3D modeling

In 3D computer graphics, 3D modeling is the process of developing a mathematical coordinate-based

representation of any surface of an object (inanimate or living) in three dimensions via specialized software by
manipulating edges, vertices, and polygons in a simulated 3D space.
Three-dimensional (3D) models represent a physical body using a collection of points in 3D space, connected
by various geometric entities such as triangles, lines, curved surfaces, etc. Being a collection of data
(points and other information), 3D models can be created manually, algorithmically (procedural modeling), or
by scanning. Their surfaces may be further defined with texture mapping.

An artist uses special software to manipulate points in virtual space (called vertices) to form a mesh: a
collection of vertices that form an object. These 3D objects can be generated automatically or created
manually by deforming the mesh, or otherwise manipulating vertices.3D models are used for a variety of
mediums including video games, movies, architecture, illustration, engineering, and commercial advertising.

The 3D modeling process produces a digital object capable of being fully animated, making it an essential
process for character animation and special effects.

Models are often exported to other software for use in games or movies. But some 3D modeling programs
allow the creation of a 2D images using a process called 3D rendering. This technique is fantastic for creating
hyper-realistic scenes using sophisticated lighting algorithms.

3D Modeling In Action
3D modeling is an integral part of many creative careers.

Engineers and architects use it to plan and design their work. Animators and game designers rely on 3D
modeling to bring their ideas to life. And just about every Hollywood blockbuster uses 3D modeling for special
effects, to cut costs, and to speed up production. For example, the HBO series Game of Thrones uses 3D
modeling + animation to mock up every episode before filming. Artists can work either individually or as a
team to create these assets and distribute them for use in variety of projects.3D printing is another popular
application for 3D modeling as it allows precise control over the design of a mesh.

Objects can also be generated through 3D scanning or sculpting, but those techniques have limitations in the
precision of the final model. But what is gained in precision is lost in speed as 3D modeling can be a tedious
process.
Learning 3D modeling can be quite a challenge. Many of the programs are complicated and good modeling
principles are based on fundamental art skills.
3D computer graphics Software

1. Autodesk Maya
When you ask any professional 3D modeler in the industry which program they use the most, Autodesk
Maya is the most common answer, and for good reason. Most of the leading animation studios use it
(Pixar included) due in part to the massive array of powerful tools offered within the package. The last
few years have seen some especially amazing new features burst into the limelight such as truly jaw-
dropping live rendering.

There’s a catch, though: Maya isn’t cheap, and you’re going to need to learn to use it before you can
create much of anything. There’s a lot to learn in 3D modeling programs, and if you can devote the time
to truly learn this new art form then every penny you spend on Maya will be worth it. If you want a
portfolio that floors clients from the start, this is how to do it.

2. Autodesk Mudbox
In addition to the titan known as Maya, Autodesk also offers Mudbox. It’s one of the easiest 3D
modeling software packages on offer, but it’s more aligned to editing and sculpting 3D models using a
simple, intuitive and tactile toolset than it is able in doing more complex 3D tasks. You can increase
polygon counts on the fly, set up layers, and gradually adjust your 3D models until they are absolutely
perfect. Then, built-in functions create textures, paint colors, correct meshes, and produce Normal
maps.

You can also create things from scratch with this program, sculpting whatever you choose, but rigging,
texturing, and animation are not its focus. To complete those steps, you’ll need Maya or other similar 3D
modeling software. Master Mudbox and your design portfolio will be all the richer for it.

3. Houdini
Similar to Autodesk Maya, Houdini is another industry-standard tool that ranks as one of the best 3D
modeling software packages available. It uses a different methodology than Autodesk Maya, using a
node-based procedural style of production that affords artists a huge amount of control. Similar to
Maya, there’s a rather steep curve to learning all the tricks needed to succeed with this modeling
software. You won’t be creating masterpieces in 20 minutes, but, with a bit of persistence, you won’t
have too much trouble making works of art.

It’s on the expensive side, offering yearly licenses or perpetual purchases of Houdini and Houdini FX, but
there is also a free version called Houdini Apprentice available that we’ll detail in the second half of this
article. All in all, Houdini is a solid choice for any VFX artist, and will help you create some stunning CGI
to make your online design portfolio truly amazing.

4. Cinema 4D

Maxon’s Cinema 4D is also a serious competitor and easily among the best 3D modeling software
programs you can find. Designed for creating perfect motion graphics, this powerful tool can compete
head-to-head with the above entries and hold its own. It can crank out amazing quality that can turn
heads, but it’s strongest lead over competitors is a simple one: it’s much (much) easier to learn. This
could be a great help in making your design portfolio as gorgeous as possible—trying out a variety of 3D
projects is a great way to show your range to clients.

5. Modo
To stand out from the crowd, Modo does things a bit differently than the other 3D modeling programs.
The Foundry made Modo with art in mind, not just animation, which led to it offering a rather robust
and interesting selection of tools. Most notable is how user-friendly it is, allowing neophytes the ability
to pick it up with relative ease and become a 3D modeler without years of training.

While it lacks the higher-end tools offered in programs like Autodesk Maya, Maya won’t let you
intuitively create great quality renders with a low degree of effort: Modo is easy to pick up and figure
out in comparison. Finally, Modo sports a wonderfully powerful rendering engine that is easily on par
with other high-end programs, allowing you to create pro-quality on the fly.

6. Autodesk 3Ds Max

3Ds Max has been around for a long time, as far as modeling software goes. It predates almost every
other current program by several years and has plenty of performance patches under its belt as a result.
It’s one of the most stable 3D modeling programs around (probably the most stable option on Windows,
period) and has a gigantic library available that provides access to countless functions that can make the
process of modeling less tedious. Many of these mods also make things easier for beginners.

