MODO Common Tools 2020
MODO Common Tools 2020 is a collection of custom scripts, shortcuts, and other conveniences that I have found useful in my daily modeling tasks.
This kit is customizable, contextual and will enhance the way you work.
The intent of this kit is to ENHANCE the default tools, along with some custom tools, to make your workflow faster. There is a focus on the main modeling tools [Bevel, Edge Slice, Add Loop, Loop Slice, and Triple] to 1) get the most out of a single keystroke and 2) simplify repetitive tasks down to a single keystroke or button press.
With monitor real estate at a premium, this kit enables hiding the majority of the interface and still continue modeling without having to memorize a ton of new keyboard shortcuts. There are a couple of new ones but this kit, as best as possible, utilizes the default Modo keystrokes minimizing the memorization overhead so you can get back to work faster.
Additionally, Common Tools 2020 takes the design experience to a new level with many more tools and workflow options.
Included Features:
- Unit Primitives plus insert and scale to the selection, the Pill primitive, and customizable default settings
- Curve Rebuild (redefine the point count of consecutive edges in a polygon)
- Jukebox (List scripts from a folder for easy access and execution)
- Rounded Edge Materials (Apply and adjust rounded edges on a global level)
- Edge Weighting Tool (renamed to Quick Weights makes it easy to adding to weighting to your mesh and maintaining weighting consistencies between the standard subdivision and Catmul-Clark subdivision methods)
- Workspace optimizations utilizing MODO new quick panels
- Forms Optimized for keyboard shortcuts (Action Items, Falloffs, Mirror+Clone, Slicing, Rounded Edge Materials, Edge Weighting, Element Editing)
- Clever Lines Randomizer
- Clever Lines Foundation
- Clever Lines Construction Tools Toolbox
- Clever Lines Center Pivot Mesh Toolbox
- Measure Tool originally from the Clever Lines Construction Toolkit
- 3rd Party Integration (PP Topology, PP Hatchet, PP Coolidge, Eterea Swiss Knife)(3rd parties not required)
- Commonly used Element popup menus
- Viewport Master Integration (from the Keith Shepard Collection)
- Quick Palettes
- See release notes for the latest updates
Requirements:
Compatible with MODO 12.2+
If you find something that isn’t working, please let me know and I will fix it.
For installation, you will need to download the files, CL_CommonTools_2020 xxxx.zip. Extract the contents and place it into your "Kits" folder located by going to System>Open User Folder. Restart MODO, may need to reset preferences if you are making an update.
How-to video:
Release Note:
New Features:
- Create Slice Mirror Merge
- Add slice mirror merge to slice menu
- Add Duplicate ‘n Freeze (obj & fbx)
- Add Slice Mirror Merge options to keymapping preferences
- Remesher for sculpting | retop<->freeze (alpha)
- Make script to clean item names (spaces to separator)
- Give some fidelity to the Feature Toggles for items such as 3rd party kits/tools
- Add Orbit Selected to tools
- Add Show as Silhouette
- Add keymapping for Silhouette
- Add keymapping for Orbit Selection
- Triple Fan: Select edge, add vertex, execute triple fan
- Triple Fan: Select poly, add vertex, execute triple fan
- Triple Fan Pro: need test for item selection
- Export FBX: make it work on all selected Items
- Export FBX: Remove rotation on Export
- Create addMidPoint
- Map: addMidPoint
- Provide separator option for Item Manager (pre/suf) in preferences
Enhancements:
- Added place holder in the toolbox form for users to add their own kits or commands.
- Make Quick Weights a Pie menu
- Quick Weights: make both CC and Subd equivalent when recalculated
- Smooth brush: make pro based on selection?
- Create quick weight preset values in preferences: done but hidden
- Rebuild Edges: Set selection mode to ‘edges’ after rebuild is complete
- Rebuild Edges: Add preference to return to ‘edges’ or ‘verts’
- Remove Edge/Keep Vert: Set selection mode to ‘verts’ after the edge is removed
- Remove Edge/Keep Vert: Add preference to return to ‘edges’ or ‘verts’
- Test for item selection if element is selected (select.primaryMesh)
- Mesh Cleanup: create alternate command to display the mesh clean-up dialog
- Add Preferences option to Properties in Common Tools, Will allow for button, inline and Split configurations
- Measure Tool: add update button to popup dialog
- Measure Tool: Make information “selection mode” sensitive
- Edge Flow: Preferences toggle
April Updates:
- Fixed bug: Quick weights error occurred during certain selections.
- Customer feature request: Top row Selection mode keys can now be kept at modoo defaults.
Add-Ons included with Common Tools Plus Toolbox
Construction Tool box
This is a collection of scripts and tools but more importantly, it’s a workflow for creating houses or other structures starting with a floor plan.
This kit consists of 11 distinct tools from floor plan import to building a roof to measuring the area of a wall for painting estimates.
In addition to building houses, I believe this toolkit can be used for other purposes such as creating animation paths, placing locators for rigging, or creating an army of garden gnomes.
Randomizer
Randomizer allows you to enter a range of values to apply to your transform tools (Scale, Rotate, Move) when applied to a mesh with multiple groups of contiguous polygons. Example: Take a perfectly straight row of fence posts and add some variation to it with a single click. In other words...Shake it up a little (or a lot)!!!!! The interface allows for limiting effect on an individual axis or all three at once.
Foundation
Foundation is a template manager that integrates easily into any workflow. It comes with four (7) templates. One for basic modeling, two for modeling people or humanoid creatures, two for modeling faces, one for rendering product that is complete with a lighting setup, and finally one for setting up auxiliary light for Hybrid HDR lighting plus an assembly of the same template so you can add lighting later in an existing project. There are three (3) additional slots for creating your own templates. You can even use all 10 for your own if you like.
New layout
New feature: Editable labels and tooltips
Plus 7 additional templates
Plus 1 assembly for creating hybrid HDR lighting to an existing scene.
What does the HDR template and assembly do? It assists in the process of aligning a direct light sun to the center of the HDR image. This ensures shadows from the DL sun will match up with the HDR sun. So more awkward shadows.
All image resources it may ask for are either provided in the kit or found in the default content directory.
Preset Exporter
This is an add-on that makes light work of saving a preset. Simply model your preset. Setup the camera, lights, and background for how you’d like to present the preset. Run the add-on. From there, the add-on does the rest by rendering the preset, saving the preset to an .lxl file, and stuffing the .lxl file with the rendered image.
How-to video: