If you have ever thought, “Why can’t i just use soft selections as the basis for rigging skinned weights?” You are probably not a lone. A faster method for getting a base skin is always welcome. This is why Brazilian Character TD Anderson Augusto obviously created his Soft Joints Tool for Autodesk Maya. The latest release of the tool allows you to transfer soft selection falloff and influence information, and pass that along to an actual skinned weight value.
…With this tool you will be able to streamline the process of creating basic facial controls, through the soft selection method
The tool was built so artists can streamline the process for creating basic facial controls. You can manually set the intensity of the force that will be applied to the surface. This gives you fast and effective control over the weights that you want for the joints used. The Soft Joint Tool for Maya also allows you the option to automatically create a driver, and lets you choose the hierarchy.
Anderson Augusto has the Maya soft joints tool for sale on Gumroad, where you can pick it up for $25 bucks.