Mastering. Autodesk Maya 2012

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3 Mastering Autodesk Maya 2012

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5 Mastering Autodesk Maya 2012 Todd Palamar Eric Keller

6 Acquisitions Editor: Mariann Barsolo Development Editor: Heather O Connor Technical Editor: Jon McFarland Production Editor: Christine O Connor Copy Editor: Elizabeth Welch Editorial Manager: Pete Gaughan Production Manager: Tim Tate Vice President and Executive Group Publisher: Richard Swadley Vice President and Publisher: Neil Edde Assistant Project Manager: Jenny Swisher Associate Producer: Josh Frank Quality Assurance: Shawn Patrick Book Designers: Maureen Forys, Happenstance Type-O-Rama; Judy Fung Compositor: Jeff Wilson, Happenstance Type-O-Rama Proofreader: Sheilah Ledwidge, Word One New York Indexer: Nancy Guenther Project Coordinator, Cover: Katherine Crocker Cover Designer: Ryan Sneed Cover Image: Pete Gardner/DigitalVision/Getty Images Copyright 2011 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana Published simultaneously in Canada ISBN: ISBN: (ebk.) ISBN: (ebk.) ISBN: (ebk.) No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise, except as permitted under Sections 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, (978) , fax (978) Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, (201) , fax (201) , or online at Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty: The publisher and the author make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this work and specifically disclaim all warranties, including without limitation warranties of fitness for a particular purpose. No warranty may be created or extended by sales or promotional materials. The advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for every situation. This work is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting, or other professional services. If professional assistance is required, the services of a competent professional person should be sought. Neither the publisher nor the author shall be liable for damages arising herefrom. The fact that an organization or Web site is referred to in this work as a citation and/or a potential source of further information does not mean that the author or the publisher endorses the information the organization or Web site may provide or recommendations it may make. Further, readers should be aware that Internet Web sites listed in this work may have changed or disappeared between when this work was written and when it is read. For general information on our other products and services or to obtain technical support, please contact our Customer Care Department within the U.S. at (877) , outside the U.S. at (317) or fax (317) Wiley also publishes its books in a variety of electronic formats and by print-on-demand. Not all content that is available in standard print versions of this book may appear or be packaged in all book formats. If you have purchased a version of this book that did not include media that is referenced by or accompanies a standard print version, you may request this media by visiting For more information about Wiley products, visit us at Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available from the Publisher. TRADEMARKS: Wiley, the Wiley logo, and the Sybex logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of John Wiley & Sons, Inc. and/or its affiliates, in the United States and other countries, and may not be used without written permission. Autodesk and Maya are registered trademarks of Autodesk, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Wiley Publishing, Inc., is not associated with any product or vendor mentioned in this book

7 Dear Reader, Thank you for choosing Mastering Autodesk Maya This book is part of a family of premiumquality Sybex books, all of which are written by outstanding authors who combine practical experience with a gift for teaching. Sybex was founded in More than 30 years later, we re still committed to producing consistently exceptional books. With each of our titles, we re working hard to set a new standard for the industry. From the paper we print on, to the authors we work with, our goal is to bring you the best books available. I hope you see all that reflected in these pages. I d be very interested to hear your comments and get your feedback on how we re doing. Feel free to let me know what you think about this or any other Sybex book by sending me an at nedde@wiley.com. If you think you ve found a technical error in this book, please visit Customer feedback is critical to our efforts at Sybex. Best regards, Neil Edde Vice President and Publisher Sybex, an Imprint of Wiley

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9 Acknowledgments I would like to first thank Eric Keller, who passed the reigns of the Mastering Autodesk Maya series on to me after expertly crafting the two previous editions. Eric is also a co-author for this edition and wrote Chapter 1, Working in Autodesk Maya, and Chapter 2, Virtual Filmmaking with Autodesk Maya Cameras, as well as bonus material for the DVD. Eric is a skilled artist and great to work with. I d also like to thank Lee Lanier. Lee wrote Chapter 9, Lighting with mental ray, and Chapter 10, mental ray Shading Techniques. We were very fortunate to have Lee s expertise on this book. Thank you also to Beau Janzen, who wrote Chapter 12, Rendering for Compositing. Beau also helped edit several chapters, making my job a lot easier! Anthony Honn built the vehicle models used in many of the example scenes; Eric Keller s brother, Travis Keller, designed the kitchen and pergola models used in the lighting chapters; and Chris Sanchez provided the fantastic space suit design used in the modeling chapters. I would like to thank all the people from Wiley. A special thanks to Mariann Barsolo, Heather O Connor, and Christine O Connor. Their management and editing skills are superior. Todd Palamar

