Wiley Maya 4.5 Bible
Contents
1. Table 1 11 Artisan Changes Feature Improvement Description Paint Fluids tool Unlimited only Enables you to use Artisan to paint fluid property values into fluid containers Paint Selection tool Paint selection tool now performs some polygon modeling functions Table 1 12 lists changes made to Fur features Table 1 12 Fur Changes Feature Improvement Description Fur file names prefixes File names now contain scene prefix Multiple UV set support Multiple UV sets are now supported for fur creation Offset attribute You can now offset fur from the surface of your object Improved naming Improved naming for UNC Windows paths and Use Namespaces Improved lighting support Use default lights and light linking are now supported Render Layer Support Fur now respects render layers Scripts and presets The new shelf with many helpful presets and scripts Table 1 13 lists changes made to Translator features Table 1 13 Translator Changes Feature Improvement Description OpenFlight Importer Exporter For gaming and interactive previsualization 47 04 536451 ch01 qxd 4 3 03 9 07 AM Page 48 cb 48 Part Getting Started with Maya 4 5 Menu changes The menu changes in Maya 4 5 include version parity for Mac OS X which was pre viously at version 3 5 For this reason some changes to menus from as far back as version 3 are listed here If you are already familiar with some of the menu2. would like to appear Then LMB click the OK button Duplicate Naming Option New Assign Unique name to Child choice in Duplicate option box UI Improvements There are also many miscellaneous UI and window changes that enable you to customize Maya according to your needs Figure 1 6 shows an example of fluids and voxels 04 536451 ch01 qxd 4 3 03 9 07 AM Page 39 cb Chapter 1 An Introduction to Maya 49 fui Maya 4 5 2 Production 63_JesusDiesOnCross_Mattiscenes CMT3_001_001 Rendering Clouds_Maya4 5 WhitePuffyCLouds File Edit Modify Create Display Window Particles FluidEffects Fields SoftRigid Bodies Effects Solers Shave Shave Select Help oom jD a RR RYE e TOM NO a a fh eg E Ej Do Emission Inherit Factor Slices Voxel Quality Opacity Preview 0 Hardware Self Sh Grid Interpolator li Solver Boundary X Boundary Y Boundary Z Mass Conversion Density Scale 0 Density Dissipatio Density Diffusion Density Buoyancy Gravity 9 Scale X fi i f p rt 140 a in Fay fie fis pao ll P Pp HH ES Figure 1 6 Fluids add voxels a new type of rendering that offers many benefits 2003 Visual Book Productions Inc Table 1 3 lists changes made to the Attribute Editor Window Table 1 3 Attribute Editor Changes Feature Improvement Description Note Section As shown in Figure 1 10 this feature adds a notes attribute to keep track of user or project notes
3. 536451 ch01 qxd 4 3 03 9 07 AM Page 33 cb Chapter 1 An Introduction to Maya rather than replicating the real world With that kind of studio philosophy found in many of today s shops your artistry counts as much as your wizardry Throughout this book we stress learning artistic concepts philosophies and so on as well as learning the software The computer is just another tool for you as an artist to express your ideas creativity design concepts and animation skills The Role Maya Plays in an Animation Production Pipeline A pipeline as it is often referred to in the production world is similar to an assembly line ideas are fed into one end and images come out the other such as the graph shown in Figure 1 5 Numerous job functions are performed in the pipe in order to produce a product This chapter is intended to more clearly define Maya s place in that pipeline In a real production pipeline Maya is but one tool of many used to get from idea to imagery Production starts with an idea It may be in your head or on a napkin that your producer is carrying in his or her pocket But it starts with an idea which initiates the planning phase Planning saves you time in 3D So get your pencil and refine that idea yourself Even if you are fortunate enough to have good storyboards it is to your advantage to work out your own ideas on paper first Audio is another important element in planning which may lead to the creat
4. and oceans you also have the ability to model and paint using voxels sort of like 3D texturable pixels shown in Figure 1 6 Continued 37 04 536451 ch01 qxd 4 3 03 9 07 AM Page 38 cb 48 Part Getting Started with Maya 4 5 Table 1 2 continued Feature Improvement Description New Shelves Many new shelves have been added to provide collections of scripts for animation modeling dynamics fluids fur and so on New Snap Tools From the main Maya menu choose Modify gt Snap Align Objects Align Tool From the main Maya menu choose Modify Snap Align Objects Snap Together Tool New Transform Options The following new options have been added to the move rotate and scale tools discrete retain component spacing snap to live polygon face or vertex UV snapping and scale axes constraints Select Hierarchy From the main Maya menu choose Edit gt Select Hierarchy Note previously users often had to type select hi to achieve this result Rename Multiple Objects Select Multiple Objects In the status bar Selection field choose Quick Rename from the RMB pop up menu Then type a new name Note previously this required a custom script Wireframe Smoothing This feature is nice for screen shots and playblasts that need to be played on video or printed Annotation Nodes These little pointer locators do callouts in 3D Select an Object From the main Maya menu choose Create Annotation Type the text you
