Maya® Studio Projects:

Muscle Motion

When you create a facial rig, you're moving nodes in a linear fashion. They might be bones that are translating or rotating. They could influence objects under the skin or the Maya muscle deformer and its utilities. Regardless, the motion is linear. As implied, linear muscles move linearly. However, when you consider a muscle under the skin, a substantial number of secondary influences are affecting its motion. It's surrounded by bone, ligament, other muscles, fluids, and more. Therefore, when it's stated that a muscle is linear, that means the muscle has a linear force. A linear impulse is required to make the muscle retract or flex. After the force has been applied, the muscle is at the mercy of its surroundings, and the strongest ...