It has a higher price point but offers free student licenses and a trial that allows you access to all of the
features the app has to offer for 30 days, which should provide further incentive to give it a go and wow
your clients.
7. ZBrush
When it comes to sculpting amazing creatures, people, and places, there are no competitors that come
anywhere even close to ZBrush. It’s a staple in VFX on movies and television, and there are few 3D
modeling programs that can match its stature in the video game designer industry. If you’re into 3D
printing, this is definitely your go-to option: nothing beats ZBrush for making vinyl toys or action figures.
You will need training on the various tools and features to make the most of ZBrush, but know that this
training is absolutely worth it.

8. Rhinoceros
Uninhibited design is the focus of Rhinoceros, providing all the tools and features you would expect in
the best 3D modeling software, but with an easy-to-learn toolset that allows you to get cracking right
away. It’s compatible with just about everything and has a well-designed rendering engine that can
process even complex animations without unexpected slowdown.

It’s free for 90 days, after which point you’ll need to purchase a license to continue taking advantage of
its features and power. It’s worth a look, especially if you want something simple to grasp and get
started with.

9. Substance Designer
There are many steps to 3D model creation, and producing realistic textures can be very time-
consuming and involved. Enter Substance Designer, one of the most powerful and astounding texture
creation applications there is. It can generate some truly astonishing surfaces for your models, and the
resulting texture maps will turn your creations into extremely detailed art that not only looks realistic
but saves you a ton of time fiddling with bits and bobs.

If you’re serious about becoming a 3D modeler, you owe it to yourself to at least give it a try. We
guarantee that the results will please you, and afterwards, you won’t want to use anything else for your
skinning and texturing.
10. Blender
The king of the castle among free 3D modeling software is, without a doubt, Blender. It’s been around
since 2002 and is quite polished. Running on every major operating system, it provides all the tools you
expect in modeling software, including rigging, texturing, sculpting, UVing, and animation. With a solid
rendering engine, it has proven itself time and again when compared to the fancier programs out there.

11. Daz Studio

Recently made free to all, Daz Studio is accessible to newcomers as well as experienced 3D modellers,
and is focused around creating art using people, animals, and other assets from their list. Unlike most
other entries on the list, this is more akin to a posing tool than one designed to create high-end 3D
models for production.

While the program itself is totally free, be advised that a lot of the content on their marketplace is not:
this means that to really make the most out of it, you’ll still need to plunk down a bit of cash. If you are
in it to make art rather than animation for your portfolio, you can’t really go wrong: a large amount of
content is available right from the start, and anything you make is royalty-free!

12. SkethupFree
A surprisingly easy 3D modeling software option,SketchUp works on every major operating system—it
will even run smoothly on your Chromebook!

You can draw, set orbits, and combine elements to create true 3D art with ease in a natural, sketch-
based approach. Through Sketchup, you can draft some cool home layouts, furniture, and isometric art
without needing to create primitives and extrude for hours. This is super-handy for those looking into
becoming an interior designer. You’re also spared the rigor of rigging, and the annoyance of UV maps as
well. This is a great tool for those more looking to make cool art.

13. Sculptris
Sculptris has a lot going for it: it has, for example, some of the sculpting power of Zbrush (but none of
the price associated with it). It’s the absolute best free 3D modeling software for sculpting; nothing else
even comes close to it. Within a few short minutes, you’ll be able to figure out the way the controls
operate; even pint-sized artists have no problem, and can get to creating silly faces in no time.
While it can produce some truly neat models, you will still need another 3D program to make the most
out of it. If you are looking for a way to make insanely awesome sculpts and feel like a master 3D
modeller without shelling out for Zbrush, nothing else available can compare.
Dimensions Defined
Dimensions are used to describe the structure of an object — whether it's flat or not — and
its extent in space. A dimension in geometry is defined as the number of coordinates needed
to specify a point on the object, according to Wolfram MathWorld. For example, if you need
two figures, such as (2, 4), to understand where a particular spot is, you are dealing with a
two-dimensional shape.

1-D Pictures
One-dimensional pictures are those containing only one dimension. This is only possible when
you're dealing with a line, as the only dimension you have is length, defined by a single figure.
For example, you can easily find a spot when you know it's on the third inch from the left.
However, a line is 1-D only on a theoretical level, as in real life, a line has a width just
hundredths or thousandths of an inch.

2-D Pictures
One type of picture you can come across in real life is the two-dimensional one. The two
dimensions depicted are length and width and the objects on the picture are flat. Examples of
such pictures are ancient Egyptian wall paintings or images from video games before the
PlayStation era, where visual artists did not want, or could not, give a realistic representation
of space.

3-D Pictures
Three-dimensional pictures contain yet another dimension: depth. This type is the most
realistic one, as the depiction of objects or environments resembles the way we see them
through our own eyes. Painters use the technique of perspective, drawing distant objects
smaller and depicting angles as visible through one's point of view, while 3-D movies use two
images superimposed on the same screen. However, such pictures give only the illusion of
depth, as the canvas or screen always remains flat.
 UNIT 2

Navigating in Maya/UI of 3D Software

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dbjAnutq1vQ&list=PLD8E5717592CF5C26&inde
x=11&t=18s )

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p62UfGJRvRs

Maya has a set of menus across the top of the screen that contains various types of functionality.
Most of the screen is taken up by the default camera view of the scene (commonly referred to as
the "viewport"). Maya has a set of menus across the top of the screen that contains various types
of functionality. However, unlike most
programs, which menus are displayed can
change depending on the current menu set. The
current menu set is controlled by the drop
down box directly below File, Edit, and
Modify.

