Maya: MEL and the Length of Curves

MEL is, like Python, a scripting language in Maya. In this tutorial I'll show how MEL always works in the background and protocols all we do in Maya. Then we load the image of a drone photo, showing a lake from the top, from WikiCommons as a backdrop image, called an Image Plane. On that plane we check dimensions and units and build a path for joggers, i.e. a NURBS curve.
Finally, and that's the focus of this tutorial, we measure the length of the path using three options, two of which use MEL.
Edvard Toth's MEL script curveLength can be found here: github.com/edv...
My drone image a small vulcanic lake in Germany is in the Wiki Commons: commons.wikime...
For a more broad intro to MEL see this tutorial: • Maya: Getting a Taste ...

[@wordsshackles441]

Thank you!

[@mecanodesign7245]

very nice, Thanks

[@zircontweezers4904]

great ,thank u 4 sharing.

[@mikefalcon1]

The value of information n your video is mostly underappreciated, or the video should get bumped up :) Thank you very much!

[@Uhr24]

Thanks, Maico, for your positive input! The subscribers will reach the 1,000 threshold soon, so I can monetize the channel and earn a few € to buy me a free lunch per month ;-)

[@mikefalcon1]

Hehe, that's better than nothing. I would like to know, did you publish your book in English? I was also on the search online for information about creating a curve through animation sweep along an existing curve, but I didn't had any change of finding a solution yet> My existing curve has banking done manually with a locator and keys set on its motionpath timeline and I would need on both sides of the existing curve a new curve on a certain distance from the original curve Left and Right, while they follow as well that banking (theme park ride), I would use the 2 new curves to project on a surface so I could see on that surface where to start build up any beam geometry (wooden track support). If I may ask, would you have any idea what I could do?

[@mikefalcon1]

Actually, now that I think about it, I should be able to manage that with the Biral 2 tool

[@ypd6431]

thank you , thats help a lot!

[@SagunManandhar]

is it possible to trnasfer arc length to parametric value in min and max = arc length ? so that motion path does will change expectedly if we change the curve length ?

[@SagunManandhar]

Or is it possible for motion path to act based on arc length instead of parametric value ?

[@Uhr24]

hi, i cannot answer your questions ad hov. please consult the autodesk maya AREA (forums) for this. nice people there.

[@SagunManandhar]

@@Uhr24Thanks anyways for quick reply :)

[@tstone9151]

I need that script for python, I’ll see if I can convert it

[@SagunManandhar]

And is it possible to convert maya uniform curve to curve length curve by any means ?