Deformers

See also Useful Utilities. Someday I'll migrate deformer related stuff here.

Wire

What do I do if my wire behaves badly over long distances?

Increase Dropoff helps

If using to deform another curve that will follow it, keep wire scale to 0

Wrap

Some points not moving with Wrap

Can change Falloff Mode from Volume to Surface.. but so heavy..

Auto Weight Threshold

When on, the wrap deformer automatically sets the optimal weight of the wrap influence objects’ shapes by calculating the smallest Max Distancevalue that will ensure every point on the mesh is affected by an influence object. This option is on by default.

Weight Threshold

Lets you manually specify the influence of the wrap influence objects’ shapes based on the proximity of their components to the objects being deformed. Depending on the point density (for example, the number of CVs) of the wrap influence objects, changing the Weight Threshold can change the overall smoothness of the deformation effect. Values range from 0.000 (smooth) to 1.000 (sharp). Use the slider to select values from 0.000 to 1.000. Default is 0.000.

Note

Weight Threshold, Use Max Distance, and Max Distance are only available when Auto Weight Threshold is turned off.

Use Max Distance

Turn Use Max Distance on if you want to set the Max Distance value and limit the influence area.

Max Distance

Specifies the influence area of wrap influence object points. By limiting the influence area with Max Distance, you can manually limit how much memory Maya requires to perform the deformation. The less memory required, the better the performance. Using Max Distance is especially useful when you are working with high-resolution wrap influence objects.

Note

The Weight Threshold takes effect within the influence area defined by the Max Distance value.

The Max Distance value is in Maya’s working units, which are by default centimeters (Window > Settings/Preferences > Preferences > Settings > Working Units). The default Max Distance is 1, limiting the influence area to within a distance of 1 unit from each point, which requires less memory. A Max Distance of 0 means the influence area is infinite. This setting will use the maximum amount of memory.

The Auto Weight Threshold value provides a good starting weight for the minimum cutoff. If the deformation is not satisfactory using this value, you can turn off Auto Weight Threshold and adjust the Weight Threshold manually. To find the best value, start by using the Auto Weight Thresholdvalue that displays in the Attribute Editor, then gradually reduce the value until the deformation is satisfactory.

(from Maya Help)