While opening menus and sub-menus, there is a dotted line at the top of each. Clicking this line to
"tear off" a copy of a given menu which can be moved around like a normal window. This can be
useful for repeatedly accessing the same menu.

To the left of the screen, running vertically, is the Tool Box. The toolbar is located along the left
side of the screen and contains several common tools used in Manipulation and Selection. And
across from it is the Channel Box/Layer Editor and sometimes the Attribute Editor

Running horizontally at the bottom of the screen (from the top down) are the Time Slider. The time
slider is used primarily in animation for controlling the current frame and editing key frames.
To the right of the time slider is a set of playback controls. This helps to preview animation and
step through different key frames.
The Range Slider- Below the time slider is the range slider, which is used to define the time range
of interest. the Character Set menu, the Auto Keyframe button, and the Animation Preferences
button.

On the right side of the screen is where two important UI elements, the Channel Box / Layer Editor
by default.
The Channel Box displays the name of the currently selected object as well as various "channels"
that describe the geometric transformation of the object.
Below the Channel Box is the Layer Editor. Layers are used to break the scene into pieces to
simplify display or rendering. Most of its uses are in rigging and rendering.

The other two buttons at the top right of the screen will activate the Attribute Editor () and Tool
Settings (). The Attribute Editor allows you to change a variety of things including material
characteristics. The Tool Settings, which actually appears on the left side of the screen by default,
allows you customize the behavior of the currently selected tool.
In the middle of all these elements is the workspace, which is host to your panels (or scene
windows) and their menu options, also known as views or viewports in some other 3D packages.

The Main Menu Bar - Menu choices are depended on what we are doing.

Some of the common options

• File - Deals with file operations, from saving and opening to optimizing scene size and
export/import.
• Edit - Contains the commands you use to edit characteristics of the scene, for example,
deleting and duplicating objects or undoing and redoing actions.
• Modify - Edit the characteristics of objects in the scene, such as moving or scaling them or
changing their pivot points.
• Create – Helps to make new objects, such as primitive geometries, curves, cameras, and so
on.
• Display - Contains commands for adjusting elements of the GUI (graphical user interface)
in Maya as well as objects in the scene, allowing you to toggle, or switch on or off, the
display of certain elements as well as components of objects, such as vertices, hulls, pivots,
and so on.
• Window - Provides access to the many windows you will come to rely on, such as the
Attribute Editor, Outliner, Graph Editor, and Hypergraph broken down into submenus
according to function, such as Rendering Editors and Animation Editors.
• Help - Give access to the help files.

The Status Line

The Status line begins with a drop-down menu that gives you access to the menu sets.

Selecting a menu set changes the menu set in the main menu bar.

a) Selection Modes

b) Individual Selection Masks

c) Snapping Functions or Snaps - The icons with the magnets are snaps, which allow you to
snap your cursor or object to specific points in the scene.

d) Input and Output Connections

• Input connections are attributes of the object that are controlled or somehow affected by
another object.
• Output connections are attributes of the object that affect other objects in the scene.
 • Construction history is a feature that keeps track of the nodes and attributes that help make
up an object, making editing those objects with history easier

e) Render Controls

Rendering - It is the process by which the computer calculates the surface properties, lighting and
shadows, and movement and shape of objects and saves a sequence of images.

f) The Name Selection Field - this input window on the Status line to enter object names to
make selections.

g) The Channel Box/Layer Editor

The Channel Box is the primary, fastest, and most streamlined tool for editing object attributes. It
allows to quickly change attribute values, set keys on keyable attributes, lock or unlock attributes,
and create expressions on attributes.
Channel box is different from Attribute editor
It displays only the keyable and nonkeyable displayed attributes for the selected object. This lets
you easily access nonkeyable channels from the Channel Box without running the risk of
accidentally keying them.
• It is possible to make a channel keyable or nonkeyable from the Channel Box or the
Channel Control Editor.
• Change multiple attribute values of multiple objects
• Helps to control an object's construction history.

When you select a geometric object, the Channel Box displays these sections

If the workspace is displaying attributes of an object component, the Channel Box displays only
one section for shape attributes that pertain to the component.

The Time Slider controls the playback range, keys, and breakdowns within the playback range.
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SYuaAMHzY_8 )
The Range Slider, located below the Time Slider, controls the playback range reflected in the
Time Slider.

A. Animation Start Time B. Playback Start Time C. Range Slider Bar D. Playback End
Time E. Animation End Time F. Time Slider Bookmark icon G. Character Set menu H. Animation Layer
menu

Selection
Selection is the process of choosing a set of objects to be manipulated. This is important because
most of the tools in Maya operate on the selected set of objects. In general, selection is done using
the Select Tool which should be active by default.

Group Selection : It selects a group of objects. Left click and drag the mouse while holding down
the mouse button. This will create a box, which will select every object contained within once the
mouse button is released.

Selecting the exact set of objects, you want using simple or group selection can be difficult or
impossible depending on the layout of your scene.

Outliner: Outliner is a useful tool for selecting objects when selecting objects using camera view
is not possible. The Outliner shows a logical organization of the scene, as opposed to the camera's
literal view. To access the Outliner, click the view button below Four View (See red arrow below)

or go to Window → Outliner.

3D Manipulators
Interacting with the manipulator allows you change an object. There are three basic actions for
manipulating objects. These are Move, Rotate, and Scale. The respective tools for these actions
can be found on the toolbar. The Move Tool will move the object in the plane parallel to the
camera's image plane and passing through the object's initial position. The Rotate Tool will rotate
the object. The Scale Tool will simply scale in all directions at once. The w key will activate the
Move Tool, the e key will activate the Rotate Tool, and the r key will activate the Scale Tool. To
cancel out of a tool, hit q, which will bring you back to the default Select Tool. each of the
manipulators has a red, green, blue, and yellow element. The first three correspond to the X, Y,
and Z axes. The yellow represents the currently selected axis. If you have not selected anything
yet, then the manipulator operates on all axes at once, which is represented by the middle element
(Or outer circle in the case of Rotate).