10 About the Authors Todd Palamar is a 21-year veteran in the computer animation industry. After transitioning early in his career from traditional special effects to computer-generated imagery, Todd did effects work for several direct-to-video movies. He later went on to work on numerous video games, including Sega of Japan s coin-operated title Behind Enemy Lines, as well as Dukes of Hazzard and Trophy Buck 2 for the Sony PlayStation console. For six years, Todd taught at Full Sail University in Winter Park, Florida. During this time, he received numerous accolades as an outstanding educator. Additionally, Todd was a trainer at the Digital Animation & Visual Effects (DAVE) School at Universal Studios Florida, bringing postgraduate students up to speed in Maya. Todd has written several books, among them Maya Cloth for Characters (Surrealistic Producing Effects, 2008), Maya Studio Projects Dynamics (Sybex, 2009), and Maya Studio Projects Photorealistic Characters (Sybex, 2011). His breadth of experience has allowed him to work in location-based entertainment, military simulation, television commercials, and corporate spots. Todd is currently Technical Art Director at Vcom3D, creating real-time characters capable of lip syncing to multiple languages and sign language. You can see more of Todd s work on his company s website, Eric Keller is a freelance visual effects artist working in Hollywood. He divides his time between the entertainment industry and scientific visualization. He teaches an introductory ZBrush class at the Gnomon School of Visual Effects and has authored numerous animation and visualization tutorials for the Harvard Medical School course Maya for Molecular Biologists, taught by Gael McGill. Eric has worked at some of the best design studios in Los Angeles, including Prologue Films, Imaginary Forces, Yu and Company, BLT and Associates, and The Syndicate. Projects include feature-film title animations for The Invasion, Enchanted, Sympathy for Lady Vengeance, and Dragon Wars. He has also contributed to numerous commercials, television shows, and design projects. Other books by Eric Keller include Introducing ZBrush 4 (Sybex, 2011), Maya Visual Effects: The Innovator s Guide (Sybex, 2007), and Introducing ZBrush (Sybex, 2008). He was a contributing author to Mastering Maya 7 (Sybex, 2006). He authored the video series Essential ZBrush 3.1 for Lynda.com as well as numerous tutorials and articles for industry magazines. Many of his tutorials are available online at and About the Contributing Authors Lee Lanier is a 3D animator, digital compositor, and director. His films have played in more than 200 museums, galleries, and film festivals worldwide. Before directing the shorts Millennium Bug, Mirror, Day Off the Dead, Weapons of Mass Destruction, 13 Ways to Die at Home, and Blood Roulette, he served as a senior animator in the lighting and modeling departments at PDI/DreamWorks on Antz and Shrek. He created digital visual effects for such films as Mortal Kombat while at Buena Vista Visual Effects at Walt Disney Studios. He is the author of Advanced Maya Texturing and Lighting (Sybex, 2006) and Professional Digital Compositing (Sybex, 2009). You can view his work at

11 Beau Janzen is a faculty member at the Art Institute of California, Los Angeles, where he teaches digital animation and mathematics. His production credits include X-Men, X-Men: The Last Stand, and Speed Racer. He has worked with Autodesk Maya since its inception, serving as a beta tester on the first pre-release of the software. Beau has written and produced award-winning instructional films for such clients as NASA, General Motors, WGBH Boston, and Annenberg/ Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) in addition to creating work for his own company, Zipheron Design Labs ( Anthony Honn created the vehicle models used in the example scenes throughout this book. Anthony originally trained in industrial design and architecture. After graduating from the Art Center College of Design, a series of fateful events resulted in a career in the film and design industries. His clients have included multiple recording artists such as Janet Jackson, as well as lifestyle brands such as Nike. Arguably, the industrial designer still lurks beneath, with his continued passion for robotics, automobiles, and furniture. For more of Anthony s work, visit

