3d Animation (Autodesk Maya) Level 1

AUTODESK (3D MAYA) LEVEL 1 1
TABLE OF CONTENT
CHAPTER PAGE NO
Chapter 1: Overview 2
1.1 About 3D Animation 2
1.2 Terminology 2
1.3 System Requirements 4
Chapter 2: Maya Basic 5

2.1 3D Coordinates 5
2.2 User Interface 6
2.3 Viewing and Navigation 11
2.4 Selection 13
Chapter 3: Modeling 17
3.1 Modeling 17
3.2 Polygonal Modeling 17
3.3 Modify with Transform Tool 18
3.4 Modify with Modeling Tool 22
Chapter 4: Shading and Texturing 32

4.1 Shading 32
4.2 Texturing 39
4.3 Image Texture 43
- CHAPTER 1 -
OVERVIEW
Objectives
a. To understand what is 3D animation.
b. To familiarized with the terminology used in 3D animation software.
c. System requirement of Autodesk 3D Maya.
1.1 About 3D Animation

3D animation mainly refers to animation that is created in a three dimensional space. The
space is made up from width (X), height (Y) and depth (Z). This kind of animation is entirely
generated by using computer technology. It is usually produced by animating a 3D model in
the three dimensional space by using the concept of keyframes. Other than the model, the
camera and lighting can be animated as well. After a scene is done (an animation is
animated scene by scene), the scene will need to be rendered into images or video; and
combined with audio and effects to create a full animation in post-production stage.
In this manual, the 3D animation software used is 3D Maya by Autodesk. Autodesk 3D Maya is
the leading 3D computer software in the game, visual effects, commercial and broadcast
industries. It is a complete and professional 3D software that allows the users to do a variety of
things, no matter the most basic or the advanced. It is one of the best, most robust and most
versatile 3D software available, which is why many top animation featured film production
company uses the software.
1.2 Terminology
Some of the terminologies involved in 3D computer software and animation are as following:
 3D Modeling refers to the process of creating the three dimensional surface of any living
or inanimate object by mathematical approach with specialized software. The creation is
called a 3D model.
Figure 1.1 Example of 3D model

 Shading refers to the process of computing the surface appearance of a model.
Figure 1.2 Example of different types of shading
 Texture mapping refers to creating a surface texture that is highly detail and applying it on
a 3D model
Figure 1.3 Generic 3D model VS 3D model with texture mapping
 Rigging refers to the process of creating a skeleton for a 3D model so that one can move
it and proceed to animate it. The process can be simple or complicated depending on
the 3D model. Typically, an inorganic object would be easier to rig when compared to an
organic object. Without rigging, an object cannot move, hence cannot be animated. Like
a real skeleton, a rig is made up of joints and bones, each can be bend to change the
object into a desired pose.
Figure 1.4 An example of rigging an arm

 Rendering refers to the process of visualizing and imaging models and animation with
computer program into different standard formats such jpg and png for image and avi for
video. This visualization process can be very hardware demanding depending on the
settings.
 Lighting refers to the simulation of light in a 3D scene. It can be extremely accurate by

calculating and creating how actual light would interact with a certain surface. Different
types of light options are given to create photorealistic scene as different lights might be
needed for different environment and settings, for example exterior and interior settings.
 Animating refers to the process of changing the pose of an object in a 3D scene, keyframe
by keyframe, to create motion to it and hence creating the animation.
Figure 1.5 An example of animating a person running by using keyframes
1.3 System Requirements

In this manual, Autodesk 3D Maya 2017 is used and the minimum system requirements are as
following (can differ depending on software version):
 Operating system: 64 bit Microsoft Windows 7 and above or Macintosh OS X 10.10.5 and
above
 CPU: 64 bit Intel or AMD multi-core processor
 Graphics hardware: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 465 and above or AMD Radeon R9 Fury/X and
above
 RAM: 8GB and above; recommended 16 GB
 Disk space: 4GB free disk space
- CHAPTER 2 -
MAYA BASIC
Objectives
a. To familiarize with 3D coordination and user interface.
b. To learn about viewing and navigating in 3D scenes.
c. To learn about selecting object in different modes.
2.1 3D Coordinates
3D graphics involved the three dimensions namely the width, height and depth. It is
represented as axis X, Y and Z in 3D Maya. The center of the dimensions is the origin.
Figure 2.1 The axes are color coded – X (red), Y (green) and Z (blue)
The three dimensional world uses 3D coordinates similar to how we use it in Mathematics. It
uses 3D coordinates to symbolize location of a model. Origin has the coordinates of (0,0,0).
The three numbers represent (from right to left) the location of a model on X, Y and Z. To move
a model, we would say moving the model how many units to the left or right, up or down and
higher or lower from the origin.
Figure 2.2 Moving a model from the origin (0,0,0) to coordinates (5,5,8)
For moving right, down and higher, positive numbers are used; and vice versa. For example,
(-5,-5,-8) would mean 5 units to the left, 5 units up and 8 units lower than the origin.
2.2 User Interface

