Contents
Learning Resources
New to 3D/New to Maya?
User Interface Overview
The Art of Maya
Tutorials
Getting Started with Maya
Overview
Introduction
About the Getting Started
lessons
Before you begin
Installing Maya
Conventions used in the
lessons
Using the lesson files
Using the Maya
Help
Additional learning resources
Restoring default user
settings
Maya Basics
Introduction
Preparing for the lessons
Lesson 1: The Maya user
interface
Introduction
Starting Maya
The Maya interface
Copying and setting the
Maya project
Saving your work
Exiting Maya
Beyond the lesson
Lesson 2: Creating, manipulating,
and viewing objects
Introduction
Creating a new scene
Primitive objects
The Toolbox:
Layout shortcuts
The Toolbox:
Transformation tools
The Channel
Box
Duplicating objects
Save your work
Beyond the lesson
Lesson 3: Viewing the Maya
3D scene
Introduction
Camera tools
Workflow overview
Viewing objects in shaded
mode
Grouping objects
The Hypergraph
Selection modes and masks
Pivot points
Save your work
Beyond the lesson
Lesson 4: Components and
attributes
Introduction
Template display
Components
The Attribute
Editor
Surface materials
Save your work
Beyond the lesson
Polygonal Modeling
Introduction
Preparing for the lessons
Lesson 1: Modeling a polygonal
mesh from a reference image
Introduction
Setting modeling preferences
Using 2D reference images
Creating a polygon primitive
Modeling in shaded mode
Model symmetry
Selecting components by
painting
Selecting edge loops
Editing components in the
orthographic views
Editing components in the
perspective view
Drawing a polygon
Extruding polygon components
Bridging between edges
Adding polygons to a mesh
Splitting polygon faces
Terminating edge loops
Deleting construction history
Mirror copying a mesh
Working with a smoothed
mesh
Creasing and hardening
edges on a mesh
Beyond the lesson
Lesson 2: Sculpting a polygon
mesh
Introduction
Open the scene for the
lesson
Using Soft Select
Selecting with Camera based
selection
Sculpting with symmetry
Sculpting with Surface
based falloff
Selecting with Drag select
Adjusting the Seam tolerance
Beyond the lesson
NURBS Modeling
Introduction
Preparing for the lessons
Lesson 1: Revolving a curve
to create a surface
Introduction
Creating a profile curve
Creating a revolve surface
Editing a revolve surface
Beyond the lesson
Lesson 2: Sculpting a NURBS
surface
Introduction
Preparing a surface for
sculpting
Basic sculpting techniques
Additional sculpting techniques
Sculpting a nose
Sculpting eye sockets
Sculpting eyebrows
Sculpting a mouth
Sculpting other facial
features
Beyond the lesson
Lesson 3: Lofting curves
to create a surface
Introduction
Creating profile curves
for a surface
Duplicating curves
Lofting a surface
Modifying a primitive object
Using the Outliner to
parent objects
Beyond the lesson
Subdivision Surfaces
Introduction
Preparing for the lesson
Lesson 1: Modeling a subdivision
surface
Introduction
Creating a subdivision
surface
Splitting a surface in
polygon proxy mode
Extruding polygon faces
Deleting polygon faces
Subdivision surface levels
Refining surface components
Creating a crease in a
subdivision surface
Beyond the lesson
Animation
Introduction
Preparing for the lessons
Lesson 1: Keyframes and
the Graph Editor
Introduction
Setting the playback range
Setting keyframes
Using the Graph
Editor
Changing the timing of
an attribute
Fine tuning an animation
Deleting extra keyframes
and static channels
Using Playblast to
playback an animation
Beyond the lesson
Lesson 2: Set
Driven Key
Introduction
Lesson setup
Using Set
Driven Key to link attributes
Viewing the results in
the Graph Editor
Beyond the lesson
Lesson 3: Path animation
Introduction
Open the scene for the
lesson
Animating an object along
a motion path
Changing the timing of
an object along a motion path
Rotating an object along
a motion path
Blending keyframe and motion
path animation
Using Playblast to
playback an animation
Beyond the lesson
Lesson 4: Nonlinear animation
with Trax
Introduction
Open the first scene for
the lesson
Creating clips with Trax
Changing the position of
clips with Trax
Editing the animation of
clips
Reusing clips within Trax
Soloing and muting tracks
Scaling clips within Trax
Open the second scene for
the lesson
Creating clips from motion
capture data
Extending the length of