12 Contents at a Glance Introduction...xxiii Chapter 1 Working in Autodesk Maya...1 Chapter 2 Virtual Filmmaking with Autodesk Maya Cameras...53 Chapter 3 Modeling I Chapter 4 Modeling II Chapter 5 Animation Techniques Chapter 6 Animating with Deformers Chapter 7 Rigging and Muscle Systems Chapter 8 Paint Effects Chapter 9 Lighting with mental ray Chapter 10 mental ray Shading Techniques Chapter 11 Texture Mapping Chapter 12 Rendering for Compositing Chapter 13 Introducing nparticles Chapter 14 Dynamic Effects Chapter 15 Fur, Hair, and Clothing Chapter 16 Autodesk Maya Fluids Appendix A The Bottom Line Appendix B Autodesk Maya 2012 Certification Appendix C About the Companion DVD Index...917

13 Contents xi Contents Introduction...xxiii Chapter 1 Working in Autodesk Maya... 1 Creating and Editing Maya Nodes...1 Using the Hypergraph...3 Connecting Nodes with the Connection Editor....7 Creating Node Hierarchies in the Outliner Displaying Options in the Outliner The Channel Box The Attribute Editor...22 Working with Shader Nodes in the Hypershade Creating Maya Projects...33 Creating a New Project...34 Editing and Changing Projects...35 Organizing Complex Node Structures with Assets Creating an Asset...37 Publishing Asset Attributes...41 Using the Asset Editor...42 File References...44 Referencing a File...45 Using Reference Proxies...47 The Bottom Line Chapter 2 Virtual Filmmaking with Autodesk Maya Cameras Determining the Image Size and Film Speed of the Camera...53 Setting the Size and Resolution of the Image Setting the Film Speed Creating and Animating Cameras...56 Creating a Camera...57 Setting Camera Attributes Limiting the Range of Renderable Objects with Clipping Planes...66 Composing the Shot Using the Film Back Settings Creating a Camera Shake Effect...70 Using an Expression to Control Alpha Offset Creating Custom Camera Rigs Swivel Camera Rig...77 Swivel Camera Rig Asset Applying Depth of Field and Motion Blur Rendering Using Depth of Field Creating a Rack Focus Rig Adding Motion Blur to an Animation....89

14 xii Contents Using Orthographic and Stereo Cameras...96 Orthographic Cameras Stereo Cameras...97 Using the Camera Sequencer...99 The Bottom Line Chapter 3 Modeling I Understanding Polygon Geometry Polygon Vertices Polygon Edges Polygon Faces Working with Smooth Polygons Using Subdivision Surfaces Understanding NURBS Understanding Curves Understanding NURBS Surfaces Surface Seams NURBS Display Controls Employing Image Planes Modeling NURBS Surfaces Lofting Surfaces Intersecting Surfaces Trim Surfaces Working with Trim Edges Fillet Surfaces Creating Rail Surfaces Lofting Across Multiple Curves Live Surfaces NURBS Tessellation Modeling with Polygons Shaping Using Smooth Mesh Polygon Geometry Insert Edge Loops Extruding Polygons Edge Creasing Mirror Cut The Bottom Line Chapter 4 Modeling II Modeling with Deformers Using a Lattice Soft Modification Tool Combining Meshes Using Bevel Plus and Bevel Edges Creating the Curves Projecting the Curve Bevel Edges

15 Contents xiii Using Curves Create an Extrusion Curve Extrude Along a Curve Drawing Curves on a Live Surface Convert NURBS Surfaces to Polygons Employing Revolved Surfaces NURBS Extrusions Boolean Operations Using Booleans Cutting Polygons Sculpting Polygons Using Artisan Advanced Polygon Editing Tools Append a Polygon Interactive Split Tool Spin a Polygon Edge Bridge Polygons Working with SubDs Modeling with SubDs SubD Levels The Bottom Line Chapter 5 Animation Techniques Using Joints and Constraints Joint Basics Point Constraints Aim Constraints Inverse Kinematics IK Handle Tool Create a Master Control Keyframe Animation Creating Keyframes Auto Keyframe Move and Scale Keyframes on the Timeline Copy, Paste, and Cut Keyframes The Graph Editor Animation Curves Editing Animation Curves Weighted Tangents Additional Editing Tools Breakdowns and In-Betweens Pre- and Post-Infinity Playblast and FCheck Driven Keys Creating a Driven Key Looping Driven Keys Copying and Pasting Driven Keys

