Nightshade Materializer 1.1.0 for Maya (maya script)

:: LATEST ::

2014-12-17
Nightshade Materializer is now under an official Creative Commons license. For you as an end-user this means no change from the ordinary. By installing and using Nightshade Materializer you agree to the license as specified below under "License".


:: ABOUT ::

Nightshade Materializer is a Maya tool for managing and working with scene materials. It's a Swiss Army Knife -styled tool with loads of features aimed to make the life easier for the 3D Artist and/or Level Designer working in Maya.

Features:
-Material swatches for quick material access
-Fast material assigning (in just two clicks!)
-Scene materials listed in a scrollable list
-Eyedropper for getting the material of a face selection
-Faster creation of common shaders (make tons of them in seconds)
-Icons for quick access to nodes in the attribute editor
-Fast rename of individual materials
-Batch rename scene materials
-Set texture directory and re-link materials
-Grow material selection to entire mesh/submesh
-Select everything in the scene by material
-Paint assign material
-Shortcuts to hypershade and UV editor
-Print list of scene materials
-Delete unused materials
-Support for Mental Ray and V-Ray shaders


:: LICENSE ::

Nightshade Materializer is licensed under Creative Commons. A human-readable format of this license can be found here: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/

The legal version of this license is found here:
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/legalcode

In short, NSM is free to use for both personal and commercial purposes - as long as you do not remix, transform or build upon this product. I believe in sharing and free software but do accept donations via PayPal. If you and/or your studio find great use of Nightshade Materializer then please consider making a donation. Thanks!


:: INSTALLATION ::

1) Copy "prefs" and "scripts" to your Maya directory on your system disc (not the same as install dir). It is usually found at: 
c:\Users\ YOUR USERNAME \Documents\maya\ VERSION NUMBER \

2) Inside Maya, open up the script editor and make sure you are on the Python tab and not the MEL tab. Then type the following lines:

import NightshadeMaterializer
reload(NightshadeMaterializer)

...and hit Ctrl+Enter

3) If you want a shelf button, write the following in the script editor, then select the lines with the mouse and drag the selection up to the shelf using MOUSE3 (middle mouse button):

import NightshadeMaterializer
NightshadeMaterializer.NSM()


4) In the \prefs\icons -directory there is a shelf icon called NSM_shelf.bmp that you can use


:: CONTACT ::

It's easiest to contact me via mail:martin.dahlin@live.com


:: FAQ ::

Q: How does the swatches work?
A: The big swatch is the main material, and the four smaller ones are the favorites. Clicking the big one will assign the main material onto a selection. Clicking one of the small ones will make them the main material (you will notice that the swatches switch places!). Clicking any of the labels will rename that material.

Q: How do I assign a mew material to the main swatch or a favorite swatch?
A: Just left-click on a material in the list in order to assign it to the main swatch. If you want it on a favorite swatch instead (the little ones) then right-click to get up the popup menu and select what slot you want to assign the material to.

Q: How do I make a material from scratch?
A: Click "New", set a name (optional), turn on/off whatever option checkboxes you need and then click the shader type you need. Note that the "Create material" -window does not self-close, so you can create several materials in a row if you want to. If you want an uncommon material, please create it like you've always done before (Right click > Assign new material) and be sure to click "Reload all" inside the Materializer window.

Q: Mental Ray/Vray shaders are not listed, why?
A: Support for Mental Ray and V-Ray was added in v1.1 so download the latest edition. Note that the Mental Ray and/or V-Ray -plugins have to be loaded in Maya or Materializer will not display tabs for these kind of shaders.

Q: I have a third-party shader that doesn't get loaded - could you add it?
A: I can try! I've already added the Roadkill Stretch Shader so maybe I can add yours!?!

Q: I have a bug to report, how do I report it?
A: Click the "Bugs" tab that's right of the "Description" tab on this page. If possible, go into the script editor and make sure the four top checkboxes are checked under "History" and post me the error code.

Q: A material is missing from the list, why? 
A: There can be a lot of different reasons why, and in most cases you can make it appear by pressing "Reload all" inside Materializer.

Q: My question isn't answered here/I have something else to say. How can I contact you?
A: Start a new thread under "Support forum" or contact me directly at martin.dahlin@live.com