Binding A Head To A Body For [Call of Duty] (Maya)

Binding the head

For some body types where the head isn’t attached to the body in the body model (Mostly zombie models) you can attach it to make it easier to work with.

First step: Bind the head mesh

• Import the head mesh into Maya and apply the bind file.
• Save the scene as helmet_bound.ma (or mb).

Next step: Loading the scene

• File->Open the body (This is done to remove namespaces)
• Drag on the helmet_bound file you saved earlier.
• Run the following mel script (save as binder.mel):

// Stage 1: Bind helmet

parent helmet_bound:j_spine4 j_spineupper;

// Stage 1.1: Get pos

float $findMEX = `getAttr("j_spine4.tx")`;
float $findMEY = `getAttr("j_spine4.ty")`;
float $findMEZ = `getAttr("j_spine4.tz")`;
float $findRX = `getAttr("j_spine4.jointOrientX")`;
float $findRY = `getAttr("j_spine4.jointOrientY")`;
float $findRZ = `getAttr("j_spine4.jointOrientZ")`;

// Stage 2: Setup transforms

select -r helmet_bound:j_spine4;
setAttr "helmet_bound:j_spine4.translateX" $findMEX;
setAttr "helmet_bound:j_spine4.translateY" $findMEY;
setAttr "helmet_bound:j_spine4.translateZ" $findMEZ;
setAttr "helmet_bound:j_spine4.jointOrientX" $findRX;
setAttr "helmet_bound:j_spine4.jointOrientY" $findRY;
setAttr "helmet_bound:j_spine4.jointOrientZ" $findRZ;

// Stage 3: Cleanup

delete j_neck;

// Stage 4: Done

print "Done On to Manual Step!";

WARNING: If you are using a model set with no arms on the body, you may have to manually rename helmet_bound:j_spine4 back to just j_spine4

Final step: Binding the finished body properly

• Find the j_spine4 from the body mesh.
• Expand it and select all it’s children.
• Middle mouse drag the children onto the helmet_bound:j_spine4
• Delete the j_spine4 from the body.
• Drag on the body’s bind file.
• Save the scene, the head is now properly attached to the body.