5. s New in Version 4 5 Maya 4 5 offers many new features and improvements over previous versions Table 1 1 lists a few improvements made in customer learning 04 536451 ch01 qxd 4 3 03 9 07 AM Page 37 Chapter 1 An Introduction to Maya Table 1 1 Customer Learning Experience Feature Description User interface improvements These improvements include easy access to saved layouts lasso tools rotate tool snapping align objects selectable wireframe colors automatic backup on save progress bar and new heads up display options New instant Maya books Speeds the learning process through easy to understand examples Table 1 2 lists changes made to Basic features Table 1 2 Basic Features Feature Improvement Description Subdivision Surfaces Subdivision surfaces have been moved to the Maya Complete package Thus you get them with the less expensive Complete version of Maya even on Mac OS X Version Parity on Mac OS X Maya Complete features are the same on all platforms including OS X Maya Unlimited features are still only available on IRIX LINUX and Windows Fluid Dynamics Unlimited Feature Maya Fluid Dynamics actually adds a slew of new features and concepts to the world of 3D animation In order to facilitate fluid dynamics as an artist s tool volumes of texturable voxels were added to the core of Maya s functionality and renderer So you not only have the ability to simulate fluids
6. 04 536451 ch01 qxd 4 3 03 9 07 AM Page 23 CHAP E R An Introduction to Maya In This Chapter D fi W is Maya Where did it come from Where is it Huhne ace going What is it used for And who is using it These basic questions and many more are addressed in this introductory chapter Painting a moving picture in a 3D world Artwork and the computer What Is Maya Maya s role in an Maya is a 3D modeling animation and rendering software animation production package used by artists to make 3D models and animations pipeline In fact many of the world s leading films TV programs and commercials feature Maya created 3D animations For ee instance hardly an hour passes without a Maya created element appearing on a major television network As a computer graphic artist I prefer to classify Maya as a program that creates moving artwork such as that shown in Figure 1 1 In essence Maya is a moving canvas on which to paint And eventually the Maya canvas is rendered with light ing cameras and dynamic effects Now even voxel space is painted using textures in XYZ space such as a thick moving canvas 3D software is perceived as simulating the real world Perhaps it s because of its depth Or maybe it s because it creates such believable 3D animation using the real world ele ments of gravity collision and light But from an artist s per spective working with 3D is as if you re paint
7. 04 536451 ch01 qxd 4 3 03 9 07 AM Page 32 cb 42 Part Getting Started with Maya 4 5 l I j i t Figure 1 4 The team at Visual Book Maya created this animation of the Birth of Jesus for the iLumina project 2003 Visual Book Productions Inc Painting a Moving Picture in a 3D World 3D is really about painting a picture on a moving wireframe surface As a result you have the freedom to create any image you intend rather than simply replicating the real world While an artist can recreate their own world in a painting you can push the limits of the real toward the hyper believable In Maya you create NURBS poly gon and subdivision surfaces Then paint color on these surfaces add lighting create key poses over time and render out the frames This is an over simplified example of workflow but it captures the basic concept Creating 3D animation is similar to painting a picture that comes alive Computer artwork The computer yes the computer has emerged as an art tool It s just like a pencil or a brush It renders artistic ideas enabling artists to create works of art All of the traditional rules of visual arts still apply design color timing As an animator you must address these issues and many more with the skill of a designer audio engineer actor and musician sometimes all at once Many major studios have now taken this approach They also place an emphasis on creating believable design 04
8. 51 ch01 qxd 4 3 03 9 07 AM Page 31 cb Chapter 1 An Introduction to Maya 41 I have always used a Mac alongside every SGI The Mac is the place to do the other stuff such as paint composite typography email audio and video all the things Windows boxes offered without the 3D But now for the first time Maya and Apple have brought these two digital worlds together With the release of OS X Macintosh has just entered the UNIX world It will take time however for all of the applications to catch up including Maya Maya 4 5 is feature compatible with Maya Complete on other platforms But at the time of this writing Maya Unlimited features are only available in one of the other solutions Macintosh OS X is undoubtedly the most sophisticated graphical user interface GUD to ever exist on a UNIX platform It will eventually develop into the tool of choice for animators who prefer UNIX an incredible GUI and a wide selection of mainstream software My initial experience with OS X was like driving a Ferrari Very very smooth Choosing an operating system An OS choice has to be your choice matching the kind of person you are with the kind of work you do with the kind of funds you have available Each operating sys tem has its pros and cons and you as the end user should try as many as possible before investing your hard earned cash In our opinion Alias Wavefront s Maya doesn t limited platform choices In fact it has d
