v1.3.5 Update

Just a small update to add some fixes and improvements.

GS CurveTools v1.3.5:

IMPROVEMENTS:

• Automatically reveal the layer if it is hidden and the new object is being created into it.
• Old versions (v1.2 and up) are now available as a download for Personal Licenses.

BUG FIXES:

• Unpack will no longer be affected by the selected object type in Geo to Curve window.
• Export will no longer be locked by the Advanced Visibility node present in the scene.

GS CurveTools Workflow and Functions Tutorials

Workflow Tutorial:

This video will cover the fundamentals of GS CurveTools plug-in for Autodesk Maya. Creating new cards, setting the textures, adjusting the UVs, using layers and more...

Full Tutorial:

This video will cover most of the functions in GS CurveTools plug-in for Autodesk Maya. From creating cards to using more advanced features like Orient to Normal...

GS CurveTools v1.3.4 Update

A minor update for GS CurveTools to fix some bugs and add some missing tooltips.

Improvements:

• Added tooltips to Scale Factor and Precision window and all the controls.
• Normalize to Default will now reset the sliders even if no curves were selected in the viewport.

Bug Fixes:

• Fixed Layer color picker in the Curve Control Window. It will now change layer color properly.
• No more errors when trying to Extract All in an empty scene with no curves.
• Fixed tooltips for all the color pickers in the UI (UV Editor and Curve Control Window).

GS CurveTools v1.3.3 Update!

This update brings better precision for the Warp objects (Cards, Tubes and Bind objects) when working on very small scales. 

Before, when working on something tiny like individual brow hairs or eyelashes, there was noticeable distortion in the mesh because of the lack of precision. 

This was fixed in this update by introduction of Precision Scale parameter that will be automatically applied to every new Warp object.

The new Precision Scale parameter can be found in the Options -> Scale Factor and Precision window.

Old Warp objects can also be Normalized using Normalize Selected to Default or Normalize Selected buttons. They will reset the values to default ones and apply them to the selected Warp objects or set them based on the slider values respectively.

Normalization will not change the appearance of the card other than fixing the deformation caused by insufficient Precision Scale values set before.

Warp objects will also be automatically normalized when using functions like Fill, Add Card, Add Tube or Attribute Transfer. Normalization is done to ensure the correct Widths and Profiles of the newly created cards or correct attribute transfer.

Other notable changes:

• Rebuild slider will now work properly on small scale curves.
• New objects should now be able to create more sharp corners when three or more CVs are bunched together.
• Smooth slider was removed from the “Other” tab in the Curve Control Window (don’t confuse with the Smooth function from the main window, it’s still there). It was removed because it interfered with the new precision options. There is an option in the Options⇨Other menu to reset the smooth value to 0 if needed for older projects.
• Mirror will now work properly on Tube objects
• Opening Log file will no longer block Maya until the log is closed.

Update Video:

Update Changelog and documentation: LINK

GS CurveTools and GS Toolbox installation steps:

INSTALLATION VIDEO:

STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE:

1. Download the provided archive (for example gs_curvetools_v1_3_2_Personal.zip) from the email or "My Library" page in your Profile.

2. Unpack it anywhere you like.

3. Open the unpacked folder and search for your Maya version (NOTE: only for Personal Edition, Studio users have only one folder).

4. Find Maya scripts folder (NOTE: {Maya_Version} is your maya version, for example 2024):

    a. For Windows it is located here: 

Documents/Maya/{Maya_Version}/scripts/

    b. For Mac it is located here (NOTE: the folder might be hidden in your system):

{Your_Mac_Name}/Users/{User_Name}/Library/Preferences/Autodesk/maya/{Maya_Version}/scripts/

5. Copy the gs_curvetools (or gs_toolbox) folder for your version of Maya from the unpacked folder and paste it to the scripts folder that you located in the step 4.

6. Run Maya and Copy and paste this code to Python Command Field at the bottom (switch from MEL by clicking on it) or to the script editor and press Run:

GS CurveTools:

import gs_curvetools.init as ct_init;from imp import reload;reload(ct_init);ct_init.Init();

GS Toolbox:

import gs_toolbox.init as tb_init;from imp import reload;reload(tb_init);tb_init.Init();

7. Congratulations! There will be three buttons in your shelf now:

1. Run the UI (CT UI or TB UI)
2. Reset the UI (CT or TB with a circular arrow)
3. Stop the script completely (CT DEL or TB DEL)

Most common installation issues:

- Bad Magic Number error - you chose the wrong variant of the plug-in for your Maya version.

- ModuleNotFoundError: No module named 'gs_curvetools.init' error - you pasted the plug-in folder to the wrong scripts folder. Use only version specific scripts folder.

GS CurveTools v1.3.2 Update

GS CurveTools was just updated to v1.3.2! There is one new feature and a bunch of improvements to other functions.

IMPORTANT NOTE: This update has a lot of internal code changes so it is critical to completely re-install GS CurveTools. Installation and Update Instructions. Everything is backwards-compatible but just in case it is recommended to finish the old projects before updating.

