Animate Cell Division (Metaballs) in Maya Using Particles: Medical Animation Tutorial

[@1Robertwaterworth]

This is a fantastic tutorial! Thank you very much for sharing. I've been using Maya for many years, but there is always so much more to learn. I just started searching KZbin hoping to find a tutorial that would demonstrate how to do this. I'm so glad I found your video. Great work, thank you again.

[@clebercoutinho1996]

You can also simply select 2 spheres

[@mohamadalnwehy6900]

Hi. i tried to follow the video step by step but I could not be able to move each Cluster indvediolly , could you advise?

[@onsokumaru4663]

@@mohamadalnwehy6900 Why are you asking him? He's only explaining an alternative method which is different to the video one.

[@JasonBraatzC]

Cool! The alternative method that I've had to do these before using Maya fluids (creating multiple 3D containers, configure the fluid so it's thick & drippy) then by setting a keyframe every 30 frames or so on the 'Use emission' on the fluid shape, setting it up on, skipping 5 keyframes and turning it back off). It then can be used to also produce the cellular divisions. What I like about your method using Metaballs better is that you have a lot more control over the process [and] it appears you had less time tweaking them at first to get it right. Great job!

[@EmilyMcDougallArt]

That's great! Thank you for sharing, I will definitely try out this method too. It is always interesting to find out peoples different methods. Thank you for your kind words, I am glad you enjoyed the tutorial!

[@shubhamgupta-hf7jc]

I'm facing a problem.....while I move one cluster remain all particles also move......I can't move individual particles

[@randomdudr]

This was a lot of help. Not so different from an info i just paid for. Great work out there.

[@DandelionMedicalAnimation]

Thanks

[@jackpeach4162]

The script to centre my object won't work, but reset transformation is an adequate solution. Really quite amazing how you can move each cell freely and it still reacts to one another. Great tutorial. :) this is working perfectly in Maya 2019.

[@muhidsaeed6344]

In my case cluster deformer deform all particle, not one, all particle move together. No matter which cluster handle I select.

[@TEDPooI]

Emily your video clip was very helpful. Thank you very much. 에밀리 당신의 동영상에 매우 도움이 됐어요. 정말 감사합니다 :)

[@blacksaturn1100]

For those of you using Maya 2020, make sure 'Camera-based selection' is turned on. I wasn't able to select each particle when it was turned off. ✌️

[@meoww6094]

Omg I tried this too and im dejected that I cant select single particle all of them are moving together! before I read your comment I was about to give up and was happy to find a solution but alas this is not working either! I'm on Maya 2022. Anymore suggestions? thank you :(

[@meoww6094]

it worked at last! all i did was update maya to the latest version. hope that helps to anybody coming across this video.

[@balkisahamadazhar339]

@@meoww6094 do you know any video that make how to assign transperancy on it using latest Maya version now? cant follow these step since its almost 6 years ago :(

[@meoww6094]

@@balkisahamadazhar339 Hi! I don’t know about video but you could try disabling opaque in object attribute editor > shape node > arnold > uncheck opaque. Then in the shader you could adjust transparency by setting the transmission weight in the hyper shade. Hope this helps !

[@yenc7802]

Thanks you are my lifesaver

[@zohradar8046]

I am not able to get cluster control, could you please guide me

[@sanbehzad]

Emily, you are a genius.

[@AnnieCampbellMedical]

Awesome and inspirational as always. Make more please!

[@EmilyMcDougallArt]

Thanks Annie!

[@candaraskn872]

when i try to move a cluster all particles are moving :/ anyone knows how to solve that?

[@Ajaxsuz]

thanks you so much for tutorial.

[@parthshah9595]

hey Emily, I need your help. Single-particle in Maya 2020 isn't selected. I don't know what's the matter but after choosing the particle option nothing is happening. pls, help.

[@brendanlazar]

Something weird happens for me when I try to move the clusters. The cells instead all move together towards a random position, floating away. Hitting undo does not fix their locations. I don't know why this is happening

[@TylerMatthewHarris]

Thank you! People like you are awesome

[@Spaghetti775]

Fantastic tutorial, thanks very much!