9. Animation Rigging Particles and FX Animation Motion Lighting and Rendering and finally Compositing and Video Editing Now that you have a plan you are ready for Maya In a real production pipeline you typically use Maya to perform some of the following major functions which are also illustrated in Figure 1 5 04 536451 ch01 qxd 4 3 03 9 07 AM Page 35 cb Chapter 1 An Introduction to Maya 35 Art Design and Storyboarding Start planning with a pencil not with Maya Skipping this stage to save time usually costs much more time so start with a pencil Sound Design The soundtrack is a must for believable animation Animating to a soundtrack is one of the best ways to begin creating a rough draft The soundtrack is usually created and edited outside of Maya in audio software The audio track is perfected after animation edits are locked down 3D Modeling This is where Maya usually kicks in Use Maya s NURBS poly gon subdivision surface modeling tools to create models You may also use other 3D packages to create models for animation in Maya While traditional 3D modeling is done using one of these surface types you can even use fluid voxels to create volumes particles or paint effects which will be textured animated and rendered later Texturing and Shading After you create a 3D model you must add color This can be done using images painted within Maya or other paint packages such as PhotoShop Shake Paint
10. Attribute Editor Presets This is bigger than it sounds It basically amounts to animation poses for attributes To create a preset set the attribute values you would like to store Then from the LMB Presets pop up menu choose Save Transform Preset Note When choosing a preset you can also choose a percentage This feature amounts to single node pose blending 04 536451 ch01 qxd 4 3 03 9 07 AM Page 40 cb 40 Part Getting Started with Maya 4 5 Caution Node connections are not saved with the presets Figure 1 7 shows the new notes section of the Attribute Editor List Selected Focus Attributes Help nurbsSurface 5 Focus hullShape c Presets Y NURBS Surface History Min Max Range U 9 900 34 000 Min Max Range V 9 900 19 000 Spans UV 34 49 Degree UV 5 3 Form U Open Ea Form V f Open E Y Components X Y o 0 0131 0 0271 o 0 0147 0 0318 9 0 0147 0 0321 o P NURBS Surface Display gt Tessellation P Texture Map gt Displacement Map gt Render Stats ly Notes hullShape uncan likes to write noes here to tell people what to do with the new features He eve puts mel code and samples in this notation field Oo p lt Select Load Attributes Copy Tab Figure 1 7 The new notes section of the Attribute Editor 04 536451 ch01 qxd 4 3 03 9 07 AM Page 41 Chapter 1 An In
11. Map Edit Smooth Skin Prune Small Weights Edit Smooth Skin gt Remove Unused Influences Character Create Character Set moved Merge Character Set Select Character Set Node was Select Character Node Select Character Set Members was Select Character Nodes Set Current Character Set was Set Current Character Modeling Menu The Modeling menu appears next to your Main menu in the top menu bar when the Modeling mode is chosen from the Status Bar pull down menu The Modeling menu can be set to always appear in the Hotbox Edit Curves Move Seam Edit NURBS was Edit Surfaces Attach Without Moving Move Seam Smooth Tangent Selection Grow CV Selection Selection Shrink CV Selection Selection Select CV Selection Boundary Selection gt Select Surface Border 51 04 536451 ch01 qxd 4 3 03 9 08 AM Page 52 cb 52 Part Getting Started with Maya 4 5 Polygons Tool Options Reset to Default Settings was Uninstall Current Settings Edit Polygons Sculpt Polygons Tool moved from Polygons menu Straighten UV Border Merge UVs Select Contiguous Edges Colors Set Vertex Color Key Subdiv Surfaces Texture gt Planar Mapping Texture gt Automatic Mapping Texture gt Layout UVs Standard Mode was Hierarchy Mode Match Topology Clean Topology Collapse Topology Dynamics Menu The Dynamics menu appears next to your Main menu in the top me
12. and hardware to refine and combine your images Compositing in its simplest form is layering images The compositor s job involves color correction 2D morphing lighting effects blurring filtering rotoscoping painting and achieving a final look using a range of tricks and procedures that compositors have developed over the years Sometimes you composite a 3D character on a live action background Other times you may composite the foreground over background In the production world the composite layer list often becomes quite long Editing is sequencing together film video audio and animation in its final form It is also a video editor s job to color correct and create final special effects A wide variety of software and hardware is used for editing from computer based nonlinear systems for video and film to traditional linear tape editing to tape editing When a film is edited in a nonlinear fashion an edit description list EDL is produced in order to apply the edits back to physical film Then it is the job of an online editor to maintain continuity among cuts and achieve a final look Output is the final stage of any produc tion pipeline If you are producing computer movies you may want to com press them for playback If you are outputting video you will export out toa DDR digital disk recorder or a computer with a hard disk playback system For film you use a film printer usually provided by a service bureau What
13. changes you have less to learn The following lists many of the new or changed menus in Maya 4 5 Main Maya menu The main Maya menu is across the top of your Maya window and is also the top menu in your Hotbox File Save Scene options Edit Invert Selection Duplicate with Transform Modify Snap Align Objects gt Align Objects Evaluate nodes and Disable nodes are combined was Enable Disable Evaluate Nodes Global Stitch Make Not Live menu changes dynamically Edit attribute was Rename attribute Convert NURBS to Polygons moved from the Polygons Modeling menu NURBS to Subdiv was included in Subdiv Create Modeling Options Polygons to Subdiv was included in Subdiv Create Modeling Options Subdiv to NURBS Displacement to Polygons Fluid to Polygons Unlimited Feature 04 536451 ch01 qxd 4 3 03 9 07 AM Page 49 Create Subdiv Primitives Volume Primitives Cameras Camera Camera and Aim Camera Aim and Up Chapter 1 An Introduction to Maya Create Empty Group Moved from Edit menu Heads Up Display Object Details Animation Details Camera Names Sets Moved from Edit menu Display Hide Show gt Animation Markers was Markers Wireframe Color Object Display gt Ghosting NoGhosting Subdiv Surface Components Windows UVs UV Borders General Editors Visor moved to submenu General Editors Disp