Below is the brief summary of the Maya main interface.
Figure 2.3 Maya main interface (for the Maya Classic Workspace)
1. Menu sets offers different menu sets by categorizing the type of menus available.
Changing to different menu sets will change the content of the menu. It can be customize
if you wish to. For File, Edit, Create, Select, Modify, Display and Windows (A); they are
always available regardless of menu sets while the rest of the menu (B) changes according
to menu sets selected.
A B
Figure 2.4 Menu sets and menu
2. Menu contains the tools and commands needed for your work.
3. Workspace selector rearrange the panels for different workspace that serves different
purpose; such as workspace for modeling or workspace for animating.
4. Status line contains some of the commonly used commands or actions for easy access;
for example new, save, open, undo, redo and so on. The group of icons can be expanded
and collapsed by clicking on the vertical dividers.
Vertical divider
0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Figure 2.5 Use vertical dividers to expand or collapse icons group
5. Shelf contains some common tools or commands, divided into different tabs based on
category. The shelf can be customized to include some of your commonly used
commands and tools for your quick access. Click on the tabs to switch between different
categories of tools.
Tabs
Figure 2.6 Click on tabs to switch
6. Sidebar icons consists of (from left to right) Modeling Toolkit, HumanIK Window, Attribute
Editor, Tool Settings and Channel Box/Layer Editor.
 Clicking on the icons will open up the corresponding tools as tabs (C) at the panel (D)
below except for Tools Settings that appear as a floating window.
 Click on the icons or tabs; or scroll at the tabs to switch between different tools. Clicking
the tab of an opened tab will collapse the pane and vice versa.
 Clicking on the icons when the corresponding tabs are opened will close the tab.
 To change the order of the tabs, simply drag the tabs and rearrange them.
 Right click on the tabs for more options.
7. View panel is where you view your model in your scene. There are options for different
layout, such as the one panel, two panels, four panels and so on.
8. Tool box consists of tools that are frequently used, namely Select Tool, Lasso Tool, Paint
Selection Tool, Move Tool, Rotate Tool, and Scale Tool.
Select Tool
Lasso Tool
Paint Selection Tool
Move Tool
Rotate Tool
Scale Tool
Figure 2.7 Tool Box

9. Quick layout /Outliner buttons has several buttons that allows you to switch the layout of
the view panel; and the last button will open up the Outliner panel. Right click on the
buttons will let you have more layout options.
10. Time slider shows the timeline and keyframes of your model or animation.
11. Range slider allows you to set the range seen on Time slider and the total range of the
scene’s animation. Smaller range can be set if you wish to focus on a smaller portion of
the animation.
12. Playback controls allows you to preview your animation with controls such as play forward
or backward.
The use of shortcut keys or hotkeys will make working with 3D Maya a lot easier and faster. The
shortcut keys of any commands in this manual will be written in brackets after the commands.
For example, Selection Tool (Q).
Panels can be shown or hidden in the main window by going to Windows > UI Elements. Tick
and untick the boxes to hide a certain panel or simply select hide all or show all UI Elements.
Panels can be rearranged and docked at different part of the Maya main interface by simply
clicking on the dotted double lines at the edge of panel, hold and drag it to the desired
location and dock it when a blue line appears. You can also let the panel stay as a floating
window.
Double
dotted line
Blue line
(i) (ii)
Figure 2.8 (i) Double dotted line for dragging (ii) blue line for docking
Other than menu and panels, you can also use the Hotbox. Hotbox contains every commands
available on Maya interface. Simply hold on Spacebar to activate Hotbox and use cursor to
choose any desired commands.
Hotbox
Figure 2.9 Hold on Spacebar to activate Hotbox
Besides menu, panels and Hotbox, you can also use the marking menus. Marking menus is
activated when you right click on an object. Marking menus contain selection modes and
commands that are related to the object.
Marking menus
Figure 2.10 Right click on an object to activate marking menus

Other than the interface, there are some basic actions that are used often.
 Create a new scene: go to File > New scene (Ctrl + N).
 Open a scene: go to File > Open scene (Ctrl + O).
 Save a scene: go to File > Save scene (Ctrl + S).
Figure 2.11 New Scene, Open Scene and Save Scene
 Undo: go to Edit > Undo (Ctrl + Z).

 Redo: go to Edit > Redo (Ctrl + Y).
 Copy: go to Edit > Copy (Ctrl + C).
 Cut: go to Edit > Cut (Ctrl + X).
 Paste: go to Edit > Paste (Ctrl + V).
 Delete: go to Edit > Delete (Delete)
Figure 2.12 Undo, Redo, Cut, Copy, Paste and Delete
Note:
 When we delete edges with Edit > Delete, the vertices connected with the edges remains
undeleted. To delete completely, both edges and connected vertices, use Edit Mesh >
Delete Edge/Vertex (Ctrl + Delete).
2.3 Viewing and Navigation