16 xiv Contents Motion Path Animation Motion Trails Animating Constraints Animation Layers Creating an Animation Layer Layer Mode Other Options in the Layer Editor Layer Hierarchy Merging Layers The Bottom Line Chapter 6 Animating with Deformers Animating Facial Expressions Using Blend Shapes Creating Blend Shape Targets Creating Blend Shapes Painting Blend Shape Weights Adding Targets Creating a Custom Mouth Control Slider Connecting the Slider to the Blend Shape Animating Blend Shapes Sequentially Creating the Base Mesh Creating the Blend Shape Targets Creating the Blend Shape Sequence Animating with Lattices Creating a Lattice Using the Lattice Membership Tool Adding an Object to an Existing Lattice Animating Lattices Animating Object Components with Clusters Adding Cluster Objects Painting Cluster Weights Applying Cluster Components Constraining Clusters Animating a Scene Using Nonlinear Deformers Creating a Wave Deformer Squashing and Stretching Objects Twisting Objects Creating a Jiggle Effect Applying Jiggle Deformers Painting Jiggle Weights Optimizing Animations with the Geometry Cache Creating a Geometry Cache Editing the Cache Playback The Bottom Line

17 Contents xv Chapter 7 Rigging and Muscle Systems Understanding Rigging Creating and Organizing Joint Hierarchies Orienting Joints Naming Joints Mirroring Joints Rigging the Giraffe IK Legs FK Blending Rotate Plane Solvers Creating Custom Attributes Spline IK Human Inverse Kinematics Skinning Geometry Interactive/Smooth Binding Weighting the Giraffe Painting Skin Weights Editing Skin Weights in the Component Editor Copying Skin Weights Mirroring Skin Weights The Maya Muscle System Understanding the Maya Muscle System Using Capsules Creating a Muscle Using Muscle Builder Editing Muscle Parameters Converting the Smooth Skin to a Muscle System Sliding Weights The Bottom Line Chapter 8 Paint Effects Using the Paint Effects Canvas The Paint Effects Window Painting in Scene Mode Painting on 3D Objects Understanding Strokes The Anatomy of a Paint Effects Stroke Brush Sharing Understanding Brush Curve Nodes Designing Brushes Starting from Scratch Tubes Growing Flowers Adding Leaves Create Complexity by Adding Strokes to a Curve...437

18 xvi Contents Shaping Strokes with Behavior Controls Applying Forces Displacement, Spiral, and Bend Animating Strokes Animating Attribute Values Adding Turbulence Animating Growth Modifiers Rendering Paint Effects Illumination Shadow Effects Shading Strokes and Tubes Texturing Strokes Converting Strokes to Geometry The Bottom Line Chapter 9 Lighting with mental ray Shadow-Casting Lights Shadow Preview Depth Map Shadows mental ray Shadow Map Overrides Raytrace Shadows Indirect Lighting: Global Illumination Global Illumination Tuning Global Illumination Working with Photon Maps Color Bleeding Importons Caustics Caustic Light Setup Indirect Illumination: Final Gathering Light-Emitting Objects Final Gathering Maps Using Lights with Final Gathering Image-Based Lighting Enabling IBL IBL and Final Gathering Physical Sun and Sky Enabling Physical Sun and Sky Editing the Sky Settings mental ray Area Lights Using Area Lights Light Shaders Physical Light Shader Tone Mapping Photometric Lights and Profiles The Bottom Line

19 Contents xvii Chapter 10 mental ray Shading Techniques Shading Concepts Diffusion Reflection Refraction The Fresnel Effect Anisotropy Creating Blurred Reflections and Refractions Using Standard Maya Shaders Reflection Blur Refraction Blur Basic mental ray Shaders DGS Shaders Dielectric Material mental ray Base Shaders Car Paint Materials Diffuse Parameters Specular Parameters Flake Parameters Reflection Parameters The MIA Material Using the MIA Material Presets Add Bump to the Rubber Shader Create Beveled Edges Using mia_roundcorners Creating Thick and Thin Glass and Plastic Other MIA Material Attributes Controlling Exposure with Tone Mapping Rendering Contours The Bottom Line Chapter 11 Texture Mapping UV Texture Layout What Are UV Texture Coordinates? Mapping the Giraffe Leg Unfolding UVs Mapping the Giraffe Head Mirroring UVs More UV Tools Arranging UV Shells Additional UV Mapping Considerations Transferring UVs Multiple UV Sets Optimizing Textures Bump and Normal Mapping Bump Maps Normal Maps