14. changes made to Rendering features Table 1 8 Rendering Changes Feature Improvement Description Volume Light Volume light illuminates based on a Volume Manipulator This is awesome for localizing light without messing around with falloff Height Field utility node Height field visualization utility node Note This is great for visualizing displacements in real time Use No Lights Use No Lights hardware shading menu item Jitter Final Color Render Global Jitter Final Color reduces banding by adding noise to your rendered image Pause IPR Tuning You can now pause and resume IPR tuning Surface Materials Ramp shader and Ocean shader Unlimited feature shown in Figure 1 8 Volumetric Materials Fluid shape Unlimited feature 2D Textures Ocean Unlimited feature 3D Textures Fluid Texture 2D Unlimited feature and Fluid Texture 3D Unlimited feature 04 536451 ch01 qxd 4 3 03 9 07 AM Page 45 cb Chapter 1 An Introduction to Maya 45 Figure 1 8 shows the new Ocean shaders Figure 1 8 The new Ocean shaders 04 536451 ch01 qxd 4 3 03 9 07 AM Page 46 46 Part Getting Started with Maya 4 5 Table 1 9 lists changes made to the Hypershade Window Table 1 9 Hypershade Window Changes Feature Improvement Description Convert to File Texture background options Add Remove Node to Graph Show Previous Next Graph Select Input Output nodes Resize Create Bar Drag drop connection default
15. d 4 3 03 9 07 AM Page 30 cb 40 Part Getting Started with Maya 4 5 q Figure 1 3 Windows offered an affordable solution to the high cost of 3D animation Here is an example of some multiple CPU rack mounted Windows or Linux machines that can be used for rendering Maya for the Macintosh At last The long awaited release of Maya for Macintosh Alias Wavefront helped drive Apple computers to push their new UNIX based operating system OS X and refine their use of open GL Thanks to the hard work of Andrew Pierce and his development team Maya is now available for Macintosh We have to admit that when Steve Jobs and Richard Kerris announced and demonstrated this at Mac World for the first time we felt a great deal of hope This move breaks down the previous limits of the older Apple operating systems enabling Apple to provide a unique advantage by combining the UNIX workflow performance previously only possible on SGI computers and the user friendliness of the next generation Macintosh Apple and Maya users love the ease of use and artist type workflow that an advanced GUI provides It fits as nicely as the handle of a good brush In contrast UNIX users love the capability it provides for many users to tell a networked system specifically what to do rather than sticking to predetermined choices which only enable button pushing Today we have arrived at the crossroads where the two worlds are meet ing for the first time 04 5364
16. er or Deep Paint Procedural textures such as fluids paint effects particles and lights within Maya are also a way to get color and texture on to your Maya 3D surfaces Animation Rigging Rigging a 3D model is similar to putting strings and con trols on a puppet You as the animator create a series of controls that enable you to animate 3D surfaces shaders cameras and lights This can be as sim ple as putting a bend deformer on a 3D logo or as complex as creating skeletal and muscle deformers that bring realistic characters to life Maya shines in this area With its wide assortment of deformers control widgets and skin ning tools you can create believable characters using standard tools Particles and FX Maya and other software packages offers many ways to add effects FX The term FX usually refers to elements such as fire water hair clothing trees and things that have scientific properties in the real world which would be complicated to animate without some automation and insight Maya provides several ways to create effects using scientific properties that simulate the effects of forces on surfaces particles fluids or paint effects Often effects are created manually using photography or animating in a cre ative way A good FX artist must be well versed in science math and software packages Perhaps more importantly an FX artist must be capable of inventing an effective way to achieve a specific effect Althou
17. g Default On Time snapping in the graph editor now defaults to On instead of Off New Marking Menus Shift S LMB drag Import Clip to Character You can now import a clip to the active character Hierarchy option for Clip Creation You can now enable a Hierarchy option for clip creation Improved Clip renaming When renaming clips in the Trax editor the source clip name is now also edited Table 1 6 lists changes made to Modeling features Table 1 6 Modeling Changes Feature Improvement Description Bevel Plus The new Bevel Plus tool for NURBS curves enables you to quickly create extrudes with intricate preset profile choices and end caps NURBS Polygon and Subdivision Control RMB drag marking Menus Cut Faces Cut faces enables you to swipe a line across a polygon surface or faces split each polygon that your UI line intersects giving you a nice continuous straight split across your entire selection 04 536451 ch01 qxd 4 3 03 9 07 AM Page 43 cb Chapter 1 An Introduction to Maya Feature Improvement Description Poke Faces Wedge Faces Edit By Painting Smooth Proxy Exponential Smoothing Improved Snapping Functions for Components and UVs Component Selection Conversion Wrap and Transparency support in the UV Texture Editor window Convert Subdiv to NURBS Subdivision UV editing improvements Poke Faces splits a polygon into separate faces that converge at the center of the previously exist
