Go from 'beginner' to 'expert' with this professional, tutorial-based guide to Maya 2016
Mastering Autodesk Maya 2016 is your professional hands-on coverage to getting the most out of Maya. If you already know the basics of Maya, this book is your ticket to full coverage of all Maya 2016's latest features, and showcases the tools and methods used in real-world 3D animation and visual effects. From modeling, texturing, animation, and effects to high-level techniques for film, television, games, and more, this book expands your skill set, and helps you prepare for the Autodesk Maya certification exam. Filled with challenging tutorials and real-world scenarios this book provides valuable insight into the entire CG production timeline.
Take your Maya skills to the next level with step-by-step instruction and insight from the industry professionals.
* Learn professional techniques used in real-world visual effects
* Master Dynamics, Maya Muscle, Stereo Cameras, mental ray, and more
* Expand your skills with advanced techniques for cloth, fur, and fluids
* Understand everything you need to know for the Maya certification exam
Autorentext
Todd Palamar began his career creating traditional special effects for low-budget horror movies, but quickly gravitated to computer animation. His extensive experience now includes numerous straight-to-video movies, video games, dozens of military and game-style simulations, corporate commercials, and even theme park rides. Todd is the author of several Maya books, including Maya Studio Projects: Photorealistic Characters and several previous editions of Mastering Autodesk Maya.
Inhalt
Introduction xix
Chapter 1 Working in Autodesk Maya 1
Color Management 1
Creating and Editing Nodes 3
Using the Hypergraph 3
Connecting Nodes with the Node Editor 8
Creating Node Hierarchies in the Outliner 13
Displaying Options in the Outliner 17
The Channel Box 20
The Attribute Editor 24
Working with Shader Nodes in the Hypershade 27
Creating Maya Projects 35
Creating a New Project 36
Editing and Changing Projects 37
The Bottom Line 38
Chapter 2 Introduction to Animation 39
Using Joints and Constraints 39
Joint Basics 39
Point Constraints 41
Aim Constraints 41
Inverse Kinematics 44
IK Handle Tool 45
Creating a Master Control 48
Keyframe Animation 51
Creating Keyframes 52
Auto Keyframe 54
Moving and Scaling Keyframes on the Timeline 55
Copy, Paste, and Cut Keyframes 57
The Graph Editor 59
Animation Curves 60
Editing Animation Curves 65
Weighted Tangents 69
Additional Editing Tools 70
Breakdowns and In-Betweens 74
Pre- and Post-Infinity 76
Playblast and FCheck 79
Driven Keys 81
Creating a Driven Key 81
Looping Driven Keys 84
Copying and Pasting Driven Keys 85
Motion-Path Animation 88
Motion Trails 90
Animating Constraints 93
Animation Layers 97
Creating an Animation Layer 97
Layer Mode 99
Other Options in the Layer Editor 102
Layer Hierarchy 103
Merging Layers 106
Grease Pencil 107
The Bottom Line 109
Chapter 3 Hard-Surface Modeling 111
Understanding Polygon Geometry 111
Polygon Vertices 111
Polygon Edges 112
Polygon Faces 113
Working with Smooth Polygons 114
Understanding NURBS 115
Understanding Curves 116
Understanding NURBS Surfaces 118
Surface Seams 121
NURBS Display Controls 121
Using Subdivision Surfaces 122
Employing Image Planes 122
Modeling NURBS Surfaces 126
Lofting Surfaces 134
Attaching Surfaces 136
Converting NURBS Surfaces to Polygons 139
Modeling with Polygons 140
Using Booleans 141
Cleaning Topology 146
Creating Your Own Polygons 148
Multi-Cut Tool 151
Combining and Merging Geometry 153
Bridge Polygon 155
Mirror Cut 159
The Bottom Line 160
Chapter 4 Organic Modeling 163
Implement Box Modeling 163
Shaping Using Smooth Mesh Polygon Geometry 164
Multi-Cut with Edge Flow 175
Slide Edge Tool 177
Offset Edge Loops 178
Employ Build-Out Modeling 179
Extrude along a Curve 181
Sculpt Polygons 185
Soft Select Tool 185
Sculpting Tools 187
Use Retopology Tools 189
Importing and Exporting 189
Alembic Cache Files 190
Slide on Surface 190
Quad Draw 193
Reduce 198
The Bottom Line 199
Chapter 5 Rigging and Muscle Systems 201
Understanding Rigging 201
Creating and Organizing Joint Hierarchies 203
Orienting Joints 211
Naming Joints 212
Mirroring Joints 215
Rigging the Giraffe 216
IK Legs 216
FK Blending 219
Rotate-Plane Solver 221
Creating Custom Attributes 225
Spline IK 230
Human Inverse Kinematics 237
Skeleton Generat...