You can export and import deformer weights from one scene to another in order to transfer weight values from one mesh to another.
To export deformer weights
- From the main menu bar, select
Deform > Export Weights from the
Deform Menu Weight Maps section.
- In the
Export Deformer Weights Options that appear, set the file name and directory options you want.
- Click
Export.
An XML file containing the deformer weight map is saved to the directory you specified.
To import deformer weights
- Select the deformable object onto which you want to import a weight map.
Note: You must have a weight map file previously exported from Maya in order to import.
- From the main menu bar, select
Deform > Import Weights from the
Deform Menu Weight Maps section..
- In the
Import Deformer Weights Options that appear, click the folder icon next to
File name to navigate and select the file you want to import.
- Set the
Mapping Method you want to use:
- The default is
Index, which replaces current values on the skinned object with the imported values taken from the XML file, overwriting values only for vertices that match between the mesh and imported weights file.
- Choose
Nearest if you want Maya to determine which point gets what weights based on the proximity of the point in the weight map. This can be useful when the index numbers have changed but the topology is very similar or exact.
- Choose
Over to replace current values on the skinned object with the imported values taken from the XML file, overwriting any default values for weights.
- Click
Ignore Names to disregard the names of the deformer nodes when trying to import weights. This option is off by default.
- Click
Normalize Weights to perform an extra normalization pass while importing the weight values. This prevents jagged artifacts from appearing on the target mesh. In some cases, these artifacts can occur after weight values are rounded on export. This option is on by default.
- Click
Import.