Hot Maya Posts

How To: Create flowing geometry in Maya 8.5

If you are apart of Jason Welsh's Autodesk Maya 8.5 online class, then you might want to check this six-part video out. If not, if your just some 3D modeler out there who needs a little help, then you can watch, too. You'll see how to use the split polygon tool, extrude, work with quads and vertices, scale, and how to make flowing geometry in Maya for great character animation.

How To: Keep faces together in Maya 8.5

If you think you have all the essential tools figured out in Autodesk Maya 8.5, you probably don't. So, if you want to create awesome 3D animated characters, then maybe you should watch this Maya video to make sure you know how to keep faces together after you already know how to merge, merge duplicate, average vertices, and bridge.

How To: Bridge two objects together in Maya 8.5

Say you want to bring two objects together so they automatically flow from one piece to the next in Autodesk Maya 8.5, well, then you're going to have to bridge them. Check out this video tutorial on how to do just that. Combine them, then bridge them. It's that simple. So, for easy 3D modeling, watch this Maya wizardry. You'll also see how to average vertices. One day, you'll make a very fine animated character, you'll see.

How To: Do a duplicate mirror merge in Maya 8.5

If you're in a 3D modeling class, then you might want to check out this Autodesk Maya 8.5 two-part video tutorial. These videos cover how to do a duplicate mirror merge. So, if you want to build an animated character in Maya, just watch for these tips on a dup mirror merge.

How To: Use set driven keys in Maya 8.5

Check out this two-part Autodesk Maya 8.5 video tutorial on creating set driven keys. If you're and animator and your having trouble with your organic or unorganic animation, maybe this is your problem; it's a very powerful tool in 3D modeling in Maya. When ever you come into an object that you are constantly rotating, maybe you should put a set driven key on it, no?

How To: Use clusters in Maya 8.5

Need a little help with your Autodesk Maya 8.5? Are those 3D animated objects frustrating you? Is 3D modeling just a huge headache for you? Well, this video Maya tutorial might help a bit. You need to know what to constrain and what not to constrain. So, you'll learn here how to create clusters.

How To: Snap things in Maya 8.5

If you are building 3D characters using Autodesk Maya 8.5, but are still having trouble, maybe you forgot about snapping? Well, check out this beginning tutorial video on snapping in Maya, to make your animation much, much easier. 3D modeling is just the beginning folks.

How To: Use selection masks in Maya 8.5

Something that's particularly useful in Autodesk Maya 8.5 is masking. Check out this video tutorial on masking for your animation. There's going to be all kinds of nasty little things in your character development, like bones, curves, geometry, and a lot more. This video will help you in those 3D animation situations in Maya with masking techniques, like lattice points.

How To: Use parenting techniques in Maya 8.5

If you want to learn how to use Autodesk Maya 8.5, then starting off in the video could be a good thing for your animation projects. In this tutorial, you'll learn some basic Maya parenting techniques to help you along your way to magnificent character development. So, if your a Maya novice, you need this how to video on parenting things.

How To: Create bones in Maya 8.5

If you need to create an animated character, Maya is the software program for you. If you don't know how to make that character you've dreamed up, then maybe you should check out this Maya video tutorial on an important step -- creating a skeleton structure. Creating bones could be a daunting task in Autodesk Maya 8.5, but with the help of this four-part video, you'll see how to create those realistic bones for your animation with ease. You'll also see some common unintentional wrong rotation...

How To: Animate a bouncing ball in Maya

The bouncing ball animation is a classic beginning point for animating in every 3D software package. This tutorial shows you how to do it in Maya. Part two will concentrate on keyframes. Part three will turn the bouncing ball into a character set. Part four will cover using the Trax editor when animating.

How To: Work with multiple UV's in Maya UV editor for textures

Material texture and lighting within the 3D modeling Community is a skill in itself. Hopefully this will help those that are trying to go down the road of a texture artist. part one covers editing multiple uv's at the same time on a model in Maya using the Maya UV editor. part two covers painting on a UV set exported from Maya in Photoshop. Part three covers using Masks from your UV set in Zbrush. Lastly you will see how to put the textured object in the Unreal Engine.

How To: Create a stain glass window in Maya

This tutorial series shows you how to work with lighting in Maya by creating a stain glass window with a candle in front of it. This is a great in-depth look at lighting. Part one sets up a 3 point lighting system within maya. so this is a general overview of many light properties. Part 2 makes the stain glass alpha for the lofting lesson using Zbrush. Part 3 covers how to cast light through a colored alpha within maya and make the illusion of stain glass. Part 4 is where you add the candle t...

How To: Set up a Doom 3 to Maya workflow

This video is to get you started with the initial setup of the Doom 3 to Maya workflow. Topics covered (in order) are set up, export your first character ingame, texturing, animations on character cycles, load game models into Maya. Part 4 is a WMP video.

How To: Render glass in Maya's Mental Ray renderer

Have some glass that needs rendering in Maya? With Mental Ray, it's easily done. Mental Ray (trademarked mental ray) is a rendering application by mental images that's integrated into Maya, and in this video you'll learn about two of the major glasses within it, plus how to render them. It's a very detailed explanation for rendering glass in Mental Ray, so be prepared for a lot of knowledge!

How To: Model a human body in Maya

This tutorial series shows you how to model anatomy of the human body in Maya and gives specific tips on how to eventually be able to do it from memory. Part one starts with the head, part two the torso, part 3 the legs, part four the foot, part 5 the arm, part 6 attaching the parts and part 7 modeling hands.

How To: Subscatter particles across a surface in Maya & Zbrush

This tutorial shows you how to subscatter particles (SSS) across the surface of a mesh using Zbrush and Maya then rendering with Mental Ray. In part one uvs are added to the Zbrush head to support the textures on the sss node. Part two shows you the basic node setup in Maya. Part 3 covers painting and applying diffuse maps in Zbrush to Maya, part 4 covers painting and applying the the front sss color map, part 5 covers the mid sss color map, part 6 applies the bump map to the sss node and par...