Pivot manipulator: Rotate or scale depend on the position of the pivot. A pivot is where the
manipulator appears. To change the location of the pivot hit the Insert key. This will bring up a
new type of manipulator that appears like the Move manipulator. This pivot manipulator acts just
like the Move manipulator, except instead of moving the object, it moves the pivot. Once you have
moved the pivot where you want it, hit Insert again to finalize the movement. Hold the d key to
activate the pivot manipulator. Releasing the key will then finalize the movement as before.
Modify → Center Pivot with an object selected to set the pivot to the object's "center of mass".

Snapping is an operation that applies only to the Move tool. In general, when you move an object,
it moves continuously through the space. Sometimes it is useful to force or "snap" the pivot of the
object to specific places.

Grid snapping is done by holding the x key and will snap the object's pivot to the grid displayed
in the camera view. Curve snapping is done by holding the c key and will snap the object's pivot
to curves and edges. Vertex snapping is done by holding the v key and will snap the object's pivot
to vertices.

Hypershade Window:

Hypershade

A window where you can create, edit, and connect rendering nodes, such as textures, materials,
lights, rendering utilities, and special effects.

Hypershade displays each node as an icon (or swatch) representing the characteristics of the node.
When you edit node attributes or assign textures or special effects, the swatch updates to visually
reflect these changes.

To open the Hypershade window, use Window > Rendering Editors > Hypershade.

In other software packages, known as material editor, VOP editor (shading context), or surface
editor.

Layer Editor
The Layer Editor contains tabs that let you display two
different editors for working with different types of
layers.
 Display Layers are used to organize and manage objects in a
scene, such as for setting their visibility and selectability.
Animation Layers are used to blend, lock, or mute multiple
levels of animation.

Command Line
The command line lets you type single MEL or Python commands without having to open the Script
editor.

Type MEL or Python commands in the command line. The result appears in the colored box to the
right of the command line. You can drag the divider between the input and result boxes to resize
them. When the cursor is in the command line, use the Up and Down Arrow keys to scroll through
the command history.

The Help Line, along the bottom left of the Maya user interface, provides a short description of
tools and menu items as you scroll over them. This bar also prompts you with the steps required
to complete a certain tool workflow.
Basic tools for modelling in 3D software

To open the Modeling Toolkit, click in the Status line.

selection constraints - The selection constraints options use
propagation, expanding your selection to other components on the
same mesh.
• Off
Disables selection constraints.
• Angle
When on, moving your cursor over a mesh automatically
highlights contiguous components that fall within the specified
angle tolerance. Clicking a highlighted area selects it.
Marquee selecting when the Angle selection constraint is on
selects all of the components inside the marquee and expands the
selection to all components outside of the marquee that are within
the specified angle tolerance.
• Border
When on, moving your cursor over a mesh automatically highlights existing borders. Clicking a
highlighted border selects it.
If you make a marquee selection and it contains border components, only border components
inside and outside the marquee are selected.
• Edge Loop
When on, moving cursor over a mesh automatically highlights edge loops. Clicking a highlighted
edge loop selects it.
• Edge Ring
When on, moving your cursor over a mesh automatically highlights edge rings. Clicking a
highlighted edge ring selects it.
Marquee selecting when the Edge Ring selection constraint is on selects the edges inside the
marquee and any associated edge rings. You can also add and remove edge rings while making a
marquee selection. See Add and remove components from a selection.
The Edge Ring selection constraint is only available when Edge selection mode is on.
• Shell
When on, moving your cursor over a mesh automatically highlights existing shells. Clicking a
highlighted shell selects it. This option is useful for objects made from a series of individual
pieces, like meshes that are created using Mesh > Combine.
• UV Edge Loop
When on, moving your cursor over a mesh automatically highlights edge loops ending at UV
texture borders.
Transform Constraints - The transform constraints in the Modeling Toolkit let you slide
components along the edges or surface of the active mesh.
Off
(Default) Disables transform constraints. Enables to use the transform tools to translate, rotate, or
scale your components without a constraint.
Edge Slide
Allows to slide the selected components along the edges of the active object. You can also hold
Ctrl + Shift to activate this constraint when moving components in Component Mode.
Surface Slide
Allows slide the selected components on the active object's surface.
The following commands and tools in the Modeling Toolkit window let you create and edit
polygons.
Mesh
The following commands are also available in the Mesh menu.
Combine
Combines the selected meshes into a single polygon mesh. Many polygon editing operations can
only be performed between two separate mesh shells once they have been combined into the
same mesh.
Separate
Separates disconnected shells in a mesh into separate meshes. It is possible to separate all of the
shells at once, or can specify the shells need to separated by first selecting some faces on the
shells you want separated.
Smooth
Smooths the selected polygon mesh by adding divisions to the polygons on the mesh.
Boolean
Performs a boolean Union, combining the volume of the
selected meshes . The original two objects are preserved
minus the intersection.
Boolean operations rely on the intersection, the shared
volume of the two meshes, to determine the boolean result.
Union = faces of both meshes - faces of the intersection
Difference = faces of the first selected mesh - faces of the
intersection + faces of the second selected mesh that were
part of the intersection

Components
The following commands are also available in the Edit Mesh menu.
Extrude
Allows to pull new polygons out from existing faces, edges, or vertices.
Bevel
It chamfers vertices or round the edges of a polygon mesh.
A Bevel expands each selected vertex and edge into a new
face.