20 xviii Contents Creating Normal Maps Applying Normal Maps Displacement Mapping Subsurface Scattering Fast, Simple Skin Shader Setup Subsurface Scattering Layers Subsurface Specularity The Bottom Line Chapter 12 Rendering for Compositing Render Layers Creating Render Layers Render Layer Overrides Creating Overrides for Rendering Cameras Using Different Shaders on Render Layers Material Overrides Render Layer Blend Modes Render Passes Upgrade Materials for Rendering Passes Render Multiple Passes from a Single Render Layer Creating an Ambient Occlusion Pass Render Pass Contribution Maps Lights and Contribution Maps Render Pass Sets Setting Up a Render with mental ray File Tokens Specifying Frame Range Renderable Cameras File Formats and the Frame Buffer Starting a Batch Render Command-Line Rendering Creating a Batch Script mental ray Quality Settings Tessellation and Approximation Nodes Antialiasing and Sampling Filtering Rasterizer Raytrace Acceleration Diagnose BSP The Bottom Line Chapter 13 Introducing nparticles Creating nparticles Drawing nparticles Using the nparticle Tool Spawning nparticles from an Emitter Emitting nparticles from a Surface Filling an Object with nparticles...684

21 Contents xix Making nparticles Collide with nrigids Passive Collision Objects Collide Strength and Collision Ramps Using nparticles to Simulate Liquids Creating Liquid Behavior Converting nparticles to Polygons Shading the nparticle Mesh Emit nparticles Using a Texture Surface Emission Using Wind Shading nparticles and Using Hardware Rendering to Create Flame Effects Shading nparticles to Simulate Flames Creating an ncache Using the Hardware Render Buffer nparticles and Fields Using Multiple Emitters Volume Axis Curve Working with Force Fields Painting Field Maps Using Dynamic Fields Rendering Particles with mental ray The Bottom Line Chapter 14 Dynamic Effects Creating ncloth Objects Making a Polygon Mesh Dynamic Applying ncloth Presets Making Surfaces Sticky Creating nconstraints Making ncloth Objects Expand Using Pressure Additional Techniques Creating an ncache Creating ncloth and nparticle Interactions Creating an nparticle Goal Controlling Collision Events Ripping an Object Open Using Tearable nconstraints Rigid Body Dynamics Creating an Exploding Tower Tuning the Rigid Body Simulation Baking the Simulation Crumbling Tower Soft Body Dynamics Creating Flying Debris Using nparticle Instancing Adding nparticles to the Scene Sending the Debris Flying Using a Field Creating a More Convincing Explosion by Adjusting nparticle Mass Instancing Geometry

22 xx Contents Animating Instances Using nparticle Expressions Randomizing Instance Index Connecting Instance Size to nparticle Mass Controlling the Rotation of nparticles The Bottom Line Chapter 15 Fur, Hair, and Clothing Adding Fur to Characters Preparing Polygons for Maya Fur Creating a Fur Description Editing the Fur Description: Baldness Editing the Fur Description: Direction Editing the Fur Description: Length Test Render Fur Applying a Color Map Applying Map Offsets and Multipliers Enhancing the Realism of Fur Rendering Fur Using mental ray Animating Using Dynamic Curves Using Dynamic Curves with IK Splines Creating an IK Spline Handle from the Dynamic Curve Using Forces Adding Hair to a Character Applying Hair to a Surface Hair Collision Constraints Determining Hair Shape Styling Hair Start and Rest Positions Painting Follicle Attributes Styling Hair with Fields Modifying Curves Curling, Noise, Sub Clumping, and Braids Creating Hair Constraints Rendering Hair Creating Clothing for Characters Modeling Clothes for ncloth Adding a Transform Constraint Using Component Constraints Connecting Buttons to the Shirt Applying Forces Painting ncloth Properties The Bottom Line Chapter 16 Autodesk Maya Fluids Using Fluid Containers Using 2D Containers...856

