PART I: SIMPLE OBJECT CREATION
- Open Maya
- 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 the check-box in cone selection menu.
- Change height to 3.
- Click with the left mouse button in the view window to place the cone in the model.
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/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. - File/project/set …. Establishes name (folder) and directory location and can be used to open
an existing project and file. - 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