Lightstorm3D updates L3Library for Maya

Lightstorm3D has released an update to L3Library, its free collection of Maya tools.

L3Library 1.3.1 comes with a new installation UI to automate the process of setting up its component tools and L3Deformer, the company’s commercial collection of deformation nodes – which has also received a point update.

New Geo Locator tool
The other main addition is Geo Locator: a new tool for constraining geometry to a surface “pretty much like Maya’s follicles”. It works with poly and NURBS surfaces, and there is a choice of projection and alignment methods.

The constrained objects can be set in motion via built-in wave and noise generators, and there is a wheel computation node for constraining vehicles to a surface, with rotation and alignment calculated automatically.

According to Lightstorm3D: “The node actually works without geometry, just using a transform connection. This allows [you] to use the dynamics and wave/noise generator features within node hierarchies, for example, to create dynamic or procedurally animated rigs.”

Existing tools
Other features of L3Library range from scene organisation and annotation tools to Python maths libraries.

L3Library 1.3.1 is available now for Maya 2011 and above. Apologies, Linux and OS X users: it’s Windows-only, and according to Lightstorm3D, will remain that way for the foreseeable future.

Read a full list of features in L3Library

Download L3Library 1.3.1 (Requires registration)