A chamfer is a transitional edge between two faces of an object. Sometimes defined as

a form of bevel, it is often created at a 45° angle between two adjoining right-angled
faces.

Bridge
It creates a bridge (additional faces) between two groups of faces or edges on an existing
polygon mesh.
Add Divisions
Splits selected polygon components (edges or faces) into smaller components. Add Divisions is
useful when you need to add detail to an existing polygon mesh in either a global or localized
manner. Polygon faces can be divided into three-sided (triangles) or four-sided (quadrangles)
faces. Edges can be subdivided so that the number of
sides on a face is increased.
Tools
The following tools are also available in the Mesh Tools menu.
a) Multi-Cut
It cut, slice, and insert edge loops. You can extract or delete edges
along a cut, insert edge loops and cuts with edge flow and
subdivisions, and edit in Smooth Mesh Preview mode.
b) Target Weld
It merges vertices or edges to create a shared vertex or edge
between them. Components can only be merged if they
belong to the same mesh

c) Connect
The Connect Tool lets you connect polygon
components by inserting an edge between them.
Vertices are connected directly to connecting edges,
while edges are connected at their midpoint.
Inserting edges can add detail to a simple mesh.

d) Quad Draw
It allows to model in a natural and organic using a
streamlined, one-tool workflow for retopologizing
meshes. The manual retopology process lets you
create clean meshes while preserving the shape of
your reference surface.
Unit 3
Surfacing the model
In the real world, two main factors determine the appearance of a surface: what an object is made
of, and light. When light hits the object, some of the light is absorbed and some of it is reflected.
The smoother the object, the shinier it is; the rougher the object, the more matte it is.
In Maya, the appearance of a surface is defined by how it’s shaded. Surface shading is a
combination of the basic material of an object and any textures that are applied to it.
In Maya, materials (also called shaders) define an object’s substance. Some of the most basic
attributes of materials include colour, transparency, and shine.
Factors beyond basic colour, transparency, and shine that determine the appearance of an object’s
surface (such as more complex colour, transparency, shine, surface relief, reflection, or
atmosphere) are defined by textures.
The Hypershade windows
The Hypershade is the central working area of Maya rendering, to build shading networks by
creating, editing, and connecting rendering nodes, such as textures, materials, lights, rendering
utilities, and special effects. The Hyper shade is specifically designed for creating shading
networks. For workflows such as rigging, the Node Editor is the preferred editor.
Features of Hypershade window
• Build shader in a node editing interface, where nodes are created in a custom view
optimized for look development.
• There will be a node to preview its output, and to identify problems while working
through a complex shading network.
• It creates a custom layout that covers look development workflow by docking, undocking
and rearranging panels.
• Edit materials using the Property Editor where only commonly used attributes are shown.
• Preview textures, bump maps, and shaders in the Material Viewer.
• Work with multiple shader graphs simultaneously by using tabs in the work area.
• Avoid waiting for swatches to render by pausing materials and textures swatch
generation.
Basic Shader types
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ugKj2aYiFpI&list=PL8hZ6hQCGHMVRK2wazJFZs
Ty0xNz8xcQt )
I. Lambert
Lambert is a flat material type that yields a smooth look without specular highlights. It calculates
without taking into account surface or reflectivity, which gives a matte, chalk-like appearance.
Lambert material is ideal for surfaces that don't have highlights: pottery, chalk, matte paint, and so
forth. By default, any newly created object is assigned the Lambert shader. If the object should
have highlights, however, it's a good idea to assign a shader such as Phong or Blinn. It helps to see
highlights during the modeling stage to see whether they are breaking across an object (indicating
a seam in the surface).
 II. Phong
The Phong material takes into account specular reflectivity to create highlights across an object
surface. The algorithm can be customized for surfaces such as plastic, porcelain, and glazed
ceramic.
III. Phong E : Is a material (shader) that is a simpler version of the Phong material. The specular
highlights on Phong E surfaces are softer than those on Phong surfaces, and Phong E
surfaces render faster.
IV. Cook-Torrance
A common problem with the Phong and Blinn-Phong models is that they look too artificial.
Whilst they are general purpose in design a number of simplifications means that a lot of the
subtleties of materials cannot be represented. The model discussed throughout this chapter was
published by Robert Cook and Kenneth Torrance in 1982 [Cook&Torrance82] – a few years after
James Blinn published his modifications to Phong’s original model.
The Cook-Torrance lighting model is a general model for rough surfaces and is targeted at metals
and plastics – although it is still possible to represent many other materials. The model is still
split into two distinct terms – diffuse and specular – as was true of the previous model (and for
those discussed in later chapters); the key difference is the computation of the specular term.
Phong’s model uses simple mathematical principles of reflection to determine how much, if any,
of a specular highlight is visible. Whilst the colour of this highlight can be varied as a per-pixel
input into the equation it is a constant colour from all angles regardless of the viewing direction.
The Cook-Torrance model details a more complex and accurate way of computing the colour of
the specular term – an approach based more on physics than pure mathematics.
V. Blinn : It is a material (shader) that is particularly effective at simulating metallic surfaces
(for example, brass or aluminum) which typically have soft specular highlights.

