I was feeling a little left out in Autodesk Maya once noticing so many kit bashing tools popping up in other DCC’s. Blender’s Decal Machine was one that seemed particularly jaw dropping. If you are familiar with the Polystein Kit that is a kit-bash tool for Modo, Mesh Blend for Maya is similar.
Kit bashing is a bit of an old-school term where [physical] model makers would create models based on parts from a library of model kits. That process still ends itself well to hard surface modelers in the Digital age. Drawing from a library of components, parts, and details offers a much faster workflow than building the same screw-recess over and over again.
Mesh Blend (still in beta) is Adnan Chaumette’s new modeling tool that lets you manage and place your kit bash assets on selected faces and blend them directly into your mesh. It sounds as astounding as it looks.
The idea was inspired and borrowed from Modo’s Polystein Kit created by the wizard William Vaughn. Mesh Blend for Maya operates with two main modes. You can blend the new geometry into your original shape, or you can place it along the surface. The blending option will work on both curved and non-curved surfaces. It attempts to seamlessly bridge the gap between your source geometry and the inserted kit-bash object.
This is all very exciting for Maya users, but not all Maya users. ATM Mesh Blend only works with Maya 2016-2017 versions, and only on windows systems. Being that Chaumette’s other Maya tools are also Windows only, it doesn’t seem promising for an MacOs version any time soon. “ This is still a beta so expect a few bugs on the road” Chaumette says.
Yet, if you meet the current requirements and want to pre-pay for the released version, you can download the beta for $35. Mesh Blend 1.0 Beta.
