Maya curves can be tagged to be rendered. Create curves with one of the curve tools under:
Create > Curve Tools
In the Attribute Editor be sure and assign a material to your curves:
That's it! You should see the curve in your render.
For hair/fur curves: To use the IGS/Interactive Xgen surface UVs for color/texture, you can reference this in the PxrManifold2D of your color placement as scalpS and scalpT Primvars. |
This image is rendered entirely with curves generated with Paint Effects.
To create Paint Effects, open Maya's Visor window: Windows > General Editors > Content Browser. Find the Paint Effects tab, click on a brush type in one of the folders, and then draw in the Maya viewport.
Paint Effects strokes that use a Brush Type "Paint" are rendered directly as curves by RenderMan. It isn't necessary to translate to a mesh, although in some cases you may wish to do that. You can find the brush type on the brush node after drawing a stroke.
After creating a Paint Effects stroke a couple extra steps are required to set up a RenderMan material for rendering. Shading for Paint Effects brushes is not fully translated. However, a Cs (color) primitive variable is emitted for the curves, so you can make use of that in a material assigned to the stroke. PxrPrimvar > Color Input
In the PxrPrimvar make the type a color and use Cs. This will pass the Paint Effects color to the material. You can then hook this up to a material assigned to the stroke in the RenderMan rollout in the Attribute Editor.