18. gh an artist can create fire using fluids every time fire is needed an effective FX artist may simply find a movie clip from his library that is more believable taking less time to create And what if you need to create blood running down a character s arm Achieving this effect with particles or fluids is time consuming A more believ able result however can be achieved using footage of dripping spray paint as a texture map Just because an effect takes a long time and a lot of scripting to create in Maya does not make it a good effect Remember that it s more impor tant to achieve an efficient and believable result when creating an effect 04 536451 ch01 qxd 4 3 03 9 07 AM Page 36 cb 46 Part Getting Started with Maya 4 5 Animation Motion There are different ways to add motion Keyframes are the most direct method to use but you can also use motion capture motion control camera information expressions and dynamics A working knowledge of traditional animation helps here Lighting and Rendering At this stage the computer figures out the appear ance of 3D scenes after calculating lights and shaders A lighting artist must be knowledgable in photography and painting Many new advancments are being made in this area to improve on previous techniques Compositing and Video Editing This is the point at which it all comes together When you have produced the 3D imagery in Maya you move forward to other types of software
19. ght the two competing companies and pooled their years of tech savvy experience together forming Alias Wavefront Alias and Wavefront both offered top of the industry 3D packages So when the companies started working together under one roof they set out to make one next generation super app The result was Maya Meanwhile Softimage set out to create a next generation application called Sumatra which became plagued with Microsoft s game plan falling more than three years behind Maya s release schedule Eventually Softimage was purchased by Avid and Sumatra was finally released as XSI During these three years most of the high end film and animation market shifted toward Maya Maya proved its worth again and again It s easy for artists to use Its open architecture enables techies to tinker under the hood rewiring the application s workings to custom suit the needs of the most demanding animators in the world To be fair a lot of other 3D animation software companies were nipping at Alias Wavefront s tail The fierce competition in this industry is one of the reasons that 3D animation packages have become useful tools in the last decade As a result artists and technicians can now comfortably produce 3D animation It is no longer an almost impossible feat Maya for Windows In the beginning high end 3D packages were only available on costly Silicon Graphics computers which were dedicated to this task and often used fo
20. ine organic surface types such as grass hair plants trees clouds oil paints smudges It even enables you to cre ate conventional airbrush effects in 3D space p Cross For more on 3D painting see Chapter 28 Using Paint Effects and Chapter 14 Reference Using Artisan 3D rendering Simply put 3D rendering is the creation of an image based on the way the computer scene file describes it Maya is used for rendering final imagery for film and video It is also used to render images for graphic design and previsualization Often times products such as watches airplanes boats and cars are rendered to look real before they are manufactured or even sold lt Cross For more on 3D rendering see Part IV Rendering Reference 3D character animation This where Maya shines You can animate geometry to look like 3D characters using bones bind skins and other deformers This task becomes a lot like puppetry You as the animator basically hook up digital strings and controls to your digital puppet and keyframe these over time 04 536451 ch01 qxd 4 3 03 9 07 AM Page 27 cb Chapter 1 An Introduction to Maya QT Maya s Roots Maya s roots go as far back as the roots of 3D It was a time when Alias and Wavefront as separate companies made up two of the big three leaders in 3D animation The third leader was the company Softimage which was then purchased by Microsoft Eventually Silicon Graphics bou
21. ing on a wireframe and voxel canvas which is then moved over time In Maya 3D is quickly becoming more than simulating the real it is real And Maya offers a wide assortment of artist friendly tools to create this 3D animation 04 536451 ch01 qxd 4 3 03 9 07 AM Page 24 cb 24 Part Getting Started with Maya 4 5 Figure 1 1 A 3D world with characters animals props clothes plants and so on This was shot by the iLumina project at Visual Book Productions Some of the contributing artists are Shaun Comlly Phil Delacruz Brent Hensarling Jake Long Nelson Saba Adriano Silva and Joe Spadaro 2003 Visual Book Productions Inc Maya s Strengths Although Maya has many strengths which enable you to perform numerous functions Maya is best suited for and most often used in real productions for the following seven tasks 3D character animation This not only includes character creation but it also enables you to move and deform a character It s similar to handling a marionette but is much more flexible and specific It also includes posing and animating final motion and emotion In addition the process of creating 3D character animation requires that you perform just about all of the other major functions as well Mie For more on 3D character animation see Part VII Character Animation in Maya ererence 04 536451 ch01 qxd 4 3 03 9 07 AM Page 25 cb Chapter 1 An Introduction to Maya 25 3D modeli