Different Types of View Panel and Layout
In Maya, to view an object is to view it from a camera, like how you will view an object in real
life through a camera. There are a few default camera at different position: persp, side, left,
top, back, front, bottom and right. Each camera has its own view panel and can be viewed
at different axis. For example, a top-Y view panel means the top camera viewed from the Y-
axis, hence top-Y. All camera except for persp camera, will always stay at its respective angel.
For example, a top camera will always be viewing from on top; the only thing that can be
adjust is to view from which axis/sides. For persp camera it is a little different. Persp camera
shows the perspective view, so it is not bound to one position and can be move to other
position freely. Kind of like how in real life, you can hold a camera and film around an object.
By default when you open up Maya, the persp camera will be shown. To switch to a different
camera, you can do that via the Hotbox. Simply hold on the Spacebar to activate the Hotbox,
then right click and hold to open up the camera view menu. You will see the option for
perspective view, left view, top view, back view, front view, bottom view and right view. To
select a view, drag your cursor to the view while holding down the right click. To zoom in or
out in a camera view, simply scroll your middle mouse. Scroll up for zoom in and scroll down
for zoom out.
1. Hold Spacebar to
activate Hotbox
2. Right click for
camera view menu
3. Hold right click and
drag to select a view
Figure 2.13 To switch camera view
By default, Maya opened up with single view panel in perspective view. This layout can be
changed by using the icons at Quick Layout (below Tool Box). You can also right click at Quick
Layout for more layout options.
Quick Layout Persp View Panel
Figure 2.14 A four panels view
Notes:
 You can use Spacebar to toggle between single panel layout and four panels layout.
 In multi panels layout, you can select and enlarge a view panel by: put your cursor at the
selected view panel and press Spacebar.
 You can also customize the view panels in multi panels layout by: put your cursor at a view
panel, hold down Spacebar for Hotbox, right click for camera view menu and drag to
select a view while hold on right click.
Persp Camera
Persp Camera perhaps is the camera you will use the most. It allows you to view the object in
perspective view, where you can move the camera around freely to view and edit the object.
To navigate the persp camera:
 Zoom in or out: Use middle mouse. Scroll up to zoom in and scroll down to zoom out.
 Turn: Hold Alt key and left click to turn.
 Move: Hold Alt key and middle click to move.
View Cube
View cube is a navigation element that allows you to switch between different axis/sides of a
camera quickly. It appears at the upper right corner of your screen. Each camera has its own
view cube. If the view cube doesn’t show up on your screen, it could be because of:
1. It is turned off. To turn it on, go to menu and look for Display > Heads Up Display > View
Cube. Tick it to turn view cube on.
2. Wrong renderer. View cube will only appear when you are using Legacy Default Viewport
renderer or Legacy High Quality Viewport renderer. To change the renderer, go to the
menu on top of the view panel and look for Renderer > Legacy Default Viewport or
Legacy High Quality Viewport.
As each camera has its own view cube, the steps to turn on view cube has to be done
individually.
(i) (ii)
Figure 2.15 (i) View Cube at persp view panel (ii) View cube at front view panel
View cube is dice-like so it has 6 faces, 8 corners and 12 edges. Each of the face, corner and
edge can be click to move your camera. The home button on the top left corner is to switch
back to the default position of your camera. There are also arrows at the side of the view cube
that allows you to turn the view cube around.
2.4 Selection
Selection Mode
There are three selection mode in Maya: hierarchy, object and component. You can switch
between the different modes by using the icons at the status line.
Object mode
Hierarchy mode Component mode
Figure 2.16 Hierarchy, object and component selection mode
The use of selection mode is to limit the selection of other things so that you only select what
you want. For example, selecting only the component of the object with component mode.
You can also use the selection masks to further customize what you are selecting. Selection
masks change according to the selection mode chosen. Click on the icons of the selection
masks to switch on or off the masking. Blue indicates on while grey indicates off.
Selection masks
Figure 2.17 Selection masks
Object mode allows you to select the model as a whole. Component mode allows you to
select the components that make up the model. Some of the common components that
might get edited frequently are face, vertex and edge. As for hierarchy mode, it allows you
to select object according to node hierarchies.
(i) (ii) (iii)
Figure 2.18 (i) Face (ii) Edge (iii) Vertex
Note:
 The default selection mode is object mode.
 When an object won’t be selected, it might be because of the wrong selection mode or
selection masks. So make sure the selection mode and masks are correct before selecting.
How to select objects

To select any object, use the Selection Tool (Q) located at Tool Box. To select any object in
object mode, ensure that it is in object selection mode. Click on the object to select. To
deselect, simple click on any black space on the screen. To select multiple objects, hold down
on Shift key while selecting. To exclude any object from selections, hold down on Shift key
while clicking on the object. You can also select objects by simply drawing a rectangular
marquee around the object (object doesn’t have to be fully inside the marquee selection to
be selected).
Marquee selection
(i)
(ii)
Figure 2.19 (i) Select with marquee selection (ii) after selecting an object
To select any object in component mode, ensure that it is in component selection mode. Right
click on the object to active selection menu and choose the type of components that you
wish to select. For instance, select Edge to select only edges. If you wish to select more than
one component at a time, for example, face and edge, choose Multi.
Type of components
Figure 2.20 Select the type of components
After choosing the type of components, for example Edge, simply click on the component to
select it. To deselect, click on any blank space on the screen. To select multiple edges, hold
down Shift key while selecting. To exclude any edge from selections, hold down Shift key while
clicking on the edge. Marquee selection can also be used by drawing a rectangular marquee
around the edges.
Soft Selection
Other than the three standard selection mode Maya has, there is also soft selection mode. It
can be toggled by pressing (B) after selecting an object. Soft selection mode is useful when
comes to creating smooth object or when adding object with slopes or contours. It gives the
convenience of creating object easily without having to edit individual vertices manually.
- CHAPTER 3 -
MODELING
Objectives
a. To learn what is Polygonal Modeling.
b. To learn how to modify polygon model with transform tool.
c. To learn how to modify polygon model with modeling tool.
3.1 Modeling
There are four different types of modeling in Maya.
 Polygonal Modeling
 Non-Uniform Rational B-Splines (NURBS) Modeling
 Mapping UVs
 Sculpting
Polygonal modeling and NURBS modeling are commonly used. Polygonal modeling is needed
when the model is edgy or boxy while NURBS modeling is more for model that is curvy. In this
manual, we will use polygonal modeling to create our model.
3.2 Polygonal Modeling

