Chapter 4

Generating nParticle Swarms and Bubble Masses with Expressions and MEL Scripting

Maya is built on the MEL scripting language. As such, you can use MEL scripting to control a wide variety of elements within the program. In particular, it’s suited for creating the initial states of nParticle simulations. Expressions, on the other hand, are mathematical relationships between nodes and channels (animatable attributes). Hence, expressions automatically update with every frame of the timeline. This makes expressions perfect for controlling per-particle attributes that constantly change. While expressions are edited through the Expression Editor, ...

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