23 Contents xxi Adding an Emitter Using Fields with Fluids Using 3D Containers Creating a Reaction Emitting Fluids from a Surface Making Flames Igniting the Fuel Rendering Fluid Containers Create Fluids and nparticle Interactions Emitting Fluids from nparticles Creating Flaming Trails Creating Water Effects Filling a Container Adding Surface Detail Rendering Liquids Creating an Ocean The Bottom Line Appendix A The Bottom Line Chapter 1: Working in Autodesk Maya Chapter 2: Virtual Filmmaking with Autodesk Maya Cameras Chapter 3: Modeling I Chapter 4: Modeling II Chapter 5: Animation Techniques Chapter 6: Animating with Deformers Chapter 7: Rigging and Muscle Systems Chapter 8: Paint Effects Chapter 9: Lighting with mental ray Chapter 10: mental ray Shading Techniques Chapter 11: Texture Mapping Chapter 12: Rendering for Compositing Chapter 13: Introducing nparticles Chapter 14: Dynamic Effects Chapter 15: Fur, Hair, and Clothing Chapter 16: Autodesk Maya Fluids Appendix B Autodesk Maya 2012 Certification Appendix C About the Companion DVD What You ll Find on the DVD System Requirements Using the DVD Troubleshooting Customer Care Index...917

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25 Introduction Autodesk Maya is big. It is really, really huge. The book you hold in your hands and all the exercises within it represent a mere sliver of what can be created in Autodesk Maya. Mastering Autodesk Maya takes years of study and practice. I have been using Autodesk Maya almost every day since 1999, and I m still constantly faced with new challenges and making new discoveries. This book is meant to be a guide to help you not only understand Autodesk Maya but also understand how to learn about Autodesk Maya. The title Mastering Maya implies an active engagement with the software. This book is packed with hands-on tutorials. If you re looking for a quickreference guide that simply describes each and every button, control, and tool in the Autodesk Maya interface, use the Autodesk Maya documentation that comes with the software instead. This book is not a description of Autodesk Maya; it is an explanation illustrated with practical examples. The skills you acquire through the examples in this book should prepare you for using Autodesk Maya in a professional environment. To that end, some features, such as lighting and rendering with mental ray, ndynamics, Fluids, and Maya Muscle, have received more emphasis and attention. Features that have not changed significantly over the past few versions of the software, such as Maya Software rendering, standard Maya shaders, and older rigging techniques, receive less attention since they have been thoroughly covered elsewhere. When you read this book and work through the exercises, do not hesitate to use the Autodesk Maya help files. The authors of this book will not be insulted! The Autodesk Maya documentation has a very useful search function that allows you to find complete descriptions of each control in the software. To use the help files, click the Help menu in the Autodesk Maya menu interface. The documentation consists of a large library of Autodesk Maya resources, which will appear in your default web browser when you access the help files. Experienced Autodesk Maya artists never hesitate to use the help files to find out more information about the software; there is no shame in asking questions! Who Should Buy This Book This book is written for intermediate Autodesk Maya users and users who are advanced in some aspects of Autodesk Maya and want to learn more about other aspects. The book is intended to be used by artists who are familiar with Autodesk Maya and the Autodesk Maya interface or who have significant experience using similar 3D packages. If you have used older versions of Autodesk Maya, this book will help you catch up on the newer features in Autodesk Maya If you have never used Autodesk Maya or any other 3D software on a computer before, this book will be too challenging, and you will quickly become frustrated. You are encouraged to read Introducing Autodesk Maya 2012 by Dariush Derakhshani (Sybex, 2011) or to read through the tutorials in the Maya documentation before attempting this book.

26 xxiv Introduction You should be familiar with these principles before reading this book: u u u u u u u The Autodesk Maya interface. Computer image basics such as color channels, masking, resolution, and image compression. Computer animation basics such as keyframes, squash and stretch, and 3D coordinate systems. Standard Autodesk Maya shaders, such as the Blinn, Phong, Lambert, Layered, and Anisotropic materials, as well as standard textures, such as Fractal, Ramp, Noise, and Checker. Lighting and rendering with standard Autodesk Maya lights and the Autodesk Maya Software rendering engine. The basics of working with NURBS curves, polygon surfaces, and NURBS surfaces. Your operating system. You need to be familiar with opening and saving files and the like. Basic computer networking skills are helpful as well. What s Inside Here is a description of the chapters in this book. The lessons in each chapter are accompanied by example scenes from the companion DVD. Chapter 1: Working in Autodesk Maya This chapter discusses how to work with the various nodes and the node structure that make up a scene. Using the Hypergraph, Outliner, Hypershade, Attribute Editor, and Connection Editor to build relationships between nodes is demonstrated through a series of exercises. References and the Asset Editor are also introduced. These features have been created to aid with large Maya projects that are divided between teams of artists. This chapter was written by Eric Keller, author of Introducing ZBrush 4 (Sybex, 2011). Chapter 2: Virtual Filmmaking with Autodesk Maya Cameras This chapter provides an in-depth discussion of the Autodesk Maya virtual camera and its attributes. A number of exercises provide examples of standard and custom camera rigs. Stereo 3D cameras are also introduced. This chapter was also written by Eric Keller. Chapter 3: Modeling I This chapter introduces the various types of surfaces you can model with. It walks you through numerous approaches for modeling parts of a helmet for a space suit based on a concept drawing created by a professional artist. Chapter 4: Modeling II This chapter continues to build on the model started in Chapter 3, using polygon and subdivision surface techniques. Smooth mesh polygons, creasing, and soft selection are demonstrated on various parts of the model. Chapter 5: Animation Techniques This chapter demonstrates basic rigging with inverse kinematics as well as animating with keyframes, expressions, and constraints. Animation layers are explained.

