AXE Tools for Maya · v1.0 — Python / PySide
AXE
Shade
A full shader and texture manager built for animators, not TDs. Audit every material in your scene, fix naming issues, swap to flat ID colors in one click, and relink missing textures without touching the Hypershade.
01 / WHAT IT DOES
Two tabs.
Zero guesswork.
| Shader | Type | Meshes | Issues | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| body_skin_SHD | aiStandardSurface | 3 | OK | |
| body_skin_SHD | aiStandardSurface | 1 | Duplicate name | |
| coat_fabric_SHD | blinn | 0 | Unassigned | |
| eye_cornea_SHD | aiStandardSurface | 2 | OK |
[14:03:21] 8 shader(s) 2 with issues 1 unassigned
[14:03:24] Duplicate name: body_skin_SHD
The Shaders tab scans every shading engine in the scene and shows you the full picture — what's assigned where, what's broken, what's duplicated, and what Maya would choke on in Unreal.
Color swatches pull directly from the material's color attribute. Filter by issue type, rename inline, create and assign new shaders, or duplicate an existing one — all without opening Hypershade.
The Textures tab audits every file node in the scene, groups paths by root prefix, and lets you bulk-relink missing textures by pointing at a folder. One resolved texture can donate its directory to fix all missing siblings automatically.
02 / FEATURES
Everything.
One panel.
Scene Audit
Full shader and texture inventory on demand. Catches unassigned shaders, duplicate names, Unreal-unsafe characters, and default lambert nodes before they become pipeline problems.
Color Controls
Set flat colors via color picker, and adjust transparency, saturation, and brightness with sliders — all updating live in the viewport. Sliders snap a baseline at drag start so you're always scaling relative to where you left off.
ID Check
Swap every shader in the scene to a unique flat lambert in one click. Restore originals from the saved JSON. Saturation and brightness sliders run globally across all ID shaders while swap mode is active.
Smart Filtering
Filter shaders by name, type, or assigned mesh. Switch between All, Has Issues, Clean, Unassigned, and Duplicates views instantly. Same live filter on the Textures tab by path or status.
Texture Relink
Relink a single texture manually or let AXE Shade walk a folder and match all missing files by name automatically. "Steal Path" borrows a resolved texture's directory and fixes everything else in the same folder.
Non-Destructive
ID Check saves a restore JSON next to the scene file. Undo chunks on all slider operations. Nothing permanent happens without an explicit save or scene edit — your rig stays clean.
03 / ID CHECK
One click to
flat shaders.
Hit Swap to Flat Shaders and every shading engine in the scene gets replaced with a unique lambert, color-distributed evenly across the HSV wheel. The original connections are saved to a JSON file next to your scene.
While ID mode is active, the saturation and brightness sliders in the Shaders tab operate globally — affecting all flat ID shaders at once. Dial in the right contrast level for your screen and render setup without touching each shader.
Hit Restore to reconnect everything exactly as it was. If the restore file is missing, AXE Shade still purges the temporary ID lamberts so your scene stays clean.
04 / HOW IT WORKS
Install it.
Run it.
Drag-and-drop install
Drag AXEShade_Installer.py into your Maya viewport. The installer copies files, writes userSetup, and sets up the AXE menu — no manual path editing required.
Validate your license
On first launch, a license dialog prompts for your install token from longwintermembers.com. Validated once per machine — cached in your Maya prefs after that.
Scan your scene
Hit Scan Scene in either tab to populate the tables. Shaders, types, assigned meshes, and issue flags appear instantly. Filter to what matters.
Fix and iterate
Rename, reassign, create, duplicate, recolor, relink. Everything writes directly to the Maya scene through standard cmds calls — fully undoable, fully compatible with your existing pipeline.
[AXE Shade] Copying files...
[AXE Shade] axe_shade → Maya scripts
[AXE Shade] userSetup.py written
[AXE Shade] lw_menu.py installed
[AXE Shade] Restart Maya to activate
// after restart — open via AXE menu
[14:03:19] License validated ✓
[14:03:21] -- Shader Scan --
[14:03:21] 8 shader(s) 2 with issues
[14:03:24] Duplicate name: body_skin_SHD
[14:03:31] Renamed: body_skin_SHD → body_skin_2_SHD
05 / SPECS
What you
actually get.
From the desk of a working CG Supervisor
Stop fighting
your shaders.
AXE Shade gives you a complete picture of your scene's materials and textures — and the tools to fix whatever's wrong — without leaving Maya.
One-time purchase · Windows & macOS · Maya 2023–2026 · Instant download