22. ing selected polygons Wedge Faces extrudes a wedge that pivots on selected edges You can now apply many polygon tools with an Artisan brush Smooth proxy enables you to bring subdivision type cage modeling to the polygon world This provides some advantages over subdivision cage modeling because it keeps you in the polygon world of tools You now have two types of smoothing choices linear older method and exponential which provide some improvement and capability to adjust polygon smoothing You can now snap to UVs in the texture editor and use many other new snapping functions These new component selections conversion options are a big help when selecting different types of component selections The UV texture editor now supports wrap and transparency This new feature amazes everyone because you can go from polygons to subdivision surfaces to NURBS Note It helps to model in quads UV editing in both standard and polygon proxy mode 43 04 536451 ch01 qxd 4 3 03 9 07 AM Page 44 44 PartI Getting Started with Maya 4 5 Table 1 7 lists changes made to Dynamics features Table 1 7 Dynamics Changes Feature Improvement Description Hinge Constraint Axis Rotation Hinge constraint type now has axis rotation The old hinge constraint type was renamed to Directional Hinge Particle shadow casting Particle shadow casting for point multipoint and sphere particle types Table 1 8 lists
23. ion of additional ideas If you are lucky enough to get audio from the beginning that s great If not your timing inspiration has to come from within We often cut an audio track just to provide inspiration and a sense of time Next in the pipeline is an animatic The best animatics are just scanned storyboards synced to time in a video editing application Most major film studios have teams of people who contribute to these planning phases Then they take these plans all the way through to color lights and camera moves You can decide how far to go depending on what you are working on You should also begin the modeling process by drawing your intended model with a pencil Even if you have good drawings from the previous department or art depart ment draw a version from front and side perspectives anyway This enables you to define spatial relationships in your own mind 04 536451 ch01 qxd 4 3 03 9 07 AM Page 34 cb 44 Part Getting Started with Maya 4 5 Art Design and Storyboards y Scene Layout y 3D Modeling y Animation Rigging Texture and Shading Particles and FX Animation Motion y Lighting and Rendering v Compositing Figure 1 5 The simplified Maya pipeline typically includes the following sequence of tasks not necessarily in this order Art Design and Storyboarding Sound Design Layout 3D ModelingTexturing and Shading
24. lay Layer Editor removed Render Editors gt Render Globals moved to submenu Render Editors Hypershade moved to submenu Animation Editors Trax Editor moved to submenu UV Texture Editor was Texture View Help Alias Wavefront on the Web 49 04 536451 ch01 qxd 4 3 03 9 08 AM Page 50 cb 50 Part Getting Started with Maya 4 5 Animation Menu The Animation menu appears next to your Main menu in the top menu bar the Animation mode is chosen The Animation menu can be set to always appear in the Hotbox Animate Set Key new option Set Transform Keys Move Shift W Rotate Shift E Scale Shift R IK FK Switching Keys Set IK FK Key IK FK Switching Keys Enable IK Solver IK FK Switching Keys Connect to IK FK Create Motion Trail Update Motion Trail Snapshot Motion Paths was Paths Motion Paths Set Motion Path Key was Set Path Key Motion Paths Attach to Motion Path was Attach to Path Create Animation Snapshot moved from the Modify menu Create Animated Sweep moved from the Modify menu Deform Create Jiggle Deformer Create Jiggle Disk Cache Jiggle Cache Attributes Paint Jiggle Weights Tool Paint Cluster Weights Tool was Paint Weights Tool 04 536451 ch01 qxd 4 3 03 9 08 AM Page 51 cb Chapter 1 An Introduction to Maya Skin Edit Smooth Skin Export Skin Weights Map Edit Smooth Skin Import Skin Weights
25. ng Perhaps the best way to describe this function is 3D modeling clay or creating 3D shapes When you create a model in 3D you use Maya s toolset to define shapes or geometry much as a sculptor in the real world uses a practical toolset The three surface types used to describe a shape in Maya 4 5 are polygons NURBS and sub division surfaces Maya surface types describe a polygon surface that you view or render 3D Models are used for many different functions including animation design manufacturing previsualization virtual reality and games tie For more on 3D Modeling see Part Il Modeling Reference Film and television special effects This special effects function includes elements ranging from digital actors to char acter animation to virtual simulated worlds to lighting effects to explosions to set generation to water splashes or sprays to flying logos Most of the special effects that we see everyday in movies and on television are created in Maya Sometimes the effects are so subtle and well executed that we can t even detect them Other times the effects are so fantastic that we can t ignore the amazing special effect Particle and object dynamics simulations Dynamics are used for scientific visualizations and fluid simulations Dynamics are also used with 3D animation that requires real world forces such as gravity or collisions Rigid body dynamics affect shapes and surfaces Particle dynamics affect p