UNPACK

A new Unpack feature was introduced. This function is an alternative mode for the Unbind function, and can be accessed by holding Shift and clicking on Unbind button in the menu. A separate hotkey is also available.

Unpack is a logical extension of the Unbind. When any Bound object is selected and the function is used, it will generate new cards or tubes in-place based on the Bound object geometry. So if you have 3 cards bound to one curve using "Bind" after the Unpack you will get 3 separate cards (with all the controls) in the same spot where the original Bound cards were. All the deformations and world position is maintained. UVs and other attributes are adjusted accordingly.

As this function essentially generates new cards and tubes and adjusts them to match the Bound geometry, it is not possible to get a 100% match between the Bound object and Unpacked cards/tubes. However, in most cases it gives a very close to the original approximation.

Unpack will only generate and match geometry that is one sided card and/or hollow tubes. All the other geometry will be ignored. So if you have some unusual shape Bound to a curve using Bind it will be ignored.

GEO TO CURVE

Geo to Curve is an upgrade to the previous function - Card to Curve. Card to Curve button was renamed to Geo to Curve.

Geo to Curve convert any compatible geometry to procedural cards or tubes based on the options selected in the Geo to Curve menu.

In this update the output object can also be a tube, not only a card.

Some of the new features are:

Output Type:

• Auto mode will determine the original geometry shape automatically (card or tube) and generate the new procedural objects accordingly.
• Cards or Tubes mode will generate procedural Cards or Tubes from the selected geometry. Cards can be generated from tubes and vice versa, however, some of the attributes will not be matched when the original shape is different from the selected output type.
• Curves will simply output a NURBS curve based on the selected geometry.

Delete Original Objects - will delete the original geo after the conversion process.

Use Aim Mesh - will allow user to select a mesh from the scene and this mesh will be used to calculate the correct placement of the root node of the curve. For example, it is recommended for the root node of the NURBS curve (the square symbol) to be closer to the scalp mesh. This function ensures it is so by calculating distance to the surface of the mesh from tip and root, and flipping the curve if needed.

Additionally, there were numerous improvements to the UV matching algorithm in Geo to Curve and it now matches the original UVs much better (including the flipped UVs).

NEW AUTO-SAMPLING MODE

New Auto-Sampling toggle attribute that will automatically increase sampling rate for Warp based objects on low CV counts. This allows for optimal performance on high CV counts and good accuracy on low CV counts. This mode is enabled by default and should stay on, unless you need to change it manually for some reason. Same goes for Auto-Refine mode.

FILL IMPROVEMENTS

Fill can now output regular NURBS curves. This mode is toggled in the Options menu.

MAYA 2024 STANDARD SURFACE:

Standard Surface material from Maya 2024+ is now fully supported by the UV editor.

BUG FIXES:

• Fixed a bug with Curve Tubes (warp) not scaling properly with high WidthX or WidthZ values.
• Fixed a bug with Auto-Hide Curves on Inactive Collections checkbox. It will now work properly with Layer filters.
• GS CurveTools will now automatically load built-in Maya plug-ins that it needs. If user disabled those plug-ins in the past it should not cause errors now. For now it’s “curveWarp” and “lookdevKit” plug-ins that are required.

UPDATE VIDEO:

GS CurveTools geometry deformation during Bind

In the latest version (v1.3) of GS CurveTools and introduction of Auto refine mode there were some changes to the default attributes. This can affect geometry that was attached to a curve using Bind. Geometry might appear distorted (see video below) and same goes for the textures.

This will only happen if you are using very low resolution curves (4-5 CVs) as a base for Bind and can be resolved by rebuilding the curve (using Rebuild slider) to higher CV count or by simply increasing the SamplAcc value in the Curve Control Window -> Other.

Alternatively, you can disable Auto mode and change the Refine value manually. This might significantly decrease curve responsiveness when dragging CVs (or when modifying multiple curves at a time), so use it only if you really need it.

So to recap, if you notice any unusual geometry deformations when using Bind (or Warp Cards/Tubes) on lower CV counts - increase the SamplAcc or use manual Refine.

GS CurveTools v1.3.1 Update

A small update to fix a critical bug with Attribute and UV filters.

Improvements:

• Changed node id in plug-ins for a proper one from Autodesk. Should avoid conflicts with other plug-ins in the future.
• Better error handling and error message for corrupted layer names (copy-pasted curves or improperly imported curves).

Bug Fixes:

• Fixed a critical bug with Attribute and UV transfer filters (and Copy-Paste). They will now work properly when deselecting some attributes in filter window and transferring attributes to different type of card/tube.

Also, please read this in case you had issues with Maya's Copy-Paste functionality corrupting GS CurveTools layers (Ctrl+C, Ctrl+V in viewport):

https://gs-curvetools.readthedocs.io/en/latest/faq.html#corrupted-layer-names

This issue can also happen if you import from some other scene that had GS CurveTools objects (cards/tubes) in it. 
Use GS CurveTools -> Options -> Export/Import function to export and import curves to avoid issues.