[@WolfIonGaming]

This is phenomenal very creative! Hope to see more soon! =) Also watched your portfolio your so talented!

[@pandarzzz]

Thank you for sharing this informative video! 🐰🖐🏻

[@vigneshvicky8570]

Hai emily, this is great, but is there a way that this same kind of cell division animation can be done to any other shapes like star or cube.

[@markfernandez5474]

cool tutorial. I was wondering if you could make the cells with different radius sizes

[@TheCharacterAnimator]

nice tutorial...but I can't select the particle...

[@nathanRs08]

I can't select the particle either. Did you ever figure out why?

[@miasturm320]

Is it possible to assign a previously created geometry to the cluster I.e. a face you previously made?

[@mohammadameeruddin149]

simply superb

[@efass_]

How were you able to place a texture on the polysurface and also make it transparent afterwards? I can't seem to place a texture or make it somewhat transparent no matter what material I use.

[@lexx5526]

I'd like to know this too. Good question.

[@lawlaw9176]

Super cool tutorial!!!!!!

[@antonchristensen8565]

Thank you so much for these tutorials. I didn't even know this was possible to do in Maya. How did you go about making that shader? Keep up the good work.

[@lexx5526]

I've followed your tutorial to a T, and it worked very smoothly, up until I got to 4:52+ of your tutorial. I'm finding it difficult to move group 1 from group 2, whenever I try to, the sphere deforms as I move it and then it disappears completely... I'm completely new to Maya, so there is probably something I've missed but I can't seem to find a solution using google. Can anyone help? TIA

[@kurtholus]

It should turn back to normal once you set the key-frame and if not all you have to do is move the nucleus and the clusters should return to normal.

[@sebastianpossel6687]

@@kurtholus Hi, Hope you doing well, Thanks for the tutorial. Just asking this: The Clusters move every particle(polygon) not independently. Do you know how to fix this? also which is the best way to UVM texture this!? thanks for sharing

[@toddlawrimore3577]

Thank you.

[@spacerock317]

Hey guys. Am I the only one here who can't select single particles in order to attach clusters to them ? It seems as though i can only select the particle node in the outliner, not the actual separate ones... anyone ?

[@spacerock317]

Ok It seems to be working just like in the tutorial when using maya19. maya 2020 on the other hand, won't let me select single particles in a system.

[@lemboheisnam4738]

when i choose one cluster handle and move ......all of them move together plz help anyone who knows how to solve

[@EasysMelody]

Emily, I love all your videos! Do you only work in Maya or can you imagine to do some other tutorials in 3ds max? :)

[@indranilray8811]

I did the same thing in 3DS Max, very easy but for the biological animation C4D got more controls

[@DonBurroni]

Your tutorials are TOP, where did you go?

[@MurallaMuerta]

particles cannot be selected

[@manoharsulluru]

is there any possibility to change shape into leaf or bench, laptop-like any other shapes

[@Medwedius]

Emily. I recommend the "emPolygonizer5 for Maya" plugin for tasks like that. It much faster converts particles into geometry, it also works with polygonal objects. Recently, I was visualizing the spread of cancer using it. The plugin was free. Unfortunately, the site where it was currently not working, but the plug-in and training videos can be found on the Internet.

[@EmilyMcDougallArt]

Oh wow that is great thanks for sharing! I will go and see if I can find it!

[@EmilyMcDougallArt]

Have you used it on more recent versions of Maya? I’ve found it online up to maya 2016. Do you think it will work okay?

[@EmilyMcDougallArt]

Sorry another question! The documentation for it doesn’t seem to exist online anymore. Do you by any chance have a copy?

[@Kanal994]

@@EmilyMcDougallArt tfw Михаил Акиняев doesn't reply =( love the channle, hope you keep it up =)

[@user-nc3xm1fz7u]

hello guys. i wanna get emPolygonizer5 plugin. i am using maya 2019 version software. could you plz tell me free download site?