26. nonexistent silicon graphics Figure 1 2 Picture of Silicon Graphics Octane machines which were the only computers in the past that were capable of running Maya properly They are still used today by many of the leading entertainment companies c 2003 Silicon Graphics Inc Used by permission All rights reserved 04 536451 ch01 qxd 4 3 03 9 07 AM Page 29 cb Tip Chapter 1 An Introduction to Maya 29 Since then as we all know the price of computers has come down and the speed of desktop machines has increased dramatically enabling software packages such as Maya to blossom and become accessible to beginning animators A W has also become very aggressive in pricing It offers competitive discounts for those using other 3D applications enabling them to get Maya for only a few thousand dollars AIW has also introduced many educational programs enabling students to gain access to this amazing software during the academic year for next to nothing Al W even launched a program called A Taste of Maya in which anyone can use the Windows version for one month for free Check out the competitive upgrades Base Maya costs less than it used to be Ls Wa s UNIX based animators cringed at the thought of a Windows machine running graph ics software But the truth is Windows offered a more affordable computer with a larger user base and desktop gaming forum When Microsoft ported Softimage to Windows it suddenly became an att
27. nu bar when it the Dynamics mode is chosen from the Status Bar pull down menu The Dynamics menu can be set to always appear in the Hotbox Particles Sprite Wizard Fluid Effects This is a whole new menu item as shown in Figure 1 9 04 536451 ch01 qxd 4 3 03 9 08 AM Page 53 cb Chapter 1 An Introduction to Maya Create 3D Container Create 2D Container Add Edit Contents Create 3D Container with Emitter Create 2D Container with Emitter Get Fluid Example Get Ocean Shader Example Fluid Examples on the Web Ocean Extend Fluid Edit Fluid Resolution Make Collide Set Initial State Cear Initial State Save State As Create Cache Append to Cache Truncate Cache Delete Cache Figure 1 9 The new Fluid Effects menu under Dynamics Soft Rigid Bodies Paint Soft Body Goal Weights Tool Pane menus There are as many different Pane menus as there kinds of Panes in Maya Below is listed some new additions to 3D Pane Menus Shading Hardware Texturing Hardware Fog Show Isolate Select gt Auto Load New Objects 53 04 536451 ch01 qxd 4 3 03 9 08 AM Page 54 cb 54 Part Getting Started with Maya 4 5 Summary In this introductory chapter we discussed the concepts behind Maya and its major functions in different professional settings Maya is such a flexible application capable of performing just about any computer function you desire We encourage you to push the boundaries
28. of Maya and create and define your own uses We also touched briefly on Maya s history and the new features in version 4 We covered the following What Maya is Painting a moving picture in a 3D world as it applies to Maya Artwork The role Maya plays in an animation production pipeline What s new in version 4 5
29. oints in space They are very useful in simulating gasses and liquids as well as large groups of objects or image sprites Softbody dynamics use particles to animate the control points of a 3D surface The Star Wars Episode One Pod Racer scene is the most notorious use of Maya s dynamic engine to create a fantastic effect ie For more on Dynamics see Chapter 27 Using Dynamics Reference 3D game animation Maya has many tools designed to create 3D games with real time rendering engines Gaming requires a slew of tools to reduce computation times and still enable you to get a believable look though efficient use of texture space and surface geometry Maya also enables you to previsualize the game engine using game translators and real time hardware rendering engines 04 536451 ch01 qxd 4 3 03 9 07 AM Page 26 cb 26 Part Getting Started with Maya 4 5 c Cross For more on Maya s game functions see Chapter 5 Polygon Modeling in addi Reference tion to bonus Chapter 39 Using Subdivision Surfaces and bonus Chapter 40 Texturing Polygons and Subdivision Surfaces both of which you ll find on the CD ROM 3D painting In Maya 3D painting takes on many meanings Maya offers conventional 3D paint tools that enable you to just point and paint textures onto 3D surfaces using a mouse or tablet Additionally Maya offers a unique form of volumetric particle painting that enables you to create shapes and def
30. one a wonderful job in expanding your options and ensuring that you can create high end animation But we live by the basic rules of production use what has been proven to work in the past and fully test new software and hardware before committing to its use in a large pipeline Overall Maya is now more accessible and cost effective Thus it enables you as an animator in training to use the same tools that major studios use to create anima tions You get out of Maya what you put into it So you still have to acquire the skills and experience as everyone else in the art field However you won t be restricted by the software or hardware Maya is both easy to use and powerful It offers fea tures such as cloth dynamics for clothing as shown in Figure 1 4 It offers grass and hair paint effects for creating 3D trees flowers clouds and lightning as seen in Sheena Maya tracks camera moves It has a particle dynamics engine explosive enough to create the blowing rain waves and spray as seen in The Perfect Storm With a rigid body dynamics system Maya is capable of creating the amazing pod racer scene in Star Wars Episode One With character animation tools so strong Maya enables animators to create believable breathing thinking and feeling beings such as Stuart Little Sheena Mighty Joe Young and Aladdin Maya offers you the same tools as the top animators in the world The only limits are your imag ination and time
