A collection of MEL scripts for Autodesk Maya focused on skinning and rigging workflows.
Selects all vertices of a skinned mesh that are influenced by more than 4 joints (configurable). The result is displayed as a vertex selection directly in the viewport, making it easy to visually identify and manually fix problematic areas.
Use case: Quality check before export – quickly find vertices that exceed the maximum influence count required by game engines or rigs.
Parameters (edit at the top of the script):
| Parameter | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|
$weightTolerance |
0.001 |
Minimum weight to count as active influence |
$maxInf |
4 |
Maximum allowed number of active influences |
Usage:
- Select exactly one skinned mesh (Transform node) in the viewport
- Run the script in the Maya Script Editor
- All violating vertices are selected and highlighted
- The number of affected vertices is printed to the Script Editor output
Automatically prunes all vertices of a skinned mesh down to a maximum
of 4 active influences (configurable). Uses a Bubble Sort to identify the
weakest influences per vertex and removes them via skinPercent -pruneWeights,
then normalizes the remaining weights automatically.
Use case: Automated cleanup for game-ready assets – enforce strict influence limits across an entire mesh in one step.
Parameters (edit at the top of the script):
| Parameter | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|
$MaxInfluence |
4 |
Maximum allowed number of active influences |
$weightTolerance |
0.0001 |
Minimum weight to count as active influence |
Usage:
- Select exactly one skinned mesh (Transform node) in the viewport
- Run the script in the Maya Script Editor
- The script processes every vertex automatically
- A summary report is printed to the Script Editor output
Run FourMax.mel first to automatically prune all violations, then run FiveOrMore.mel afterwards to verify that no violating vertices remain.
- Autodesk Maya (tested with Maya 2020+)
- MEL Script Editor or a shelf button
Jesco Wurm – RaptileBytez
This project is licensed under the MIT License. See LICENSE for details.