27 Introduction xxv Chapter 6: Animating with Deformers This chapter takes you through the numerous deformation tools available in Autodesk Maya. Creating a facial animation rig using blend shapes is demonstrated, along with using lattices, nonlinear deformers, and the geometry cache. Chapter 7: Rigging and Muscle Systems This chapter explains joints, inverse kinematics, smooth binding, and proper rigging techniques. Autodesk Maya Muscle is introduced and demonstrated on a character s arm. Chapter 8: Paint Effects This chapter provides a step-by-step demonstration of how to create a custom Paint Effects brush as well as how to animate and render with Paint Effects. Chapter 9: Lighting with mental ray This chapter demonstrates a variety of lighting tools and techniques that can be used when rendering scenes with mental ray. Indirect lighting using global illumination, Final Gathering, and the Physical Sun and Sky shader are all demonstrated. This chapter was written by Lee Lanier. Chapter 10: mental ray Shading Techniques This chapter describes commonly used mental ray shaders and how they can be used to add material qualities to the space helmet created in Chapter 3. Tips on how to use the shaders together as well as how to light and render them using mental ray are discussed. This chapter was also written by Lee Lanier. Chapter 11: Texture Mapping This chapter demonstrates how to create UV texture coordinates for a giraffe. Applying textures painted in other software packages, such as Adobe Photoshop, is discussed as well as displacement and normal maps and subsurface scattering shaders. Chapter 12: Rendering for Compositing This chapter introduces render layers and render passes, which can be used to split the various elements of a render into separate files that are then recombined in compositing software. This chapter was written by Beau Janzen. Chapter 13: Introducing nparticles This chapter provides numerous examples of how to use nparticles. In this chapter, you ll use fluid behavior, particle meshes, internal force fields, and other techniques to create amazing effects. Chapter 14: Dynamic Effects This chapter demonstrates a variety of techniques that can be used with ncloth to create effects. Traditional rigid body dynamics are compared with ncloth, and combining ncloth and nparticles is illustrated. Chapter 15: Fur, Hair, and Clothing This chapter discusses how to augment your Maya creatures and characters using Maya Fur, Maya Hair, and ncloth. Using dynamic curves to create a rig for an armored tail is also demonstrated. Chapter 16: Autodesk Maya Fluids This chapter explains how 2D and 3D fluids can be used to create smoke, cloud, and flame effects, and a demonstration of how to render using the Ocean shader is given. Using nparticles as a Fluid emitter is introduced. Appendix A: The Bottom Line This appendix contains all of the solutions from the Master It suggestions at the end of each chapter. Appendix B: Autodesk Maya 2012 Certification This appendix contains the certification objectives to obtain an Autodesk certification in Maya. Appendix C: About Companion DVD This appendix lists the contents of the DVD.

28 xxvi Introduction Companion DVD The companion DVD is home to all the demo files, samples, two bonus chapters on MEL scripting and toon shading, as well as the bonus resources mentioned in the book. See Appendix C for more details on the contents of the DVD and how to access them. How to Contact the Author You can contact author Todd Palamar with questions, comments, or concerns through his website at where you can see other books and productions he has worked on. Sybex strives to keep you supplied with the latest tools and information you need for your work. Please check the book s website at where we ll post additional content and updates that supplement this book should the need arise.

