Summary

Given the details of a scrambled Rubik’s Cube, this Maya plug-in applies the Kociemba algorithm and creates a full step-by-step animation of the cube’s unique solution.

Motivation

This project originated from a desire to explore Maya’s internal graphics APIs and deepen my understanding of plug-in development within a production-grade 3D environment. Maya provides a rich platform for extending procedural workflows through Python, and this project leverages that extensibility.

By combining algorithmic problem solving with procedural animation, the plug-in serves as a proof of concept for using Maya as a tool for visualizing abstract computational logic. It also reflects my broader interest in creating tools that bring clarity to complex systems through real-time, visual representation—an approach increasingly valuable in both technical art and pipeline automation contexts.

Achievements

1. Live Viewport Integration and UI Handling
   Built a custom UI using maya.cmds with dynamic window management. The plug-in registers a custom Maya shelf and shelf button on startup and supports interactive feedback directly in the viewport.
2. Encapsulated Plug-in Design with Clean DAG Lifecycle Management
   Packaged the plug-in for single-line activation via Maya.env. Registered a custom Maya command (mayaRubiks) with create() and destroy() methods that manage all DAG node creation and cleanup.

Next Steps

• Better logic for individual cube transform matrices (use parent transforms and permanent groups).
• Support custom cube configurations: Allow users to input a specific cube state manually, enabling broader use cases beyond the current randomized cube configurations.
• Support export of rendered animation: Export cube animations as high-quality renders or explore integration of Maya viewport into other applications.

Method

Geometry Construction & Shading

The geometry of each individual cubelet is generated in rubiks_cube.py as Maya polyCube primitives. In maya_rubiks_animation.py, each cubelet is assigned a corresponding aiStandardSurface shader per face via Python commands. This involves programmatically creating shading nodes, setting color attributes, and connecting them to shape nodes.

def create_shader(name, node_type="aiStandardSurface"):

material = cmds.shadingNode(node_type, name=name, asShader=True)

sg = cmds.sets(name="%sSG" % name, empty=True, renderable=True, noSurfaceShader=True)

cmds.connectAttr("%s.outColor" % material, "%s.surfaceShader" % sg)

return material, sg

Automating shader setup to bypass manual Maya Hypershade manipulation is vital to a Maya plug-in, maintaining the visual appearance and material usage across every generated instance.

Scene State to Solver Communication

rubiks_cube_solver.py samples the current scene/cube state and translates it into a serialized string format. A subprocess call to muodov’s kociemba PyPi package returns the optimal solution, which is then parsed back into a list of discrete moves for MayaRubiks usage.

Procedural Animation System

Each move is animated by creating a temporary group transform and rotating the group using quaternions. Animation steps are computed in maya_rubiks_animation.py.

Tool Registration and UI Integration

The plug-in is initialized through MayaRubiks.py, which registers the mayaRubiks command using OpenMayaMPx.MPxCommand. This command sets up the persistent primitives of the scene (polyCube’s and aiStandardSurface’s ) and opens a custom UI window defined in maya_rubiks_ui.py. The UI provides 3 simple buttons to 1. Create New Cube, 2. Solve, and 3. Delete Cube. A custom shelf is included as part of the tool plug-in, and activation requires only appending the package path to MAYA_MODULE_PATH through Maya.env (detailed instructions in README and demo video).

This design enables the plug-in to remain self-contained and version-controlled, while allowing users to activate it with minimal environment configuration.