Introducing Maya 2011

Introduction xv

Chapter 1 Introduction to Computer Graphics and 3D 1

Art? 2

Computer Graphics 2

The Stages of Production 4

The CG Production Workflow 8

Core Concepts 12

Basic Film Concepts 24

Summary 30

Chapter 2 Jumping in Headfirst, with Both Feet 31

You Put the U in UI 32

Project Overview: The Solar System 37

The Preproduction Process: Planning 37

Creating a Project 38

The Production Process: Creating and Animating the Objects 40

Hierarchy and Maya Object Structure 54

The Solar System Resumed 57

Outputting Your Work: Playblasting 65

Summary 67

Chapter 3 The Maya 2011 Interface 69

Navigating in Maya 70

Maya’s Layout 70

Panels and Frequently Used Windows 82

Customizing Maya 99

Summary 103

Chapter 4 Beginning Polygonal Modeling 105

Planning Your Model 106

Polygon Basics 112

Poly Editing Tools 115

Putting the Tools to Use: Making a Simple Hand 119

Creating Areas of Detail on a Poly Mesh 125

Modeling Complex Objects: The Classic Steam Locomotive 134

Suggestions for Modeling Polygons 157

Summary 157

Chapter 5 Modeling with NURBS, Subdivisions, and Deformers 159

NURBS! 160

Using NURBS Surfacing to Create Polygons 171

Converting a NURBS Model to Polygons 173

Editing NURBS Surfaces 174

Patch Modeling: A Locomotive Detail 177

Using Artisan to Sculpt NURBS 188

Modeling with Simple Deformers 190

The Lattice Deformer 196

Animating through a Lattice 200

Subdivision Surfaces 203

Creating a Starfish 204

Building a Teakettle 209

Summary 217

Chapter 6 Practical Experience 219

Beginning the Wagon Project 220

Using Reference Planes 220

Modeling the Side Panels 227

Modeling the Wagon Body 249

Inserting the Handlebar 254

Modeling the Wheels 258

Modeling the Wood Railings 264

Adding Extra Details 274

Building a Decorative Box 280

Summary 291

Chapter 7 Maya Shading and Texturing 293

Maya Shading 294

Shader Types 294

Shader Attributes 298

Texturing the Axe 302

Textures and Surfaces 310

Texturing the Red Wagon 320

Photoreal Mapping: The Decorative Box 352

For Further Study 371

Summary 371

Chapter 8 Introduction to Animation 373

Keyframe Animation—Bouncing a Ball 374

Throwing an Axe 384

Replacing an Object 400

Animating Flying Text 402

Rigging the Locomotive, Part 1 406

Animating a Catapult 408

Summary 414

Chapter 9 More Animation! 417

Skeletons and Kinematics 418

Skeletons: The Hand 431

Inverse Kinematics 446

Basic Relationships: Constraints 450

Basic Relationships: Set-Driven Keys 454

Application: Rigging the Locomotive 458

Summary 466

Chapter 10 Maya Lighting 467

Basic Lighting Concepts 468

Maya Lights 472

Light Linking 478

Adding Shadows 479

Raytracing Soft Shadows 483

Mental ray Lighting 484

Mental ray Physical Sun and Sky 486

Lighting Effects 491

Lighting the Decorative Box 495

Further Lighting Practice 501

Tips for Using and Animating Lights 502

Summary 504

Chapter 11 Maya Rendering 505

Rendering Setup 506

Previewing Your Render: The Render View Window 515

Reflections and Refractions 517

Using Cameras 519

Motion Blur 525

Batch Rendering 526

Rendering the Wine Bottle 527

Mental ray for Maya 531

Render Layers 537

Final Gather 546

Ambient Occlusion 549

HDRI 557

Rendering the Decorative Box 559

Summary 573

Chapter 12 Maya Dynamics and Effects 575

An Overview of Dynamics and Maya Nucleus 576

Rigid and Soft Dynamic Bodies 576

Animating with Dynamics: The Pool Table 580

nParticle Dynamics 590

Emitting nParticles 590

Animating a Particle Effect: Locomotive Steam 596

Introduction to Paint Effects 605

Toon Shading 608

Summary 612

Where Do You Go from Here? 612

Appendix About the Companion CD 613

Index 617