motion capture data
Redirecting the motion
within a clip
Beyond the lesson
Lesson 5: Inverse
kinematics
Introduction
Open the scene for the
lesson
Understanding hierarchies
Viewing hierarchies using
the Hypergraph
Creating a skeleton hierarchy
Parenting a model into
a skeleton hierarchy
Applying IK to a skeleton
hierarchy
Creating a control object
for an IK system
Constraining an IK system
Limiting the range of motion
of an IK system
Simplifying the display
of a hierarchy
Applying parent constraints
on an IK system
Planning an animation for
an IK system
Animating an IK system
Beyond the lesson
Character Setup
Introduction
Preparing for the lessons
Lesson 1: Skeletons and
kinematics
Introduction
Open the scene for the
lesson
Creating joints
Adding joints to a skeleton
Creating a skeleton hierarchy
Forward and inverse kinematics
Posing and animating using
inverse kinematics
Posing and animating using
forward kinematics
Beyond the lesson
Lesson 2: Smooth skinning
Introduction
Open the scene for the
lesson
Smooth binding a skeleton
Skin weighting and deformations
Modifying skin weights
Influence objects
Beyond the lesson
Lesson 3: Cluster and blend
shape deformers
Introduction
Open the scene for the
lesson
Creating a target object
for a blend shape
Creating a cluster deformer
on a target object
Editing cluster weights
Creating a blend shape
Refining deformation effects
Adding target objects to
an existing blend shape
Beyond the lesson
Polygon Texturing
Introduction
Preparing for the lesson
Lesson 1: UV texture mapping
Introduction
Creating a cracker box
model
Applying a texture map
to a polygon mesh
Viewing UVs in the UV
Texture Editor
Mapping UV texture coordinates
Working with UVs in the UV
Texture Editor
Beyond the lesson
Lesson 2: UV unfolding
Introduction
Lesson Setup
Dividing the mesh
Creating a planar map
Unfolding a UV mesh
Adjusting the checker pattern
Outputting UVs
Unfolding with constraints
Sewing UV Edges
Smoothing/Relaxing a mesh
interactively
Fixing problem areas
Applying textures
Beyond the lesson
Lesson 3: Normal mapping
Introduction
Lesson setup
Open the scene for the
lesson
Creating a normal map
Viewing a normal map
Beyond the lesson
Rendering
Introduction
Preparing for the lessons
Lesson 1: Rendering a scene
Introduction
Open the scene for the
lesson
Creating shading materials
for objects
Refining shading materials
for objects
Maya renderers
Rendering a single frame
using IPR
Rendering using the mental
ray for Maya renderer
Batch rendering a sequence
of animation frames
Viewing a sequence of rendered
frames
Beyond the lesson
Lesson 2: Shading surfaces
Introduction
Open the scene for the
lesson
Assigning a shading material
Using the mental ray for
Maya renderer
Modifying surface specularity
Material types
Assigning textures
Using the Hypershade editor
Creating a texture within
the Hypershade editor
Modifying a bump texture
Beyond the lesson
Lesson 3: Lights, shadows,
and cameras
Introduction
Open the scene for the
lesson
Directional lights
Spotlights
Editing light attributes
Shadows
Creating additional cameras
in a scene
Animating camera moves
Beyond the lesson
Lesson 4: Global Illumination
Introduction
Open the scene for the
lesson
Render the scene using
raytracing
Render the scene using Global
Illumination
Beyond the Lesson
Lesson 5: Caustics
Introduction
Open the scene for the
lesson
Render the scene using
raytracing
Render the scene using
caustics
Beyond the Lesson
Dynamics
Introduction
Preparing for the lessons
Lesson 1: Particles, emitters,
and fields
Introduction
Creating an emitter
Creating volume axis fields
Adjusting the velocity
of moving particles
Setting the particle render
type
Adding dynamic attributes
Adding per particle attributes
Adding color to particles
with a color ramp
mental ray rendering particles
Beyond the lesson
Lesson 2: Rigid bodies
and constraints
Introduction
Lesson setup
Creating hinge constraints
Running a dynamics simulation
Changing an active rigid
body to passive
Beyond the lesson
Painting
Introduction
Preparing for the lessons
Lesson 1: Painting in 2D
using Paint Effects
Introduction
Painting strokes
Modifying the default brush
settings
Modifying the canvas
Modifying the colors of
a preset brush
Editing strokes with tubes
attributes
Saving brush settings for
future use
