Chapter 1: Surfaces and Materials
1. What is MAYA? What is it used for?
Autodesk Maya, which is commonly known as MAYA software is 3D computer graphics
software. It is a 3D computer graphics application that runs on Windows, macOS , and Linux.
It is used to create realistic 3D models, 3D applications, animated movies, TV serials,
technical and non-technical commercials, 3D video games, visual effects, and many other
effects. These days, Autodesk Maya is actively used in the film industry, video gaming
industry, real estate, automobile industry, and many other industries to produce realistic 3D
as well as visual effects.
• MA files are saved in Maya's Maya ASCII format, which is a plain text format. MB
files save a project's information in a binary format.
What are the benefits of using Maya?
• Working in Maya software increases once productivity.
• It can help to put your imagination and creativity to work at first without affecting
efficiency.
• Complicated or nearly impossible realistic effects are very easily executed with
various tools in Maya. Some of the top-rated tools in Maya are MG
Tool, BHGhost, Miarmy, Advanced Skeleton, etc.
• There and many other tools in Maya that are essential for animators to focus on their
creativity and workflow.
• Working in Autodesk Maya helps animators to perform in a real background, which
is similar to the final output.
Various Fields where Autodesk Maya is Used:
• Nowadays, most of the film industry uses Autodesk Maya to deliver high-quality 3D
Animations.
• Autodesk Maya is actively used in real estate, the automobile industry, and many
other industries to produce realistic 3D as well as visual effects.
• Autodesk Maya is the creative 3D software used by animators across the world. It
can do multiple activities.
• Maya can be used to for realistic 3D animation, 3D modelling, realistic 3D
environment, character formation and animation, visual effects and many other
effects. Such effects and animation are used not only for animated movies but for
news channels, television commercials, advertisements, manufacturing etc.
• The video gaming industry is also leveraged by Autodesk Maya. Various modelling
tools and their assembly help to create a realistic environment for games or even to
create 3D models.
Explain the MAYA workspace.
Workspace: The Maya workspace is where we conduct most of our work within Maya.
(Kindly refer book for Maya workspace Image Page 11)
The workspace is the central window where our objects and most editor panels appear.
• The panel has its menu bar at the top left corner of the panel. These menus allow you
to access tools and functions related to that specific panel.
• The grid is displayed with two heavy lines intersecting at the center of the Maya scene.
This central location is called the origin.
• There are four views of MAYA - Top, front, side, and perspective. Perspective view
is the default view.
(Paste the Image in Note Book)
1. Menu Bar:
The Main Menu bar appears at the top of the Maya interface, directly below the Maya title
bar, and displays the chosen menu set. Each menu set corresponds to a module within Maya:
Animation, Polygons, Surfaces, Rendering, and Dynamics. Modules are a method for
grouping related features and tools.
2. Status Line:
• The Status Line, located directly below the Main Menu bar,
• It contains various items, most of which are used while modeling or working with
objects within Maya.
• Many of the Status Line items are represented by a graphical icon.
• Status Line has a few icons, like the Show / Hide Channel Box icon on the Right end.
3. Shelf - The Shelf is located directly below the Status line. The Maya Shelf is useful for
storing tools and items that we use frequently or have customized for our own use. We can
keep the tools and items we use most frequently in a location that provides handy access.
Maya has some of the Shelf items pre-configured for our use.
(Paste Image in Note book)
4. Quick Layout Buttons: The quick layout buttons display just below the Tool Box and let
you switch between useful panel layouts
5. Toolbox: The Toolbox Is displayed on the left side of the Maya interface. It contains the
most commonly used tools for working in Maya.
Use the QWERTY hotkeys to use the :
Select tool ( Q),
Move tool ( W),
Rotate tool ( E),
Scale tool ( R),
Show Manipulators ( T),
last tool used ( Y).
(Paste Image in Note book)
6. Command Line: The command line lets you type single MEL or Python commands without
having to open the Script editor. You can switch between MEL and Python mode by clicking
the MEL/Python button. The result from the command appears in the output
7. Time and Range Slider:
Time Slider
The Time Slider shows the time range that is available as defined by the range slider
below. The time slider also displays the current time and the keys on selected objects or
characters.
Range Slider
The Range Slider sets the start and end time of the scene's animation. We can also set a
playback range if we want to focus on a smaller portion of the whole animation.
8. Layers: There are two types of layers that are displayed in the Layer Editor:
• 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. In
all cases, there is a default layer where objects are initially placed upon creation.
Dimensions/axes of MAYA.
In Maya, there are three dimensions labeled as the X, Y, and Z axes.
The origin is located at the X, Y, Z position of 0, 0, 0. The width would be the X-axis, the
height would be the Y-axis, and the depth would be the Z-axis.
• X and Z are the ground axes.
• X moves to - right, Y –up, and Z moves left down
Maya labels the X, Y, and Z axes with a color scheme:
• Red for X,
• Green for Y
• Blue for Z.
The axis indicator shows in which direction, X, Y, or Z, viewing the Maya scene. The axis
indicator appears in the lower left corner of a view panel. The three manipulator tools of
the XYZ axis are: Move, Rotate, and Scale
Menus and menu sets
Menus
There are seven menus always available in Maya , no matter what you're working on:
• File
• Edit
• Create
• Select
• Modify
• Display
• Windows
Menu sets
Other menus change based on what you're working on. These are called Menu Sets,
All other menus change depending on the menu set you select: Modeling, Rigging, Animation,
Dynamics, Rendering. Each menu set is designed to support a particular workflow. You select the
menu set you want to work with from the drop-down list in the Status bar.
To switch between menu sets, use the drop-down menu in the Status Line or use
hotkeys. The default hotkeys are:
• Creating models / F2 (Modelling) - creating a model structure –
Polygons, Non-Uniform Rational B-Splines (NURBS), and subdivision surfaces are
different object types with different ways of modeling.
• Character rigging/ F3 (Rigging) – converting static image into 3D model Most
animations involve “characters,” articulated models such as a person, an animal,
robot, or anything else that moves by articulation
• Animation/ F4 (Animation) - applying 3D animations on the model object.
Maya is able to be animated.
• Dynamics effects/ F5 (FX) – applying paint and sound effects like fire, rain, flood etc.
Maya includes a comprehensive suite of tools for simulating real world effects such
as fire, explosions, fluids, hair and fur, the physics of colliding objects, and more.
Painting and paint effects. Maya includes an incredible system for using a graphics
tablet (or the mouse) to paint 2D canvases, paint directly on 3D models, paint to
create geometry, scriptable paint, and virtually limitless other possibilities.
• Lighting and Shading/ F6 (Rendering) – applying lighting and shading effects to
give real look to the model object like thundering light.