[@timothywiley6334]

YES

[@jackpeach4162]

Is there a way to apply this melting effect to my own model, E.G I want to create a melting kiss effect with two head models, like how the balls attach to each other when they are close.

[@Xrchitect_Rong]

Thanks for your work Emily! ……but as a rookie in MAYA, I cannot just select a single particle as you do :(

[@EmilyMcDougallArt]

Rongxuan Mu you will need to select the cluster deformer that you attached to the particle, not the particle itself. Particles cannot be moved on their pen. Try selecting the Cluster in the Outliner rather than in the scene. It should work using this tutorial so you could maybe go through the steps again. Really hope you manage to resolve your problem :)

[@Xrchitect_Rong]

@@EmilyMcDougallArt It works! Thank you!

[@EmilyMcDougallArt]

Oh that is great! No problem! :)

[@toolsofcreation4777]

how would you scale each individual blob tho?

[@mihirmahapatra3189]

When I move any single cluster it moves the entire system. I had done it some time back and now I am not able to replicate the same

[@muhidsaeed6344]

Did you find any solution??

[@kelseygentz6932]

My solution was to check under "Weighted Deformers" in the "Component Editor". All my particles were being influenced by all the clusters, so I had to go through and set the ones that weren't supposed to be connected to zero, leaving the ones that were to 1. That fixed my problem.

[@mihirmahapatra3189]

@@muhidsaeed6344 It works now in 2023 by magic. It was a bug which I had reported about it to Autodesk, I guess they fixed it in 2023 version.

[@mihirmahapatra3189]

It was a bug. In fact quite a few good old Maya effects were not working at that time. Now it works as expected. They have fixed it in 2023. This is a simple yet effective tutorial. I like it.

[@360ambiencevideos]

how would I bake this out and export the animation to unreal ?

[@ChrisHardcastle]

Nice, this is making me wonder if you could set the animation of the division up in MASH somehow and then 'Connect nParticles to MASH'. Thinking...

[@EmilyMcDougallArt]

+Chris Hardcastle yeah I was thinking something similar! I gave it a go a couple of times but never quite nailed it. I am going to try again and will let you know if I have any luck. Likewise, let me know if you work it out :)

[@ChrisHardcastle]

Will do. p.s. time for a new Blood Cells tut? ;-) vimeo.com/227710649

[@EmilyMcDougallArt]

+Chris Hardcastle yes! I was watching that the other day, it's awesome... could definitely do a blood cells part two!

[@EmilyMcDougallArt]

Playing with this just now and you can just create a MASH network with the polySurface that is created from the particles. Definitely making a bonus video!

[@mainframe2177]

Ah, OK. Look forward to it. I was thinking more around setting up the 2>2>2>2>... thing (splitting) in MASH and then connecting that up to the particle system. Get all the splitting to be procedural rather then manual. I think it's probably a Python thing so will pester the guys here to have a think.

[@MrDenKuzn]

Awesome!=)

[@vinodshewale64]

HI EMILY YOU MADE NICE VIDEOS WHY U STOP DOING IT ..KZbin MONETIZATION RIGHT?BUT ITS NICE WORK ..THANKYOU

[@EmilyMcDougallArt]

Hello! I have a new one coming this week! I have just had a very busy few months but hoping to bring lots more tutorials this year! Thank you for your support! :)

[@vinodshewale64]

Emily Holden u can make videos for kids in 3d ..U will have huge earning..If u need help contact me anytime

[@TEDPooI]

What is this Shader?

[@xuqiangzhang9724]

interesting

[@CosmosReality_]

liked and suscribe

[@gsaurabhgupta2020]

how to create medical animation vfx in maya

[@kenkurras4926]

It works UNTIL I set a key frame and then it all breaks

[@playlistacademy103]

Amazing! If you need any free music for your videos, come browse through the playlist's i have, i think they would really improve your content!

[@EmilyMcDougallArt]

Thank you, good to know! :)

[@diko_shka]

Who’s can help me? from2024

[@VisitBeforeHumanPollute]

There will be much more convenient way is better to not mess with objectgroup list.