Python
VEX
MEL
HScript
HTML/CSS
C/C++/C#
Java
Javascript
SQL
Maya Python bulk attribute changer
I always strive to improve consistency and efficiency in my work, so in all my roles I have developed methods and tools to streamline and advance my workflow and results, which naturallly led me to coding/scripting.
At Guru Studio, I built a suite of Python tools that was integrated into the pipeline for use by all FX Artists. I wrote help text for each and ran training sessions on the use of them. Based on feedback, experience and changing needs, I improved and expanded the tools to a full shelf in Houdini and several more in Maya. These included everything from relatively simple tools for automating repetative node network creation to more complex scripts for different instancing techniques and the like.
The scripting work I had done led to me working with the TD team alongside my FX duties for the last few months of my role at Guru, during which time I developed utility tools to integrate the FX department into the pipeline more efficiently. For example, I made a GUI to standardise flipbook creation and aid upload for review using ffmpeg and PyQt.
I am always keen to develop my technical skills further and have recently learned the basics of several new scripting languages, including C, Java and SQL, to improve my coding knowledge and understanding.
In my earlier editorial and design work, I wrote many style guidelines and standardised workflows, created VB scripts and macros to speed up repetative tasks and utilised external scripts and tools when possible. I had already been doing some coding with this work but dove in more seriously when I attended the Visual Effects postgraduate programme at George Brown College, where we learned how to write simple tools for Maya and Houdini with MEL, Python, VEX and HScript, including various different tools for making bulk changes and another for creating rigged piston geometry.