Nepamination

There are multiple ways to get anything done in Maya, and as a beginner it's virtually impossible to learn every single tool right out of the gate. It's easy to fall into a routine, thinking you're doing something efficiently, and then seeing someone else do the same task way better . I remember early in my own process of learning Maya—nobody showed me the lattice tool, so it was quite awhile before I realized it even existed. When I finally happened to see someone use a lattice, it completely changed the way I approached certain modeling tasks. Here are five tools that I use extensively in my Maya modeling workflow that can help speed up your process tremendously when used properly: Lattices As I hinted previously, Maya's lattice tool is amazingly powerful, and is often overlooked by novices to the software. Lattices let you make efficient wholesale changes...

Extrusion Extrusion is our primary means of adding additional geometry to a mesh in Maya. The extrude tool can be used on either faces or edges, and can be accessed at Mesh → Extrude , or by pressing the extrude icon in the polygon shelf at the top of the viewport (highlighted in red in the image above). Take a look at the image we've attached for an idea of what a very basic extrusion looks like. On the left we started with a plain old default cube primitive. Switch into face mode, select the upper face, and then press the extrude button in the polygon shelf. A manipulator will appear, which looks like an amalgamation of the translate, scale, and rotate tools. In a sense it is—after performing an extrusion, it is essential that you either move, scale, or rotate the new face so that you don't end up with overlapping geometry (more on this later). For this example, we simply used the blue arrow to translate the new faces a few units in the positive Y direction. N...

By now you should know how to create a polygon primitive and begin modifying its shape by pushing and pulling edges, faces, and vertices . That's a step in the right direction, but it's really only part of the battle—it's virtually impossible to create a highly complex model from a basic primitive without making wholesale alterations to the mesh. To truly begin making finished 3D pieces , we need to learn how to modify the topology of our model by adding faces and edges where we need more detail or control. There are literally dozens of different tools in Maya's modeling shelf, but many of them are only useful in specific situations. In practice, you'll probably spend 90% of your time using the same five or six commands. Instead of introducing every single tool Maya has to offer and having you forget how to use half of them, in the next few lessons we'll take a look some of the most commonly used techniques in Maya's polygon workflow. Insert E...

Selection Modes Let's continue by discussing the different selection options in Maya. Place a cube in your scene and click on it—the cube's edges will turn green, indicating that the object has been selected. This type of selection is called Object Mode . Maya has a number of additional selection types, and each one is used for a different set of operations. To access Maya's other selection modes, hover your mouse pointer over the cube and then click and hold the right mouse button (RMB) . A menu set will appear, revealing the Maya's component selection modes— Face , Edge , and Vertex being the most important. In the fly menu, move your mouse to the Face option and release the RMB to enter face selection mode. You can select any face by clicking its center point and can then use the manipulator tools we learned in the previous lesson to modify the shape of the model. Select a face and practice moving, scaling, or rotating it like we've done in the e...

Object Manipulation Tools   So now you know how to place an object in your scene and modify some of its basic attributes. Let's explore some of the ways we can change its position in space. There are three basic forms of object manipulation in any 3D application —translate (or move), scale, and rotate. Obviously, these are all operations that sound relatively self-explanatory, but let's take a look at some of the technical considerations. There are two different ways to bring up the translate, scale, and rotate tools: First, they can be accessed from the toolbox panel (pictured above) on the left side of your viewport. The second (preferred method) is to use keyboard hotkeys. During the modeling process , you'll be switching between tools constantly, so it's a good idea to learn the commands as quickly as possible. With an object selected, use the following hotkeys to access Maya's translate, rotate, and scale tools: Translate - w . Rotate - e...

12 Steps to a Great Walk Cycle Animation Walk cycles are something that every animator needs to know regardless of whether you are a beginner or an experienced animator. Creating believable walk cycles can be the hardest thing to do, but also the most rewarding. They're used in everything from video games, to film, and commercials; so it's of the utmost importance that you can create walk cycles fast while at the same time maintaining high quality. There are many important steps and animation principles that need to be taken into account. To give you a better understanding, let's take a look at 12 steps to creating a believable walk cycle, and learn how to troubleshoot problems you may run into. By the end of this article you should have the confidence to tackle your own walk cycle. Step 1 - Find video reference This step should come as a no-brainer, but it's so important that it is worth mentioning. Vi...