Support FAQ :

There are four Pencil+ 4 products: Pencil+ 4 (for 3ds Max, for Maya) and Pencil+ 4 Line (for After Effects, for Unity). The main features of each product are summarized in the tables below. The implementation and operation of similar features vary depending on the product. Please use the Demo versions of the products to check the operation of the features.

Pencil+ 4 for Maya

[] = Supported. [-] = Not supported / Not compatible.

Pencil+ 4 Bridge for Maya

[] = Supported. [-] = Not supported / Not compatible.

Please disable the render view's [View Transform]. Also, please uncheck [Enable Color Management] in Maya's Preferences.

The Maya software renderer does not handle [Color Management]. This is why the colors of images displayed in the render view and those in saved image files are different when [View Transform] and [Enable Color Management] are ON.

If you wish to fix noise-like slight changes in the colors when rendering PencilMaterial, please open Maya's [Render Settings], go to the [Maya Software] tab and uncheck [Jitter final color].

You can perform network rendering by installing the CBOX network rendering plugin. There is no limit to the number of rendering nodes.

You can perform network rendering by installing the CBOX network rendering plugin. There is no limit to the number of rendering nodes.

Executing Network Rendering

To use CBOX for network rendering, please install the network rendering plugin on the rendering PCs, start Modo in [Slave Mode] or [Headless Mode] and execute the render.

Installing the Network Rendering Plugin

Execute the setup file ("setup_CharacterBox_***_ntr.exe") and follow the instructions of the installer. If a different version of the plugin is already installed, please start by uninstalling it.
Resident programs, such as anti-virus software, may interfere with the product installation/uninstallation. If you experience problems with the installation/uninstallation, please temporarily disable your anti-virus software (or other resident programs).
The network rendering plugin can be downloaded from the "Download" section of the PSOFT User Page.
https://www.psoft.co.jp/user/en/

Pencil+ 4 for Maya supports network rendering using the command line renderer. There is no limit to the number of server PCs used for network rendering.
The network rendering plugin must be installed on the server PCs to perform network rendering. Please refer to the "Network Rendering" section of the product's manual for more details.

• The network rendering plugin can only render when Maya is executed with the command line renderer.
• The network rendering plugin cannot be used to edit and save files. If used to save files, the settings for all Pencil+ 4 nodes will be re-initialized to their default values.

There is no limit to the number of servers and processors used when doing network rendering with Pencil+ 4 for Maya. You can add new rendering PCs without restriction.

Please use a [Size Map].

[Stroke Size Reduction] uses screen space as the basis for computing lines. Because of this, depending on the curve settings, lines can look unstable when animating.

[Size Map] uses the object's UV coordinates to specify line thickness, so stable lines can be drawn when animating.
Please have a look at the [Size Map] sample file "LineSizeMap_1.mb" installed with the plugin.

Please use a [Size Map].

[Stroke Size Reduction] uses screen space as the basis for computing lines. Because of this, depending on the curve settings, lines can look unstable when animating.

[Size Map] uses the object's UV coordinates to specify line thickness, so stable lines can be drawn when animating.
Please have a look at the [Size Map] sample file "LineSizeMap_1.max" installed with the plugin.

Please click [Sample Files] under [Pencil+ 4] in the Maya menu.

Please click [Sample Files] under [Pencil+ 4] in the 3ds Max menu.

Please click [Sample Files] under [CBOX] in the Modo menu.

Silent Install

Start a silent install by executing the following command in the command prompt.

"setup_***.exe" /SILENT

* Replace "setup_***.exe" above with the actual installer file name.

The options /SILENT and /VERYSILENT are available for silent installs. (When /VERYSILENT is used, the installation progress display is also disabled.)

The option /COMPONENTS can be used to specify installation target products. The plugin will only be installed for the specified products.

In the example below, the plugin will only be installed for Maya 2016.5 and Maya 2017. (If a specified product version cannot be found, that version of the plugin will not be installed.)

"setup_***.exe" /COMPONENTS="Maya2016_5,Maya2017" /SILENT

* The command is not case sensitive.
When the /COMPONENTS option is not used, the plugin is installed for every installed product version.

Product Versions and Matching Component Names

Please refer to the following page for other available options.
http://www.jrsoftware.org/ishelp/index.php?topic=setupcmdline

Silent Uninstall

Start a silent uninstall by executing the following command in the command prompt.

"C:\Program Files\PSOFT\ProductName\uninstall\unins000.exe" /SILENT

The uninstaller is usually created in the folder C:\Program Files\PSOFT\ProductName\uninstall where "ProductName" is the name of the product.

Please refer to the following page for other available options.
http://www.jrsoftware.org/ishelp/index.php?topic=uninstcmdline

You can also uninstall by using the following commands.

• For 3ds Max
  

  cmd /c "for /F "tokens=1,2,*" %I in ('reg query "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\{8FAB6E07-1B66-4BF8-8AD1-9045BF5B1120}_is1" /v "QuietUninstallString" /reg:64') do %K"

• For Maya
  

  cmd /c "for /F "tokens=1,2,*" %I in ('reg query "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\{6D19AF5C-7C20-4295-BD7B-5BA37A3F4311}_is1" /v "QuietUninstallString" /reg:64') do %K"

We do not plan to add support for the DXF format.
We recommend using Illustrator to convert from EPS to DXF.

If you need to convert multiple files automatically, please try Illustrator's [Batch] feature. The following URL gives an example for converting EPS to PDF, but you could do the same to export to DXF.
https://helpx.adobe.com/creative-suite/kb/convert-multiple-ai-files-eps.html

To output materials and lines separately as images in one render, enable [Output to Render Elements Only] in the PencilLine node, add Render Elements nodes and render the scene.

To reproduce, using Maya, the drawing of lines using the [Crease] functionality of 3ds Max, use [Hard Edges] and [Maya Catmull-Clark]'s [Propagate Edge Hardness].

Furthermore, the Pencil+ 4 sample file "MeshSmoothPreviewRender.mb" uses [Hard Edges] and [Propagate Edge Hardness] to draw lines. Please refer to the settings of the object on the left-hand side.

Yes, there is. We received a lot of requests for it during the beta trials, so we added it in the final version.

Use the Pencil+ 4 Line Viewport to check the Lines in the viewport. Smooth mesh preview is not supported due to the Maya specifications.

Pencil+ 4 supports rendering smooth mesh previews. Enable it in the "Rendering Settings" under the Pencil+ 4 menu.