Maya Essentials

Maya

Introduction

Create high-quality 3D models and animations in Autodesk Maya. Learn essential skills such as modeling, texturing, rendering, and animation with a real-world, project-based workflow.

Explore the Maya interface, such as selecting and manipulating objects, organizing scenes, and customizing the interface. Then, learn about polygonal modeling, mesh creation and refining, sculpting, and NURBS surfaces. Also discover how to create and apply materials — color, texture, and reflectivity. Finally, integrate cameras, lighting, and effects into rendering.

Course Outline

  1. The Maya Interface
    • Overview of the Maya interface
    • Files and Maya projects
    • Navigating in Maya
    • Configuring viewports
    • Hotbox and marking menus
    • Customizing the interface
    • Maya workspaces
  1. Selecting and Manipulating Objects
    • Select objects
    • Move tool
    • Rotate and scale
    • Manipulating pivots
    • The channel box
    • The attribute editor
    • Reset and freeze transformations
    • Snap and duplicate objects
  1. Organize Maya Scenes
    • Work with the outliner
    • Create hierarchies
    • Group objects
    • Hypergraph
    • Hide and show objects
    • Layers
    • Selection Masks
  1. Creating Polygonal Models
    • NURBS vs Polygons
    • Create polygonal objects
    • Select polygonal components
    • Soft selection and symmetry
    • Combine and separate
    • Boolean tools
    • Brush tools to sculpt meshes
  1. Modelling Polygonal Meshes
    • Setting up references
    • Working with references
    • Modelling against references
    • Edge loops
    • Extrude
    • Mirror and merge
    • Bevel
    • Extrude along paths
    • Polygon bridge
    • Quad draw
  1. Refining Polygonal Meshes
    • Modelling toolkit
    • Smooth models
    • Manage details
    • Subdivision surfaces
    • Creases in smooth surfaces
    • Edge flow
    • Object history
  1. NURBS Modelling
    • NURBS Components
    • NURBS Primitives
    • Curve
    • Revolve
    • Loft
    • Open and close curves and surfaces
    • NURBS planar action
    • NURBS Extrude
  1. Refining NURBS Models
    • Isoparms
    • Extract NURBS curves from surfaces
    • Create curves on a surface
    • Project curves on a surface
    • Trim
    • NURBS to polygon conversion
  1. Materials
    • Maya rendering
    • Shaders
    • Arnold materials
    • Opacity and refraction
    • Creating and applying maps
    • Bitmaps as textures
    • Hypershade window
    • Creating materials in hypershade
  1. Applying Materials and Textures
    • Applying multiple materials to objects
    • UV map polygonal objects
    • UV Editor
    • Project textures on NURBS surfaces
    • 3D painting
    • UV mapping complex objects
    • UV scale
  1. Rendering in Maya
    • Render settings
    • Render view
    • Maya lights and lighting types
    • Cameras
    • Light editor
    • Batch render
    • Render setup
    • Render overrides
  1. Arnold Rendering
    • Arnold render settings
    • Arnold render view
    • Maya lights in Arnold
    • Arnold area lights
    • Objects as lights
    • Image-based lighting
    • Skydomes
    • Motion blur
    • Render animation
  1. Maya Animation
    • Animation interface
    • Animating using set key
    • Graph editor
    • Dope sheet
    • Breakdown keys
    • Spline path animation
    • Visualizing animation
    • Grease pencil
    • Animation cycles
    • Playblast
    • Time editor
    • Creating animation clips