Polygonal Modeling uses polygons that based on faces, edges and vertices to create a model.
Polygon is basically two-dimensional shapes that have straight sides, connected by points
(vertices) to create lines (edges), which are connected to create faces (faces). Vertices,
edges and faces are the basic components of a polygon.
Face
Edge
Vertex
Figure 3.1 Example of face, edge and vertex
Polygon Primitives
To create a polygon model, the easiest way is to do it through polygon primitives. Polygon
primitives are three-dimensional geometrical shapes such as spheres, cubes, pyramids,
cylinders, cones and so on. From the polygon primitives, you will further modify it to shape the
model you want.
Figure 3.2 Polygons tab at Shelf
To create any polygon primitives, go to the Polygons tab at the Shelf. Click on any of the
polygon primitive’s icon to insert the shapes onto the 3D scene. For example, click on the
sphere icon and a sphere will be inserted at the origin of the 3D scene.
Another way to insert any polygon primitives is by going to Create > Polygon Primitives and
click on any polygon primitives. At the back of each polygon primitives, there is a small box.
Clicking on the box will bring up an options window that allow you to further customize the
polygon primitives inserted. For example, at the Polygon Cube Options window, you can
change the size of the cube, the number of divisions etc.
(i) (ii)
Figure 3.3 (i) Insert polygon primitives (ii) Polygon Cube Options window
After inserting the polygon primitives, you can transform and modify the polygon with
transform tool and modeling tool to mold it into your model.
3.3 Modify with Transform Tool

Transform tool consists of Move Tool, Rotate Tool and Scale Tool, which will be used extensively
in creating a model. Move Tool is used to translate, Rotate Tool rotates object and Scale Tool
can resize object.
We can transform object as a whole in object mode or by components in component mode.

Transform in object mode will change the position and size of the object in 3D scene while
transform in component mode will modify the object.
Object Mode
Select the object in object mode first. Next, choose either Move Tool, Rotate Tool or Scale Tool
to transform your object.
Figure 3.4 Move Tool to translate (move)
When Move Tool is activated, three manipulator handles will appear in green, blue and red.
Click and drag any of the handle to move your object on the corresponding axis. For example,
click and drag the green handle to move your object on the Y axis (move up or down). There
are also additional small squares in green, blue and red as well. Those will allow you to
transform at two axes at once. For example, click and drag the blue square affects both X
and Y axis. Lastly, you will have a small light blue square in the center of your shape, which
when click and drag allowed you to move your object freely regardless of axis or direction.
Figure 3.5 Rotate Tool to rotate
When Rotate Tool is activated, there will be three manipulator circles around the object.
Similar to Move Tool, clicking and dragging on a particular circle will rotate the object on the
corresponding axis. For example, click and drag the green circle allow you to rotate your
object around Y axis. Click and drag the outmost light blue circle allowed you to rotate your
object freely regardless of axis or directions.
Figure 3.6 Scale Tool to scale (resize)
When Scale Tool is activated, three manipulator handles will appear in a similar fashion to
Move Tool. Click and drag on any of the handle to resize your object on the corresponding
axis. For example, click and drag the green handle allow you to resize on Y axis, which affect
the height of your object. There are also additional small squares that allowed you to control
two axes at once. For example, click and drag on the green square scales the shape on both
X (red) and Z (blue) axis. The light blue square in the center of the object allowed you to scale
your object freely regardless of axis and directions.
Note:
 When manipulator is selected, it changes to yellow color.
To transform with precise values, you can make use of the Channel Box at the panel on the
right.
Name of your 0
object. Can be Key in the values
renamed by to transform your
double clicking it objects precisely.
and key in the new
name.
Figure 3.7 Channel Box
When an object is selected, Channel Box will display channel fields for translate, rotate and
scale on axis X, Y and Z. To transform your object, key in the precise units at the channel fields.
For example, to move the object 5 units to the left, key in -5 at Translate X.
Change the Pivot Point

For any transformation, there is a pivot point where the transformation happens around. The
pivot point is usually at the center of the object but can be changed if needed too. Changing
the pivot point allowed more variety and ease in moving the object around. For example,
when you want to move the arm of a human model to up and down, it is easier to do it with
the pivot point at the end (elbow part) than at the center. To change the pivot point:
1. Select object with Select Tool.

2. Select either Move Tool, Rotate Tool or Scale Tool.
3. Activate custom pivot editing mode by pressing D.
Figure 3.8 Custom pivot editing mode
4. You can do one of the following:

 Move to change the position of the pivot point.
 Rotate to change the direction of the axes.
 Use the small squares to control two axes at once.
 Press on any faces of the object to align the pivot point to that face.
5. To exit custom pivot editing mode, press D again.
Component Mode
Select object in component mode. Right click and hold at the object for marking menus. Use
the marking menus to choose either face, edge, vertex or multi. Next, select the component
you wish to transform with Selection Tool. Then select any of the transform tool and transform
the component. By transforming components, you will be able to modify the polygon
primitives into the model you want.
Example:
1. Insert a cube into the 3D scene. Right click and hold at the cube for marking menus. Select
edge from the menus. Select any of the edge with Selection Tool.
2. Select Move Tool from Tool Box. Drag any of the handles to move the selected edge.
(i) (ii)
Figure 3.9 (i) Before move (ii) After move
The same can be done to edges and vertices. Multiple components can be selected at once
to be transformed together. Any unwanted component can be deleted by select and press
Delete. If there is a need for more faces, edges or vertices, they can be added through some
of the modeling tool. This is the basic of creating and modifying model, where it is the process
of creating and modifying various components into the model you want.
3.4 Modify with Modeling Tool

Most of the modeling tool can be found at the menu Mesh, Edit Mesh and Mesh Tools.
Boolean
Boolean can be found at menu Mesh. There is three commands under boolean: Union,
Difference and Intersection. These commands only works when two or more polygons are
selected. To use it, simply select all the polygons involved, then go to Mesh > Boolean and
choose any of the three commands. You can also click the box beside each command to
prompt the options window.
 Union: Combine two or more polygons together.