Texture maps:
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rKNhdnJVYps&list=PL8hZ6hQCGHMX7JjZTmz5D
ke-NFfBvL8Wu )
To apply a texture to an object, you map the texture to an attribute on the object's material. The
attribute to which the texture is connected determines how the texture is used and how it affects
the results.
Commonly used texture maps:
Colour maps: By mapping a texture to the Colour
attribute of an object’s material, creates a colour map
which describes the colour of the object.
Bump maps: By mapping a texture to the Bump
attribute of an object’s material, creates a bump map which enables to add the illusion of surface
bump detail to a surface.
Because bump maps are not true surface relief, they:
• cannot cast or receive shadows
• cannot be seen if you silhouette the mapped object
• take less time to render than displacement maps
Specular maps: By mapping a texture to the Specular attribute of an object’s material, creates a
specular map which describes how shine appears on objects (by controlling highlight).
Transparency maps: By mapping a texture to the Transparency attribute of an object’s material,
creates a transparency map which make parts of an object opaque, semi-transparent, or entirely
transparent.
Reflection maps: By mapping a texture to the Reflected Colour attribute of an object’s material,
creates a reflection map which describes how an object reflects its surroundings.
Displacement maps: Displacement maps add true dimension to a surface
at render time, a process which may reduce or eliminate the need to
create complex models. With Displacement maps, depressions and
elevations become part of the geometry of the object, changing the
topology, unlike Bump maps that only create the illusion of surface relief.
Normal maps: Normal mapping is a technique in which you use a high-
resolution mesh to generate a map for a low-resolution mesh. High resolution meshes are made
of more complicated geometry and can be very difficult in an environment where resources are at
a premium (for example, in a large scene with other high poly
objects, or on a system with limited processing power). As a result,
performance can suffer greatly. Normal mapping is commonly used
in these situations to capture the detail of a high-resolution mesh with
the geometry of a low-resolution model. A normal map differs from a
texture map in that it produces a multi-channel image based on the
normal of the high resolution (source) mesh. This information is used
to light the mapped details on a low resolution (target) mesh
convincingly, even though the surface itself is relatively flat.
Unit 4

The process of texturing involves using an image to apply various surface attributes to a model
such as color or shininess.
UVs (pronounced U-VEEZ) are two-dimensional texture coordinates that reside with the vertex
component information for polygonal and subdivision surface meshes. UVs exist to define a two-
dimensional texture coordinate system, called UV texture space. UV texture space uses the letters
U and V to indicate the axes in 2D. UV texture space facilitates the placement of image texture
maps on a 3D surface.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rKNhdnJVYps&list=PL8hZ6hQCGHMX7JjZTmz5Dke-
NFfBvL8Wu

Texture mapping polygon and subdivision surfaces in Maya differs from how you texture NURBS
surfaces.

For NURBS surface types, each surface mesh is defined as a four-sided square or rectangular patch
that has specific U and V directions. For NURBS surface types the texture coordinates (UVs) that
control the placement of a texture exist by default and are implicitly connected to the control
vertices. When the control vertices get repositioned, so do the positions of the corresponding UV
texture coordinates. Any textures mapped to the surface are also affected as a result. That is,
moving a CV will affect how the texture map appears on the NURBS surface.

For polygon and subdivision surface types, the shape of surface meshes is usually much more
irregular compared to NURBS surface types. Texture coordinates (UVs) associated with these
surface types do not always exist by default, and so must be explicitly created, and subsequently
modified in most cases, so that the surface mesh can accommodate a texture map.

UV mapping
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t5Co6SuzoQw

A UV map is the flat representation of the

surface of a 3D model used to easily wrap
textures. Unwrapping UV is a process of
laying out the polygon object's UV
components into its 2D space counterpart as
preparation for the texturing process.
The process of creating explicit UVs for
a surface mesh is called UV mapping.
UV mapping is a process whereby you
create, edit, and otherwise arrange the
UVs (that appear as a flattened, two-
dimensional representation of the surface
mesh, over top of the two-dimensional
image to be used as a texture as it appears
in the UV Texture Editor..

A UV is a coordinate in the 2D image space that is associated with a vertex in 3D. The process of
providing an explicit mapping between 2D and 3D dimensions is called the UV map.

UV map of an object by selecting it and going to Window → UV Texture Editor

In Maya, UV texture coordinates (UVs) can be created for polygon surface meshes using the
following UV mapping techniques:

• Automatic UV mapping - Automatic mapping creates UVs for a polygon mesh by

attempting to find the best UV placement by simultaneously projecting from multiple
planes. This method of UV mapping is useful on more complex shapes where the basic
planar, cylindrical, or spherical projections do not produce UVs that are useful, especially
on components that project outwards or are hollow in nature. To facilitate more accurate
UV projections a projection manipulator is displayed when using the Automatic Mapping
feature. The projection manipulator lets you correlate the multiple planar UV projections
that occur in the scene view with how the resulting UVs appear in the UV Texture Editor.

To map UVs for a polygon object using Automatic Mapping

• Select a polygon object in the scene view that you want to project UVs texture coordinates.
• Select Edit UVs > UV Texture Editor to display the UV Texture Editor or select the
Persp/UV Texture Editor layout shortcut from the Toolbar to view the perspective view and
the UV Texture Editor side by side.
• When you project the UVs they will appear in the UV Texture Editor’s 2D view.

• From the Polygons menu set, select Create UVs > Automatic Mapping > .
• The Polygon Automatic Mapping Options window appears.
4. Set the following options depending on your requirements:
• Set the Planes setting to the desired number of projections you require and click Project.
(The more planes you use, the less distortion in the UV layout but the more shells are
created).
The automatic mapping projection manipulator appears centered about the object in the scene view
with blue projection planes that correspond to the Planes setting you specified. That is, if the Planes
option was set to 4, then 4 planes appear on the manipulator.

To move, rotate, or scale the projection manipulator do the following:

• To move the projection manipulator in X, Y, Z, drag any of the three colored arrow handles
while moving your mouse.
• To rotate the projection manipulator, click the light blue circular rotate handle to make the
X, Y, Z rotate handles appear. Dragging any of the three circles rotates the manipulator
about X, Y, or Z.
• To non-proportionally scale the projection manipulator, drag any of the three colored box
handles on the manipulator.
• To uniformly scale the projection manipulator, click any of the three box handles on the tip
of the manipulator so a 3D box appears. Drag the box to scale the manipulator uniformly.

