Guides are Maya objects created by nodes when switching to ‘Template’ mode.
They provide crucial position and orientation information necessary for rig creation.
They typically appear purple and are organized in a parent-child hierarchy.
DO NOT delete, change the hierarchy, or modify a guide, except for moving or rotating it.
Best Practices for Guide Manipulation:
When positioning guides, it’s advisable to enable Maya’s ‘xray‘, ‘xray joints‘, and ‘wireframe on shaded‘ options and/or disable ‘select surface objects‘ for better visibility.
(As of version 1.06.01), Arise includes a button to toggle the aforementioned Maya settings, making it easier to view and position guides. This button is located next to the ‘solo’ button. Right-click on the button for additional options regarding what gets toggled.
Solo Mode:
Activating ‘Solo’ mode changes the guides color to pink and detaches them from their parent-child relationship. This allows moving individual guides without affecting their children.
Mirror:
For symmetrical character models, guides positioned on one side can be mirrored onto the other side across the YZ plane (+X <–> -X).
Ways to mirror:
- Mirror Selected (1st button from the left) – Mirror selected nodes. Changes are visible in ‘Template’ mode.
- Mirror L to R (2nd button) – Mirror guides of nodes with the prefix ‘L_’ onto matching node with the prefix ‘R_’.
- Mirror R to L (3rd button) – Mirror guides of nodes with the prefix ‘R_’ onto matching node with the prefix ‘L_’.
- Mirror Node – Right-click on a node and select ‘Mirror Node‘.
- Duplicate And Mirror Node – Right-click on a node and select ‘Duplicate And Mirror Node‘.
- ‘Mirror onto <node name>’ – Appears when right-clicking on the node if there’s another node with a matching name but opposite prefix.
Reset Guides:
Guides’ positions and orientations can be reset through various methods:
- ‘Edit‘ menu -> ‘Guides‘ -> ‘Reset Selected Nodes Guides‘
- ‘Edit‘ menu -> ‘Guides‘ -> ‘Reset Selected Nodes Guides + Parent Guides‘
- Right-click on a node in ‘Template’ mode, then select ‘Guides‘->’Reset Guides‘
- Right-click on a node in ‘Template’ mode, then select ‘Guides‘->’Reset Guides + Parent Guide‘
Guides Preferences Settings:
In ARISE’s ‘Settings‘ menu -> ‘Preferences’ window:
- Display Local Axis: Shows the guide’s local rotation axis.
- Display Label: Displays the guide’s name next to each guide.
- Display Guides Curve: Shows curves between guides and their parents.
To apply changes, switch to ‘Template’ mode again. Additionally, from Maya’s ChannelBox, you can toggle ‘Display Axis‘ and ‘Display Label‘ on individual guides.
The following types of guides are available:
Basic Guide:
A simple guide for positioning and orientation. While the default shape of the Basic Guide is a circle, it is often customized for improved visual clarity.
Aim Guide:
The Aim Guide is designed to consistently point towards another guide while allowing free positioning within the scene. Its default shape is a sphere with an arrow indicating its aim direction.
The Aim Guide features a companion component known as the ‘Side Guide,’ which influences the twist or ‘Up Vector’ of the aim. If the ‘Side Guide’ appears locked, it’s likely that control over the twist has been transferred to a parent guide. To regain control, untick the ‘Single Side Guide‘ attribute on the node. In some cases, rotational management may be entirely handled by other guides, such as with the ‘CA_Arm’ and ‘CA_Leg’ nodes.
Direction Guide:
Direction Guides serve solely for orientational purposes; their positioning is irrelevant and cannot be adjusted.
Direction Guides default shape are typically represented by an arrow shape. Not affected by ‘Solo’ mode.
Pole Vector Guide:
A Pole Vector Guide can only move on a plane defined by three other guides and is primarily employed in ‘CA_Arm’ and ‘CA_Leg’ to position the pole vector control. Its default shape is typically represented by an arrow. Not affected by ‘Solo’ mode.
Multi-Parents Guide: (New to version: 1.05.02)
The Multi-Parents Guide shares similarities with the Basic Guide but differs in that it has more than one parent influencing its default position, orientation, and/or scale. Not affected by ‘Solo’ mode.
Parent Guide:
The Parent Guide serves as the primary guide for each node, positioned by default at the world origin. Its primary function is to move and scale the node’s other guides when not in ‘Solo’ mode.
When multiple nodes are in ‘Template’ mode, their parent guides will be stacked on top of each other.
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