29 Chapter 1 Working in Autodesk Maya Maya s working environment has evolved to accommodate both the individual artist as well as a team of artists working in a production pipeline. The interface presents tools, controls, and data in an organized fashion to easily allow you to bring your fantastic creations to life. Maya s interface is made up of four views: the perspective, front, side, and top. Each camera can be customized. Additional cameras can also be created. In each camera view or viewport is a viewing cube located in the upper right corner. The cube allows you to quickly set the current camera to a specific view by clicking on a highlighted area of the cube. Understanding the way Maya organizes data about the objects, animation, textures, lights, dynamics, and all the other elements contained within the 3D environment of a scene is essential to understanding how the interface is organized. Maya uses what s known as the Dependency Graph to keep track of the various packets of data, known as nodes, and how they affect each other. Any single element of a Maya scene consists of multiple nodes connected in a web, and each one of these nodes is dependent on another. Maya s interface consists of editing windows that allow you to connect these nodes in an intuitive way and edit the information contained within each node. There is usually more than one way to accomplish a task in Maya. As you grow comfortable with the interface, you ll discover which editing windows best suit your working style. This chapter is a brief overview of what professionals need to understand when working in Maya. You ll learn what types of nodes you ll be working with and how they can be created and edited in Maya. You ll also learn how to work with projects and scene data as well as the various windows, panels, and controls that make up the interface. This will help you whether you are working alone or as part of a team of artists. If you ve never used Maya before, we strongly encourage you to read the Maya documentation as well as Introducing Maya 2012 by Dariush Derakhshani (Sybex, 2011). This chapter is about working with nodes, but it is not meant to be a comprehensive guide to each and every control within Maya. That information is contained within the Maya documentation. In this chapter, you will learn to: u u u u Understand transform and shape nodes Create a project Use assets Create file references Creating and Editing Maya Nodes A Maya scene is a system of interconnected nodes that are packets of data. The data within a node tells the software about what exists within the world of a Maya scene. The nodes are the

30 2 Chapter 1 Working in Autodesk Maya building blocks you, as the artist, put together to create the 3D scene and animation that will finally be rendered for the world to see. So if you can think of the objects in your scene, their motion, and appearance as nodes, think of the Maya interface as the tools and controls you use to connect those nodes. The relationship between these nodes is organized by the Dependency Graph, which describes the hierarchical relationship between connected nodes. The interface provides many ways to view the graph, and these methods are described in this chapter. Any given workflow in Maya is much like a route on a city map. There are usually many ways to get to your destination, and some of them make more sense than others depending on where you re going. In Maya, the best workflow depends on what you re trying to achieve, and there is typically more than one possible ideal workflow. There are many types of nodes in Maya that serve any number of different functions. All the nodes in Maya are considered Dependency Graph (DG) nodes. Let s say you have a simple cube and you subdivide it once, thus quadrupling the number of faces that make up the cube. The information concerning how the cube has been subdivided is contained within a DG node that is connected to the cube node. A special type of DG node is the directed acyclic graph (DAG) node. These nodes are made of two specific types of connected nodes: transform and shape. The arrangement of DAG nodes consists of a hierarchy in which the shape node is a child of the transform node. Most of the objects you work with in the Maya viewport, such as surface geometry (cubes, spheres, planes, and so on), are DAG nodes. To understand the difference between the transform and shape node types, think of a transform node as describing where an object is located and a shape node as describing what an object is. Transform nodes retain translation, rotation, and scale information. Often it is necessary to freeze a node s transforms. Freezing transformations sets the translation and rotation values to zero and scale values to 1.0 without altering the position of the node. Doing this allows you to add animation and mathematical expressions to zeroed values instead of complex numbers. In addition, freezing the transforms on a node that is a child of another node, forces the child to adopt the transforms of the parent. The simple polygon cube in Figure 1.1 consists of six flat squares attached at the edges to form a box. Each side of the cube is subdivided twice, creating four polygons per side. That basically describes what the object is, and the description of the object would be contained in the shape node. This simple polygon cube may be centimeters above the grid, rotated 35 degrees on the x-axis, and scaled four times its original size based on the cube s local x- and y-axes and six times its original size in the cube s local z-axis. That description would be in the transform node (see Figure 1.1). Figure 1.1 A shape node describes the shape of an object and how it has been constructed; a transform node describes where the object is located in the scene.