• Planar UV mapping: Planar mapping projects

UVs onto a mesh through a plane. This projection
is best for objects that are relatively flat, or at least
are completely visible from one camera angle.
Planar mapping typically gives overlapping UV shells. The
UV shells may be perfectly superimposed and look like a
single UV shell. You should use Edit UVs > Layout after
mapping to separate overlapping UVs.

The Best Plane Texturing Tool assigns UVs to the faces you
select based on a plane computed from vertices you specify.

• Cylindrical UV mapping
Cylindrical mapping creates UVs for an object based on a cylindrical
projection shape that gets wrapped around the mesh. This projection
is best for shapes which can be completely enclosed and visible
within a cylinder, without projecting or hollow parts.

• Select the faces you want to project UVs onto.

• Select Create UVs > Cylindrical Mapping.
• Use the manipulator to change the position and size of the
projection shape.
• Use the UV Texture Editor to view and edit the resulting
UVs.
 • Spherical UV mapping - Spherical mapping create UVs using a
projection that is based on a spherical shape wrapped around the
mesh. This projection is best for shapes which can be completely
enclosed and visible within a sphere, without projecting or hollow
parts.

To create UVs using a spherical mapping technique

• Select the faces you want to project UVs onto.

• Select Create UVs > Spherical Mapping.
• Use the manipulator to change the position and size of the projection shape.
• Use the UV Texture Editor to view and edit the resulting UVs.

The characteristics of light sources

Consider the following characteristics of a light source when planning your scenes.

• Softness or hardness
Hard light produces sharp shadow lines. Hard light sources typically include light bulbs,
bright sun, and flash lights.

Soft light is diffused and produces soft edges. Soft light sources typically include light
shining through fabric (like drapes), reflected light, or sunlight diffused through clouds.

• Color
Color and temperature are closely related. A red spot light shining on a blue object may
make it look black. Some common objects, like street lamps may be tinted yellow.

• Temperature
Soft orange light feels warmer than blue-green light.

• Intensity
The intensity of a light source is how bright it is. For example, bright high-noon sunlight
usually is more intense than a small electronic LED. The intensity with which a light
illuminates a subject appears to lessen (or decay) as the subject moves farther away from
the light.

• Movement
Lighthouse lights rotate. Flashlights might swing from a rope.

The purpose of light sources

Character or object illumination typically includes the following lights:

• A key light is the main light that illuminates the character or object. For outdoor scenes in
the real world, the key light is generally the sun.
• A secondary light, often called a fill light because it fills in dark areas.
• Backlights, if necessary, to distinguish the character or object from the background.

To create light
• Create > Lights menu, select the type of light you want to create.
• By default, the light is added to the center of a scene.
• Each type of light is represented by a different icon in the viewport. A light’s default options
determine how the light affects the scene and whether or not it casts shadows.

Types of light in Maya

A point light simulates rays shining out from one infinitely small point in space. Point lights emit
light uniformly in all directions, like a bare light bulb or glowing star in space. The illumination
and shadows aim out away from the light in all directions, as shown in the following figure:
Spot lights are a basic staple of most lighting designs in computer graphics. Spot lights are a
popular choice of many artists because they can be controlled conveniently to aim light at a specific
target, as shown in the following figure:

A spot light can aim light at a specific target.

A spot light simulates light radiating from a point, much like a point light. A spot light, however,
limits the illumination to light within a specified cone or beam of light only. The rotation of a spot

light can determine where the beam is aimed. You can also link a "target" to the light so that the
light is always oriented toward the position of the target. You can also group a spot light with a 3D
object, such as a model flashlight or car headlight assembly, so that the beam of light will be aimed
as if the light were radiating from the object.

Spot lights are staples of visual effects in your renderings. A spot light has extra controls and
options not found on other types of lights. Options such as projecting an image map from a light,
or making a beam of light visible as if shining through fog, are often best controlled with the beam
of a spot light.
Directional Lights

A directional light sets a single vector for all its illumination and hits every object from the same
angle, no matter where the object is located. All the shadows cast by a directional light are cast in
the same direction and are orthogonal projections of each object's shape.

It does not matter where a directional light is located relative to the objects being lit. The only
thing that matters in placing a directional light is which way it is pointed. The angle used by a
directional light is controlled by the rotation manipulator.

Because a directional light is not as easy to aim or confine to a local area as a point
light or spot light, it is most useful as a part of your secondary or fill lighting, and not
as the main light on a subject. A set of directional lights from different angles can be
used together to provide fill light, even if the individual lights from each angle are
very dim. Directional lights can fill very large areas with illumination that appears to be ambient
or atmospheric, such as filling in daylight from the sky, providing a quick, effective alternative to
global ambience.

Area Lights

In Maya, area lights are two-dimensional rectangular light sources. Use area lights to simulate
the rectangular reflections of windows on surfaces. Compared to other light sources, area lights
can take longer to render, but they can produce higher quality light and shadows. Area lights are
particularly good for high-quality still images, but less advantageous for longer animations
where rendering speed is crucial.

Volume Lights
A major advantage of using a volume light is that you have a visual representation of the extent
of the light (the space within which it is bound). The falloff of light in the volume can be
represented by the color ramp (gradient) attribute in Maya, which prevents the need for various
decay parameters, and also provides additional control. The color gradient is also useful for
volume fog.

