3D Splanchnic shows a tried and true method to wrap a ribbon around an object in Maya.

It might not be instantly intuitive, but Maya can animate a ribbon wrap around any object. It’s a bit of a hold-over from days gone by, and the workflow might not be that apparent for some users. 3D Splanchnic shows how you can use the motion path and path flow tools to generate this type of animation quickly.

Motion Path and Path Flow in Maya.

Motion Path allows you to animate an object along a curve in Maya. It’s great to have objects follow a discrete path, and it’s great for other rigging and animation tasks. It can also handle “warping” and object to flow along the way using the Path Flow setting — Great for wrapping a ribbon around something.