 Difference: Subtract one polygon with other polygons. The first selected polygon will be
cut by the subsequently selected polygons.
 Intersection: When used, only the intersected part of all the polygons selected remained
on the scene.
(i) (ii) (iii)
Figure 3.10 (i) Union (ii) Difference (iii) Intersection between a cone and a sphere
Combine and Separate

Both combine and separate can be found under Mesh > Combine or Mesh > Separate.
Combine and separate are used to group and ungroup different polygon models. Once
combined, all the grouped polygon models will be considered as one polygon models. To
undo this, simply use separate. To use them, simply select all the models you wish to
group/ungroup, and click on combine/separate.
Add Divisions
Add divisions can be found at Edit Mesh > Add Divisions. Add divisions is used to divide
selected face, edge or the whole object into smaller parts. To use it, first select a component.
For example, select a face and click on add divisions to divide it into smaller and more faces.
You can click on the box beside Add divisions for options window to specify Divisions level and
such.
(i) (ii)
Figure 3.11 (i) Select a face (ii) Divide to 4 faces with add subdivisions
Bevel
Bevel can be found at Edit Mesh > Bevel. Bevel can be used to round the edge of a polygon
model. To use it, simply select your object and click on bevel. You can click on the box beside
bevel for option window. Some of the important settings would be the width, segments and
depth. Each of which when set higher or lower would affect how rounded and smooth the
edges are going to be.
(i) (ii)
Figure 3.12 (i) Select object (ii) Edge is rounded with bevel
Bridge
Bridge can be found at Edit Mesh > Bridge. Bridge is used to connect pairs of border edges or
faces by constructing new faces between them. To use it, select the pairs of border edges or
faces and click bridge. You can click on the box beside bridge for more options such as the
number of divisions and such.
(i) (ii)
Figure 3.13 (i) Select faces (ii) Connected faces with bridge
Note:
 Bridge can only be applied to the same polygon model. To use it across different models,
you will need to combine them first before applying bridge.
Extrude (Ctrl + E)
Extrude can be found at Edit Mesh > Extrude and it will probably be the tool you used the most
while modeling. Extrude is used to add new polygon to the selected faces, edges and vertices
by extruding them. To use it, select a component, for example, a face, then click on extrude.
Manipulator handles that are similar to transform tool will appear. Use the handles like in
transform tool. The arrow handles are for translation, the square handles are for scaling and
the circles are for rotation. The light blue square in the center allowed you to move freely. You
can also click at the box beside extrude for more options. Example of using extrude:
1. Insert a cube onto the 3D scene. Select a face.

2. Use extrude. Click and drag the blue arrow handle and create a new polygon based on
the face selected.
(i) (ii) (iii)
Figure 3.14 (i) Select a face (ii) Select extrude (iii) Click and drag the blue arrow handle
3. A new polygon is created based on the face. We can further scale it to make it a different
shape. Click and drag the red square handle.
Figure 3.15 Scale the face of the new polygon
Note:
 Extruding component is similar to moving component, but the difference is that to move
is to move the selected component while to extrude is to create a new polygon on top of
the selected component. For example, if we move a face, it is still the original selected
face but if we were to extrude a face, we are creating a new polygon from the selected
face and the original selected face remained unaffected. The difference can be seen
from the present of edge loop. Edge loop means a loop of edges around the shape (for
a cube, it will be where four edges are connected into a loop around the cube).
Edge
loop
(i) (ii) (iii)
Figure 3.16 (i) Original cube (ii) After moving a face (no edge loop) (iii) After extruding a
face (with edge loop)
Wedge
Wedge can be found at Edit Mesh > Wedge. Wedge creates new polygons between a face(s)
and an edge(s). It is typically used to create arc. To use wedge, select a face(s) and an edge(s)
by using Multi at the marking menus, then click on wedge. You can click at the box beside
wedge for more option. Some of the important settings are the degree of the arc, the number
of divisions for the arc etc. Wedge can be applied to the same polygon model or between
different polygon models.
(i) (ii) (iii)
Figure 3.17 (i) Select a face and an edge (ii) Wedge with 2 divisions and 90 degree arc (iii)
Wedge with 10 divisions and 90 degree arc
Insert Edge Loop

Insert Edge Loop can be found at Mesh Tools > Insert Edge Loop. Insert edge loop allowed
you to insert edge loop. Edge loop refers to a loop of edges around your polygon model. To
use insert edge loops, click on insert edge loop, and then click on the edge where you want
to insert edge loop. You can also click and drag to decide the position of the edge loop. You
can click on the box beside insert edge loop for more options.
Edge
loop
Figure 3.18 Edge loop
Note:
 You can use multiple edge loops at the options window to insert multiple edge loops at
once. Set the number of edge loops you want at Number of edge loops and they will be
inserted at equal distance to each other. If you set 1 as the number of edge loops, one
edge loop is inserted at the midpoint of the edges.
 Double click on any of the edges to select the whole edge loop.
Smooth
Smooth can be found at Mesh > Smooth. It is used to smooth a polygon model. To use it, select
the object, and then click on smooth. You can click on the box beside smooth for more
options such as Divisions levels. To make sure the smooth command is smoothing the area you
wanted, you can insert edge loop before using smooth. For example, if we want to smooth
the corner of a cube:
1. Insert a cube. By using insert edge loop, insert one edge loop at each corner as show in
the following figure:
Figure 3.19 Edge loop at each corner to form a square box at the corners
2. Change to object mode. Click on smooth. The cube’s corner is rounded out. You can
adjust the Divisions levels to add more divisions. The number and position of edge loops
inserted would affect the smoothness.
Multi-Cut
Multi-Cut can be found at Mesh Tools > Multi-Cut. Multi-Cut is a tool for cutting the faces into
smaller faces. To use it, first select the object, then click on multi-cut. Next, click on any edge
or vertex as starting point, and click on the following points either on other edge, vertex or
face to create a line. Last, press Enter to close the line. The line created will cut the face into
smaller part. You can click on the box next to multi-cut for more option.
(i) (ii)
Figure 3.20 (i) Create line to cut the face (ii) After pressing Enter to close the line
Sculpt a Polygonal Model with Soft Selection