Outward behaves like a point light and Downward acts like a directional light. Inward reverses
the light direction for shading, giving the appearance of inward illumination. When
using shadows with Inward light direction you may get unexpected results. In all
cases the light shape dictates the extent of the light.
Use a volume light to illuminate within a given space. Volume lights provide control
of light direction, color and decay within a bounded volume.

Ambient Lights

In real life, ambient light is the widely distributed, "indirect" light that has bounced off
(or been transmitted through) objects in your scene. Ambient light illuminates even the
areas not directly lit by another light source. Shadowed areas of a real room are
sometimes made visible only by the ambient light. Real-life ambient light is tinted as it
bounces around the environment and adds different colors to different sides of objects, based on
colors it has picked up from the environment. Real ambient light varies in intensity in different
parts of the environment and adds different tones to objects from different angles.

However, in Maya, the ambient light just adds the same color and intensity to all sides of an
object, without regard for its position.

In general, an ambient light will rob your scene of richness and variety, especially in areas not
illuminated by other light sources. To get the most control over your lighting, and the best quality
of shading, do not use any ambient lights!

Shadow in Maya
Shadows work with lights to add realism to your scenes. Shadows help to define the location of
objects, whether they rest on the ground or hover in space, for example. Shadows can be soft-
edged or hard-edged, and their presence (or
absence) can be used to add balance and contrast to
objects in your scene.

To create a shadow, a scene must contain a shadow-

casting light, a shadow-casting surface, and a
shadow-catching surface. The light must illuminate
both the shadow-casting surface and the shadow-
catching surface.

In Maya, an individual light source can produce no

shadows (default), depth map shadows or raytraced
shadows. You can combine depth map shadow
casting lights and raytraced shadow casting lights in a scene.

Depth map shadows produce very good results in almost all situations, with marginal increase to
rendering time.

A depth map represents the distance from a specific light to the surfaces the light illuminates. A
depth map is a data file that contains the depth data rendered from a light’s point of view. Each
pixel in the depth map represents the distance from the light to the nearest shadow casting
surface in a specific direction.

To create a depth map shadow

• Select the light for which you want to produce a shadow.

• In the Shadows section of the light’s Attribute Editor, turn on Use Depth Map Shadows.
• Select the surface on which you want to cast a shadow.
• In the Render Stats section of the surface’s Attribute Editor, turn on Casts Shadows

Raytraced shadows can produce soft and transparent shadows but can be very time consuming.

Raytracing is a type of shadow rendering where the path of individual light rays are calculated
from their source (the light) to their destination (the camera).

Use raytraced shadows only to produce more physically accurate shadows (like those in the real
world). Common purposes include:

• (for area lights only) where shadows blur and become lighter as they increase in distance
from the object
• to produce shadows from transparent colored surfaces
• to produce soft-edged shadows (though depth maps can also produce good results)
To create a raytraced shadow

• Select the light for which you want to produce a shadow.

• In the Raytrace Shadow Attributes section of the light’s Attribute Editor, turn on Use Ray
Trace Shadows.
• Select the surface on which you want to cast a shadow.
• In the Render Stats section of the surface’s Attribute Editor, turn on Casts Shadows.
• In the Raytracing Quality section of the Render Settings window (Windows > Rendering
Editors > Render Settings), turn on Raytracing.
• Render.

Rendering

Rendering is the final stage in the 3D computer graphics production process.

The key to rendering is finding a balance between the visual complexity required and the rendering
speed that determines how many frames can be rendered in a given period of time.

Rendering involves a large number of complex calculations which can keep your computer busy
for a long time. Rendering pulls data together from every sub-system within Maya and interprets
its own data relevant to tessellation, texture mapping, shading, clipping, and lighting.

Producing rendered images always involves making choices that affect the quality (anti-aliasing
and sampling) of the images, the speed with which the images are rendered, or both.

The highest quality images typically take the most time to render. The key to working efficiently
is to produce good-enough quality images in as little time as possible in order to meet production
deadlines. In other words, choose only the most economical values for options that let you produce
images of acceptable quality for your particular project.
Render Setup

A method of rendering launched in a separate session of Maya, using a saved copy of a scene file.
Batch renders allow you to continue working on a scene while it is being rendered, launch renders
remotely, and render scenes faster than from within the Maya user interface.
To batch render from within Maya
• Click Render > Batch Renderto batch render.
• To cancel the render, click Render > Cancel Batch Render
• To show the image being rendered, click Render > Show Batch Render.
To render a frame from within Maya
 • From the main Maya window, click the Render Current Frame button, or select Render >
Render Current Frame.
• Maya renders the scene from the current scene and displays the image as it renders in
Render View.

To cancel an in-progress render, press Esc.

To re-render a frame from within Maya

• From the main Maya window, select Render > Redo Previous Render.
• Maya renders the scene from the previous camera and displays the image as it renders in
the Render View window.

• To cancel the render

• Press Esc.

Occlusion:
One of the problems with the basic Maya Software Renderer is that it sometimes ignores the way
that light behaves in the real world. As such, objects like the one below can tend to look flat and
artificial. One way to increase the realism of a shot is to add an occlusion pass. What occlusion
does is calculate the areas where it is unlikely that light would reach and makes them darker.

Ambient occlusion refers to the blocking of

indirect or diffuse light on an object. It refers to
the darker areas of the object, typically creases, cracks and crevices. Ambient occlusion is caused
by indirect light's inability to bounce around and illuminate areas that are blocked by a nearby
object that absorbs the light rays. These subtle variations in lighting are visual clues for our eyes
to detect surface details and distinctions that would otherwise be washed out and unnoticeable.
Ambient occlusion adds realism to your scene by adding shadows in crevices, nooks and crannies,
and so on. For each surface point, it calculates how much light is blocked by other geometry.