August 29,
2013 Workshop 1 Notes
INTRODUCTION
T0 MAYA
PART I:
SIMPLE OBJECT CREATION
- Open Maya
2013
- Make a
simple nurbs object
Create/nurbsprimitives/sphere
Drag to
create size interactive/or single click for
default values
VIEW CONTROLS
- Mouse
button forward/back – zoom in/out
- Alt left
mouse button – rotate up and over,
left to right
- Alt-right
mouse button/move left right – zoom
in/out
- Alt-middle
mouse buttom – pan left/right
- Ctl-alt
– low left/up right box – zoom in
- Clt-alt
– up right/low left box – zoom out
MODIFY SPHERE
USING CHANNEL BOX
- Select
sphere.
- Select
channel box
- Modify
scale, rotation, translation by entering values
- Note
coordinate system z forward, x to right, y is up.
- Translate
x-3
- Scale y
– 1
CREATE BOX
USING HOT BOX
- Hold
space bar
- Select
Create/nurbsprimitives/cube
CREATE CONE
USING SHELF
- Display
UIElements/Shelf (go into modeling mode)
- Surfaces/nurbsprimitives/select
icon for cone
- change
channel box attribute for cone to -4.
CHANGING
ATTRIBUTES OF OBJECT WHILE CREATING IT
- Select
create/nurbsprimitives/cone and
“box” in cone selection menu
- Change
height to 3.
- Select
create button.
CHANGING
ATTRIBUTES OF EXISTING OJECT
- Select a
cone primitive with arrow selection icon
- Select
“Inputs” tab from channels box
- Change
value (height ratio to 4 on cone.
- Hit enter
to complete.
ATTRIBUTES OF
SURFACE TORUS
- Radius
(half-diameter)
- Start
sweep (begin angle of sweep
clockwise)
- End
sweep (end angle of sweep
clockwise)
- Minor
sweep – unfolds torus
- degree linear/planar
or cubic/curved
– less or more smooth.
- sections
– divisions in U (horizontal)
direction
- spans
– division in the V (vertical
direction)
- height
ratio – ratio height
to depth
POLYGONS
- Less data
needed than nurbs (will not have radical
geometry)
- Composed
of faces,
edges
and vertices
- subdivisions
= smoothness
- six
types: sphere, cube, cylinder, cone, plane and
torus
- create/polygonprimtives/torus
- use menu
or hotbox (spacebar) or shelf
CHANGING
POLYGON PRIMITIVE ATTRIBUTES (Varies per object
type, not all attributes appear on all objects)
- In
options box during creation/channels input box
after creation
- Subdivisions
height = # times surface divided
- subdivisions
height/width/depth = divisions
height/width/depth
- subdivisions
axis = divisions of surface along
central axis
- cap
subdivisions = divisions of cap –
concentric (cone, cylinder only)
- radius =
half diameter
- section
radius = torus section radius
- width,
height, depth = overall width, height, depth
- twist =
rotates facesaround tube of torus (vertically)
TEXT {SKIPPED
DURING ACTUAL WORKSHOP}
- curves,
trim or poly = (no surface, trimmed surfaces,
modifiable surface, poly is surface with more modifiable options)
- create/text/box
pick type, font, text -> placement
by origin.
- Try
making planar surface from cuves type
object (poly not selected)
NAMING OBJECTS
- Select
object
- Click on
name to Change it at top of channels box (or
do this during creation)
- or change
name with attributes editor select
object/control a (icon next to IPR symbol)
PIVOT POINT
- Pivot
point is origin of object
- hit
“insert” (“home” key on
Apple_and select move to move pivot point (then try a rotation)
- center a
pivot point; select object – modify
menu/center pivot
PART II:
SETTING UP A PROJECT FOLDER
- File/project/set
…. Establishes name (folder)
and directory location
- Or
File/Project/Window allows you to more
interactively establish the project folder.
2a. Under images type
“images’ – subfolder
where animations are kept.
2b. Under
“scenes” type scenes – subfolder
where all scenes are kept
2c. Or, rather than steps
2 and 3, use "default" option.
- save
scene at end.
PART III:
SIMPLE KEYFRAME ANIMATION
- Create
sphere, go to frame 1, type “s”
- go to
frame 48, move sphere, type “s”
- hit play
button
- see
in wireframe and shader mode (hit #4
and #5 keys)
- select
rendering panel (display
uielements/shelf/rendering)/ select globals
- Change
rendering to low quality raytrace and image
type to jpg.
- batch
render