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Shadows

Lesson 3: Lights, shadows, and cameras

Animating camera moves

 

Learning Resources > Tutorials > Getting Started with Maya > Rendering > Lesson 3: Lights, shadows, and cameras > 

Creating additional cameras in a scene

Elsewhere in this book, you’ve used the default perspective camera to examine and render your modeling and animation work in progress. In some situations, it is convenient to create and use additional cameras.

For example, you might want to render the scene from two different camera views to compare the results. Alternatively, you might want to use the default camera for interactive modeling and animation and the second camera strictly for rendering the scene. In the next steps, you create an additional camera and manipulate its view of the scene.

To create a second camera for the scene

1. Select Create > Cameras > Camera. This creates a perspective camera with an icon representing it at the center of the grid.
2. In the Channel Box, change the name of the camera to myCamera.

   Even though you’ve created a new camera, you are still looking at the scene through the default perspective camera named persp. You will view the scene through myCamera after you position it in the next step. If you were to view the scene through myCamera now, you would see a disorienting view of the back wall and floor. The camera’s icon points in the direction of the camera’s view.

   The scene’s default persp camera has no icon. An icon is displayed only for a camera you create.

3. Use the Show Manipulator Tool (select Modify > Transformation Tools > Show Manipulator Tool) to position myCamera roughly in this position:

   

   With a camera selected, the Show Manipulator Tool provides the same two manipulators that you used to position the spotlight: eye point and look-at point. The look-at point sets where the camera aims. The eye point sets the position of the camera.

   You can select the current camera by selecting View > Select Camera.

4. Select Panels > Perspective > myCamera to view the scene from myCamera.

   

   If your camera view is not similar to the above illustration, select tableGroup in the Outliner (Window > Outliner) and select View > Frame Selection from the panel menu. This centers the view of myCamera on the table.

   The dolly, track, and tumble movements work the same for myCamera as they do for the default persp camera.

   You can return to the view of the persp camera by selecting Panels > Perspective > persp.

5. While working with a camera, it’s useful to know the exact region of the myCamera view that is displayed in rendered images. To see the border of the render region, select View > Camera Attribute Editor. In the Attribute Editor, open the Display Options section and turn on Display Resolution. A rectangular border shows the region that will be rendered.
6. In the Film Back section of the Attribute Editor, set the Fit Resolution Gate setting to Overscan.

   By enabling the Overscan, the view displays more of the region outside the area that will be rendered.

   By displaying a small part of the scene that lies outside the rendered area, you can plan future camera movement more easily, especially if the scene has objects that move in and out of view.