We can also use soft selection as a method to mold the polygon mode. To do that:
1. Select an object in component selection mode and select face from marking menus. Press
(B) to turn on soft selection. Once activated, you will see color gradient representing the
fall off area. The fall off area is the area that will be affected by any transformation apply.
Click on any face.
Figure 3.21 Fall off area
2. Select any transform tool (for example, Move Tool) and transform the face. The faces in
the fall off area will be transformed accordingly to create a smooth surface.
Figure 3.22 A smooth transformation with Soft selection
Note:
Fall off area can be adjusted by holding down B while middle click and drag. Drag down for
enlarging and up for shrinking the area.
Tutorial:
In this tutorial, we will create a simple model of a house.
1. Insert a cube as the starter shape. Select face from marking menus and select the top
face of the cube.
Figure 3.23 Select the top face of the cube
2. Click on extrude. Scale the new polygon smaller. Next, move the new polygon up to
create a roof.
(i) (ii)
Figure 3.24 (i) Scale the new polygon (ii) Move the new polygon up
3. Next, we will create the door. Select the face you want to build your door on. Use extrude
and scale the new polygon to the size you want as a door. Switch to edge at marking
menus and delete the extra edges.
(i) (ii)
Figure 3.25 (i) Scale the new polygon (ii) Delete the edges
4. Switch to face at marking menus and select and move the door to an appropriate position
with the Move Tool. Next, use extrude again to push the door along the Z-axis.
(i) (ii)
Figure 3.26 (i) Move the door (ii) Push the door along the Z-axis
5. Next, create windows at the right and left side of the cube like how you have created the
door.
6. You can also create other shapes of window other than square by using difference. For
example, to create a round window, first insert a cylinder, transform it appropriately and
move it to where you want to put your window.
Figure 3.27 Position the cylinder
7. Select both polygon models and use boolean difference. Remember to click on the house
first while selecting. Adjust the window accordingly. You can also delete the face of the
window to create open window.
(i) (ii)
Figure 3.28 (i) After difference (ii) Create open window by deleting face
Exercise:
1. Create a table model as in the following figure:
Figure 3.29 Table model
2. Create a chair model as the following figure:
Figure 3.30 Chair model

- Chapter 4 -
Shading and Texturing
Objectives
a. To learn about shading and texturing.
b. To learn how to apply surface material to create appearance of an object.
c. To learn how to map texture onto surface material.
4.1 Shading
While creating the appearance of a model in 3D scene, there are two main factors that come
into play.
 What the object is made of, meaning the material.
 The type of lights that hit the object, for example, direct light, spotlight etc.
An object made of smooth material would look shinny while object of rough material would
look matte. When light hits the object, some will be absorbed while others reflected. The
process of computing such appearance depending on the two factors is called shading. In
3D Maya, materials are also referred as shaders. Some of the basic attributes of materials
would be colors, transparency and shine. For other more complex attributes such as reflection,
we refers to them as textures.
Maya Materials
There are three types of material in 3D Maya: Surface material, Displacement material and
Volumetric material.
 Surface material is used to create the surface types of an object.
 Displacement material allows you to use image to specify surface relief of an object.
 Volumetric material is primarily uses to create physical appearance of space occupying
phenomena such as fog, smoke, dust etc.
In this manual, we will focus on surface material. There are a few surface materials we can use
in Maya. They share some of the surface material attributes while having surface materials
attributes that are specifically to their own. Some of the shared surface material attributes
would be:
 Type: The basic material type, such as Lambert, Phong, Blinn etc.
 Color: The material color
 Transparency: The level of transparency. When it is set to 0, the object is opaque; when it
is set to 1, the object is transparent.
 Ambient color: It blends with material’s color. When it is set to black, there is no effect on
the material’s color; when it is set to a lighter color, it will lighten the material’s color.
 Incandescence: This makes surface appears to be glowing. For example, to make lava,
use bright red incandescence for red glowing effect.
 Bump mapping: This makes surface appears to be rough or bumpy.
 Diffuse: This makes the surface to absorb or reflect light. The more diffused it is, the more
light it absorb, and the closer the surface material’s color is to the color settings. When set
to 0, it doesn’t reflect lights and vice versa.
 Translucence: It allows the material to transmit and diffuse light. A translucent surface
absorbs light and later diffuse it in all directions. When set to 0, no light emit from the object
and vice versa. This can be used to create clouds, marble, frosted light bulbs etc.
For surface materials with shiny surface: Anisotropic, Blinn, Phong and PhongE, they have the
Specular Shading attributes. These attributes create specular highlights, which is by default
the white shiny glow on the material.
Specular
highlights
Figure 4.1 Phong and Blinn with specular highlights
Some of the specular shading attributes are:

 Specular color: The color of the specular highlights.
 Cosine power: It controls the size of the specular highlights.
 Reflectivity: It allows the material to have reflection of its surroundings. When set to 0, there
is no reflection and vice versa.
 Reflected color: The color of the reflection.
Hypershade
Hypershade is used as the tool to build and edit material and its attributes. Hypershade can
be found at the Status Line. It will open as a separate window with a few panels for you to
build and edit your material and view the result immediately.
Hypershade
Figure 4.2 Hypershade at Status Line