31. r little else in a production facility Alias Wavefront recognized that by porting to Windows Maya would be available to a wider audience In addition its affordability would make it accessible to the masses 04 536451 ch01 qxd 4 3 03 9 07 AM Page 28 cb 28 Part Getting Started with Maya 4 5 Maya for Windows opened up a new world of possibilities for the every day animator My own personal history serves as an example of the difficulties in working with costly 3D animation packages and equipment When started using 3D animation software the price of a SGI workstation and 3D software started at well over 60 000 And according to a friend of Don s who started using Alias software at version 1 5 the software cost about 150 000 And the computer cost just as much as the soft ware Despite the hefty price tag the results were limited we could only create fly ing text and primitives Meanwhile very few schools had a computer animation curriculum let alone the SGI computers and 3D software needed which are shown in Figure 1 2 I had to land a job at one of the few places that owned the equipment and software to cut my teeth as a 3D character animator Creating dancing Campbells soup cans and flying MasterCard logos by day enabled me to practice creating characters by night Many people who entered the industry at that time had to follow similar paths because of the equipment s prohibitive cost In addition training was all but
32. ractive alternative to SGI It was affordable and therefore more accessible to all But then Maya which was owned by SGI surprised everyone and announced a Windows port Although I m still not ready to give up my UNIX workflow it is a viable place to run Maya software After becoming accustomed to the new OS and its work a rounds and kinks I began receiving production through a predominantly Windows pipeline The cost of a Windows render farm shown in Figure 1 3 is less expensive now than in the days of per processor node locked money pits Maya for Linux Because Windows operating systems have limitations that severely restrict the number of machines from processing large amounts of data across a large facility UNIX must be available for large shops to incorporate these new low cost machines Linux can be run on most PCs and is often the UNIX alternative For this reason Linux is being used to run Maya render farms Many studios have adopted a double boot system in which Linux automatically boots UNIX for the render farm if a user does not choose Windows from a timed prompt during startup By choice many animators use Linux as a base system The only real disadvantage in using a Linux system for graphics is the limited availabil ity of other software packages and support But many animators and large production facilities that prefer UNIX have turned to Linux as an equally cost effective solution to Windows 04 536451 ch01 qx
33. s Transparency hardware support Improved swatch refreshing control When converting to file texture you now have a few background options which avoid some common issues associated with background edges You can now select nodes and add or remove them from your existing Hypershade graph You can now toggle between previous and current Hypershade graphs You can now quickly select entire input and output graphs for easier manipulation You can now resize your create bar as you do with other windows New MMB and Control drag drop connection defaults Shaders now have better transparency hardware support You have a few new ways to force swatch refreshing in the Hypershade Projects tab Table 1 10 lists changes made to Hardware Shading features Table 1 10 Hardware Shading Changes Feature Improved Combined Texture Texture Wrapping support Hardware shader attribute File Texture Transparency connection Mirror U and V are now separate Improvement Description Combined textures now display in hardware Hardware texture wrapping has been improved A new hardware shader attribute has been added to target hardware rendering File texture transparency now has to be connected to control transparency U and V have been separated to enable individual control 04 536451 chOl qxd 4 3 03 9 07 AM Page 47 Chapter 1 An Introduction to Maya Table 1 11 lists changes made to Artisan features
34. troduction to Maya Table 1 4 lists changes made to Marking Menus Table 1 4 Marking Menu Changes Feature Improvement Description Keyframing Keyframe Tangent Editing Poly Tool Brush Poly UV Tool Brush Poly Component Conversion NURBS Selection Propagation Subdivision Component Conversion Translate Rotate and Scale History Animation Shift S LMB drag Shift S LMB drag O LMB drag O MMB drag Control RMB drag Control RMB drag Control RMB drag New items were added to the we andr LMB marker menus History Marker Menus were renamed Type A LMB drag Shift S LMB drag Table 1 5 lists changes made to Animation features Table 1 5 Animation Changes Feature Improvement Description Show Base Wire Nonlinear Deformer Component Mirror Copy Weights Orient Joint menu item Wire deformer has show base wire and grouping options Nonlinear deformers have more interactive manipulators Mirror and copy weights now work on component selections Note Previously users had to use MEL command joint e oj Continued 41 04 536451 ch01 qxd 4 3 03 9 07 AM Page 42 42 Part Getting Started with Maya 4 5 Table 1 5 continued Feature Improvement Description Mirror Joint Renaming option You now have new naming options in the Mirror Joint Tool Orient and Aim Constraint Offset attributes You can now offset and keyframe orient and aim constraints Time Snappin
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