Autodesk Maya 2014 Essentials (autodesk Official Press)

The premiere book on getting started with Maya 2014

Whether you′re just beginning, or migrating from another 3D application, this step–by–step guide is what you need to get a good working knowledge of Autodesk Maya 2014.

The premiere book on getting started with Maya 2014

Whether you′re just beginning, or migrating from another 3D application, this step–by–step guide is what you need to get a good working knowledge of Autodesk Maya 2014. Beautifully illustrated with full–color examples and screenshots, Autodesk Maya 2014 Essentials explains the basics of Maya as well as modeling, texturing, animating, setting a scene, and creating visual effects. You′ll absorb important concepts and techniques, and learn how to confidently use Maya tools the way professionals do.

Each chapter includes fun and challenging hands–on projects, which you can do as you go using the downloadable files from the book′s website. They include starting and ending files, so you can compare your results to how professionals do the projects. This information–packed Autodesk Official Press book also helps you prepare for the Autodesk Maya 2014 certification exams.

• Helps beginners and those migrating from other 3D animation and effects programs get up and running on Autodesk Maya 2014
• Features step–by–step tutorials, hands–on exercises with downloadable files, and four–color examples and screenshots
• Covers modeling, texturing, animating, visual effects, lighting, compositing, setting a scene, and more
• Written by an Autodesk Authorized Author and is an Autodesk Official Press
• Autodesk Maya is the industry–leading 3D animation and effects software used in movies, games, cartoons, short films, commercials, and other animation

Get firsthand experience with Maya 2014, as well as an initial start on preparing for the Autodesk Maya 2014 Certified Professional exam, with Autodesk Maya 2014 Essentials.

Chapter 1 Understanding the Maya Interface 1

Exploring Interface Elements 2

Views 2

Time Slider 3

Range Slider 4

Toolbox Window 4

Shelves 5

Moving Views and Manipulating Objects 5

Using Maya Windows and Menus 8

Setting Preferences 10

Preferences Window 10

Settings Used for the Tutorials 12

Getting Help 12

Chapter 2 Creating Your First Animation 15

Using Good Scene–File Management 15

Creating and Animating a Bouncing Ball 18

Selecting a View and Turning On the Resolution Gate 18

Creating a Ball 19

Setting Movement Keyframes 21

Refining Movement in the Graph Editor 24

What’s Wrong with the Way My Ball Is Bouncing? 24

Adjusting Spline Tangents 25

Breaking Tangents for Fast Direction Changes 26

Using Animation Principles to Improve Your Work 28

Squash 28

Stretch 29

Creating a Playblast of Your Animation 31

Chapter 3 Modeling with Polygons, Part 1 35

Understanding Polygons 35

Vertex 35

Edges 36

Constructing a Good Model 37

The Importance of Quads 37

The Problem With Ngons 38

Getting Started and Using the Main Modeling Tools 38

Setting Up View Planes 39

Starting with a Cube 42

Extruding Faces 43

Box Modeling and Building a Character 45

Refining the Character’s Geometry 55

Using the Insert Edge Loop Tool 56

Using the Split Polygon Tool 60

Shaping Your Character 65

Chapter 4 Modeling with Polygons, Part 2 69

Creating Edge Loops 69

Getting Started: Deleting Edges and Setting Tool Options 70

Building Your Edge Loops 72

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