The interface of Hypershade is as the following:
1 2 3
6
4 5
Figure 4.3 Hypershade interface
1. Browser lists your materials, textures and lights and sorts them into different tabs.
2. Viewport is where you will view your model. Any changes made can be viewed in real-
time.
3. Material Viewer is where you can view your material. Any changes made can be viewed
in real-time.
4. Create is where you will create and add material. Click at any of the material choice to
use it as your basic material type.
Material and Type of surface

texture type material
Figure 4.4 Types of materials available

5. Work area is where the material nodes displayed. You can further edit the nodes here.
6. Property Editor is where you can edit the attributes of the material. The attributes are based
on the type of material you have created.
Rename
material here
Adjust the
attributes to
create your
material
Figure 4.5 Property editor
Note:
 You can customize the layout of all the panels like how you do it for the main interface.
 To open up hidden panels, go to Windows at the main menu and click on any panel.
 You can navigate in Viewport like how you do it at the Viewing panels.
Create and Assign Material onto Model (with Hypershade)

1. Use existing model from previous tutorial or you can insert a cube onto the 3D scene.
2. Open up Hypershade from the Status Line. In the Hypershade window, if the Viewport is
not open, simply go to Window > Viewport to open the Viewport panel. Drag and drop
the Viewport panel at a position you want or you can just let it be a floating window.
3. By default, Lambert is assigned on your model. You can continue with Lambert as your
basic surface material type. But if you wish to change it:
 Simply go to the Create panel, choose a surface material type. For example, Blinn.
Middle click on Blinn and drag it to your model in the Viewport OR
 Click on a surface material type and it will be inserted and shown at the Browser. From
the Browser, middle click and drag it to your model in the Viewport.
or
Figure 4.6 Assign material onto your model
4. Once assigned, you can further adjust the attributes of the material at the Property Editor
to create your material. You can see the changes on your model at the Viewport.
Note:
 At the Material Viewer, you can see the changes to your material. You can change the
type of object shown by using the dropdown menu on top. Change to an object that is
similar to your model for better material mapping. For example, if you are editing material
for a cloth, you can change it to cloth.
Figure 4.7 Change the object at Material Viewer

 When assigning material to a model, if your model is combined, remember to separate

the model first before assigning material.
 When a surface material is edited, for example, Lambert1 (default name for assigned
Lambert), all those object assigned with the material will be affected.
Create and Assign Material onto Model (without Hypershade)

We can create and assign material without Hypershade. The steps are simpler but limited as
well, since Hypershade provides much more advanced options in editing the attributes of a
material. To create and assign material without Hypershade:
1. Right click and hold at your model for the marking menus. There are options for assigning
materials at the end of the marking menus.
Figure 4.8 Material assignment at marking menus
2. You can either edit the existing material (it is Lambert by default) or assign a new material.
To edit the existing material, select Material Attributes. The Attribute Editor will then shows
up at the side panel.
Attribute Editor
Figure 4.9 Attribute Editor at the side panel

3. Edit the attributes of the material accordingly. For example, to change the color, click at
the bar beside Color. Pick a color from the color wheel to change the color of your model.
You can also rename your model at the upper part of the Attribute Editor.
4. If you wish to assign new material instead, select Assign New Material. Assign New Material
window would open. Choose a material as your basic material type.
Figure 4.10 Assign New Material window
5. After choosing a new material, select Material Attributes at marking menus to open up
Attribute Editor. Edit the attributes accordingly.
6. If there is an existing material that you have created, you can use Assign Existing Material
to switch to a different material.
Figure 4.11 Switch to other existing materials

Assign Different Material to Different Parts of a Model

1. You can assign different material to different parts of the same model. To do that, first
select face from the marking menus.
2. Select a face or multiple faces, then select Assign New Material/Assign Existing Material
from the marking menus to assign material on the selected face. For different parts of the
model, different materials have to be created and assigned.
Note:
 To view the appearance of the surface material on your model, make sure Smooth Shade
All is selected at the menu of the Viewing Panel.
Smooth Shade
Figure 4.12 Smooth Shade All All
4.2 Texturing
We can create the surface of an object by editing the attributes of the surface material. To
create an even more realistic appearance, we can apply texture onto the material to
recreate the appearance of an object. For example, we can map the texture of Water onto
a polygonal plane to create the look of an ocean.
Textures 2D textures
available at available
Hypershade
Figure 4.13 Textures at Hypershade’s Create panel

Create and Assign Texture on Model

To create and assign texture on your model, first you have to make sure Textured is selected
at the menu of the Viewing Panel. If it is not selected, you cannot view the appearance of
the texture applied on your model.
Textured
Figure 4.14 Textured
Tutorial:
In this tutorial, we will map the Water texture onto a polygonal plane to create the look of an
ocean.
1. First, insert a polygonal plane from the Polygons tab at the Shelf.
Figure 4.15 A polygonal plane
2. Open Hypershade and go to the Create panel > 2D Textures > Water.
Figure 4.16 Go to Create panel > 2D Textures > Water

3. Water texture’s material nodes is inserted at the work area. To edit the attributes of the
Water texture, first select water1 of the material nodes at the work area.
Figure 4.17 Material nodes: water1
4. The attributes of the Water texture will be opened at the Property Editor. Edit the attributes
accordingly. For example, to change the color of the texture, go to Color Balance > Color
Gain. You can see the changes immediately at the Material Viewer.
Figure 4.18 Water texture’s attributes

