AXE Tools for Maya · v1.0 — VP2 C++ Plugin
AXE
Lens
A real-time viewport post-process pipeline built into Maya. Filmic grade, bloom, geometry outlines, and vignette — live-tweakable from a dockable panel, zero render cost, no compositing required.
01 / What It Does
Grade the viewport.
Ship the look.
AXE Lens owns the full VP2 render pipeline via MRenderOverride. Buffer routing is calculated once per frame — no ping-pong swapping, no timing hazards. Active effects are composited in a fixed order. Inactive passes are skipped entirely.
The viewport is where you spend your production hours. AXE Lens makes it look like your final grade — filmic tonemapping, controlled bloom, and geometry outlines that read like a concept painting, not a Maya default.
Every effect is live in VP2 as you work. Scrub the timeline, move controls, toggle lights — the grade follows. No render, no compositing round-trip, no separate preview tool.
Because Lens owns the render pipeline via MRenderOverride, it works at the VP2 level — not as a screen-space trick. Buffers are 16-bit float throughout. Bloom runs at half-res for performance without visible quality loss.
02 / How It Works
Activate. Dial.
Done.
Activate the override
Toggle Lens on from the panel. It registers an MRenderOverride with VP2, replacing the default renderer for the active viewport. Your scene renders exactly as before — through a graded pipeline.
Pick a Look preset
Sixteen one-click presets cover the common intent — CINEMATIC, WARM, COOL, NEON, NOIR, COMIC, SKETCH and more. Each preset writes all grade, bloom, and outline parameters in a single push. Jump to a starting point instantly.
Dial it in live
Every slider in the GRADE, VIGNETTE, BLOOM, and OUTLINE sections talks directly to the C++ override via the axeLensSetParams command. Push parameters fire on a PostSceneRender scriptJob — every frame, no lag, no extra viewport refresh needed.
Save and recall your Lenses
Name and save any combination of settings as a Lens. Saved lenses persist via optionVars and survive session restart. Load a Lens to immediately restore a full set of grade, bloom, and outline values — including the outline toggle's double-refresh to keep buffer routing correct.
03 / Features
Everything you see.
Real time.
Hable Filmic Tonemapping
The classic Hable filmic curve maps your 16-bit float scene into a displayable range with film-like shoulder rolloff. Exposure, contrast, and saturation sit on top of it. Disable for a linear passthrough when you need raw values.
Geometry Outlines
An 8-direction alpha edge detect runs on a geo-only mask target, then composites over the full scene including controls and locators. Thickness, strength, and color are live. Cyan by default — any color via the inline picker.
Separable Bloom
A soft-knee luminance threshold feeds a two-pass separable Gaussian blur running at half resolution. Additive blend back into the scene. Threshold, strength, and radius are independently adjustable.
Vignette & Color Temperature
Radial vignette darkens the frame edges without affecting the center subject. Color temperature shifts the white balance from cool to warm across the full scene. Both baked into the grade pass — zero extra draw cost.
16 One-Click Looks
NEUTRAL · CINEMATIC · WARM · COOL · SHARP · NEON · RIG · PAINTERLY · GOLDEN · DUSK · ARCTIC · FADE · COMIC · B+W · NOIR · SKETCH. Each pushes a full preset. Jump between looks instantly while you work.
Saved Lenses
Name and save any combination of grade, bloom, and outline settings as a Lens. Saved Lenses persist across sessions via optionVars. Load them by name from the panel — everything including buffer routing restores cleanly.
Fixed-Buffer Architecture
Buffer routing is calculated once per frame in startOperationIterator(). No dynamic ping-pong swapping during rendering. No timing hazards. Active passes write to deterministic targets regardless of which effects are enabled.
Drag-to-Install
Drop the installer into the Maya viewport. The .mll plugin, OGSFX shaders, Python package, and Long Winter menu entry land in one operation. No manual shader path editing, no userSetup.mel required.
Session-Persistent Settings
All parameters store to optionVars under the axeLensPost_ prefix. A userSetup scriptJob restores them on Maya launch. Settings survive scene opens, scene saves, and plugin reloads.
04 / The Tool
Accordion panel.
All controls live.
The AXE Lens panel is organized into collapsible accordion sections — LOOKS, GRADE, VIGNETTE, BLOOM, OUTLINE, SAVED LENSES, and QUALITY. Open what you need, close what you don't.
Every slider pushes parameters directly to the C++ override on the same frame. No apply button, no refresh delay. The viewport is the preview — the panel is the dial.
The panel launches from the Long Winter menu and docks as a workspace control alongside your other AXE tools. Settings persist whether the panel is open or closed.
05 / Specifications
What it
runs on.
Built and used in production at Long Winter Studios.
Grade the
Viewport.
One-time purchase. Drag-and-drop install. Filmic look from the moment you activate.
Get Access →One-time purchase · Windows · Maya 2024–2026