5. Once you are satisfied with the material, middle click water1 at the work area and drag it
to your model at the Viewport. The water texture is then mapped onto your model’s
material (Lambert by default).
Middle click and drag
Figure 4.19 Assign texture by middle click and drag
Assign Different Texture to Different Parts of a Model

To have different texture on different parts of the same model, all you need to do is to create
the different material with different texture and assign them.
1. Open Hypershade. Create different materials, and map different texture on them by
following the steps mentioned previously.
2. Next, select your object and select face from the Marking Menu.
3. Select a face or multiple faces, and assign the corresponding materials. For example,
material with Water texture on one face, material with Mountain texture on the other.
Exercise:
Apply material or texture for the models in the previous tutorial and exercise: the simple house
model, the table and the chair.
4.3 Image Texture

Image texture refers to mapping image onto material as texture. For example, to create the
appearance of a wall, you can use an image of brick wall and map it onto the material. Then
assign the material onto your model. The image you use can be downloaded from the internet,
or you can design it yourself by using graphic design software such as Adobe Photoshop.
Create and Assign Image Texture on Model

To do this, we will use one of the options from 2D Textures at the Create tab, which is File. This
allow you to use the image you have as a file, and map it onto your material.
Figure 4.20 Create > 2D Textures > File
Tutorial:
In this tutorial, we will map an image texture onto a cube.
1. First, download a brick wall image such as the following from the internet.
Figure 4.21 Image of brick wall

2. Next, insert a cube onto your 3D scene. Then open Hypershade. Go to the Create tab,
and look for 2D Textures > File. Click on file and the file’s material nodes are inserted at the
work area. Select file1.
Figure 4.23 file1 at work area
3. The attributes of File will then be opened at the Property Editor.

4. Click on the folder icon at the end of Image Name. A window will open. Look for your brick
wall image and select it.
Figure 4.24 Folder icon at Image Name

5. The brick wall image is then inserted as a texture. You can see that at the Material Viewer.
6. Next is to assign the image texture onto the cube. Middle click file1 at the work area, and
drag it onto the cube. The material is then assigned with the image as texture.
Middle click and drag
Figure 4.25 Brick wall image as texture
7. The image texture can be moved, scaled and rotated if needed. You might need to do
this when the image texture doesn’t fit the model. To do that, open Hypershade and click
on place2dTexture1 node at the work area and its attributes will open at the Property
Editor.
8. To move, change the value of Translate Frame. To rotate, change the value of either
Rotate Frame or Rotate UV. To scale, change the value of Repeat UV. (Tips: You can hold
on Ctrl while dragging across the box where you put in the value to change the value with
a slider.)
Exercise:
Apply image texture for the models in the previous tutorial and exercise: the simple house
model, the table and the chair. For example, use a roof image as the texture of your house’s
roof. You can mix normal material and texture.

3d Animation (Autodesk Maya) Level 1

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

You might also like

3d Animation (Autodesk Maya) Level 1

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Description:

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

3d Animation (Autodesk Maya) Level 1

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

AUTODESK (3D MAYA) LEVEL 1 1

Chapter 2: Maya Basic 5

Chapter 4: Shading and Texturing 32

1.1 About 3D Animation

Figure 1.1 Example of 3D model

 Shading refers to the process of computing the surface appearance of a model.

Figure 1.2 Example of different types of shading

Figure 1.3 Generic 3D model VS 3D model with texture mapping

Figure 1.4 An example of rigging an arm

 Lighting refers to the simulation of light in a 3D scene. It can be extremely accurate by

Figure 1.5 An example of animating a person running by using keyframes

1.3 System Requirements

2.2 User Interface

Figure 2.5 Use vertical dividers to expand or collapse icons group

Figure 2.6 Click on tabs to switch

Paint Selection Tool

Figure 2.7 Tool Box

Figure 2.9 Hold on Spacebar to activate Hotbox

Figure 2.10 Right click on an object to activate marking menus

Figure 2.11 New Scene, Open Scene and Save Scene

 Undo: go to Edit > Undo (Ctrl + Z).

Figure 2.12 Undo, Redo, Cut, Copy, Paste and Delete

2.3 Viewing and Navigation

Figure 2.13 To switch camera view

Quick Layout Persp View Panel

Figure 2.14 A four panels view

Hierarchy mode Component mode

Figure 2.16 Hierarchy, object and component selection mode

Figure 2.17 Selection masks

(i) (ii) (iii)

Figure 2.18 (i) Face (ii) Edge (iii) Vertex

How to select objects

Figure 2.20 Select the type of components

3.2 Polygonal Modeling

Figure 3.1 Example of face, edge and vertex

Figure 3.2 Polygons tab at Shelf

3.3 Modify with Transform Tool

We can transform object as a whole in object mode or by components in component mode.

Figure 3.4 Move Tool to translate (move)

Figure 3.5 Rotate Tool to rotate

Figure 3.6 Scale Tool to scale (resize)

Figure 3.7 Channel Box

Change the Pivot Point

1. Select object with Select Tool.

Figure 3.8 Custom pivot editing mode

4. You can do one of the following:

Figure 3.9 (i) Before move (ii) After move

3.4 Modify with Modeling Tool

 Union: Combine two or more polygons together.

(i) (ii) (iii)

Combine and Separate

1. Insert a cube onto the 3D scene. Select a face.

(i) (ii) (iii)

Figure 3.15 Scale the face of the new polygon

(i) (ii) (iii)

(i) (ii) (iii)

Insert Edge Loop

Figure 3.18 Edge loop