Blending brushes
Smearing, blurring, and
erasing paint
Beyond the lesson
Lesson 2: Painting in 3D
using Paint Effects
Introduction
Preparing for the lessons
Brushes and strokes
Rendering Paint
Effects strokes
Paint Effects on
3D objects
Creating a surface to paint
on
Painting on objects
Using turbulence with brush
stroke tubes
Using additional preset
brushes
Mesh brushes
Converting mesh strokes
to polygons
Modifying a converted polygonal
mesh
Beyond the lesson
Lesson 3: Painting textures
on surfaces
Introduction
Open the scene for the
lesson
Preparing for painting
Painting with an Artisan brush
Painting symmetrical strokes
Using Flood
All to apply a single color
Brush shapes
Painting with a Paint
Effects brush
Smearing and blurring
Painting a bump map texture
Beyond the lesson
Expressions
Introduction
Preparing for the lessons
Lesson 1: Creating a simple
expression
Introduction
Creating expressions to
control a single attribute
Editing expressions
Using expressions to control
multiple attributes
Linking multiple attributes
on the same object
Controlling attributes
in two objects
Beyond the lesson
Lesson 2: Conditional expressions
Introduction
Creating a conditional
expression
Other conditional statement
options
Fixing a problem in an
expression
Using else statements
Simplifying expressions
Editing expressions to
refine an animation
Beyond the lesson
Lesson 3: Controlling particle
attributes
Introduction
Creating particle objects
Using creation expressions
to set a constant color
Using runtime expressions
Modifying runtime expressions
Beyond the lesson
Scripting in Maya
Introduction
Some basic concepts
Preparing for the lessons
Lesson 1: Commands in MEL
Introduction
Entering MEL commands
Observing script history
Modifying object attributes
Editing Objects
Beyond the lesson
Lesson 2: Saving scripts
to the Shelf
Introduction
Setting up the scene
Recording the script history
Compare the rendered images
Saving the history as a
button
Beyond the Lesson
Lesson 3: Using Variables
in MEL
Introduction
Setting up the scene
Storing scene information
Create a row of barrels
Stacking the row of barrels
Using MEL built-in functions
to calculate the Y offset
Creating dynamics with
MEL commands
Beyond the lesson
Lesson 4: User interface
creation and procedures
Introduction
Creating a window
Window naming
Introduction to procedures
Loading a script file
Linking the user interface
Saving the script
Using the saved script
file
Beyond the lesson
Lesson 5: Using Python
in Maya
Introduction
Entering Python commands
Using flags in Python
Using the edit flag in
Python
Communicating between Python
and MEL
Beyond the lesson
Assets
Introduction
Preparing for the lessons
Lesson 1: Setting up an
asset
Introduction
Lesson setup
Creating an asset
Publishing attributes
Publishing multiple attributes
to a single published name
Open the second scene for
the lesson
Creating a template
Creating Views
Creating a binding set
Assigning a custom icon
Setting Black Box mode
Beyond the lesson
Lesson 2: Using assets
in a scene
Introduction
Lesson setup
Importing assets to dress
a scene
Assigning an existing template
to an asset
Autobinding attributes
Manually binding attributes
Swapping assets
Referencing assets in a
scene
Creating a proxy asset
Modifying a proxy asset
Dressing the rest of the
scene with assets
Beyond the lesson
File Referencing
Introduction
Preparing for the lessons
Lesson 1: Using file references
Introduction
Lesson setup
Creating a file reference
Using the Reference Editor
Exporting objects in your
scene
Creating a proxy for a
referenced object
Creating a proxy for a
referenced asset
Creating proxy references
Tweaking the zombie’s walk
cycle
Exporting reference tweaks
Applying reference tweaks
Storing animation as reference
edits
Applying animation as reference
edits
Beyond the Lesson
Hair
Introduction
About hair simulation
Preparing for the lessons
Lesson 1: Creating a basic
hairstyle
Introduction
Lesson setup
Creating hair on a surface
Styling the hair
Setting up hair collisions
Rendering the hair
Modifying hair attributes
Setting up shadowing on
hair
Beyond the lesson
Lesson 2: Creating a dynamic
non-hair simulation
Introduction
Lesson setup
Setting up the curtain
scene
Making the hair collide
with another object
Assigning a Paint
Effects brush to the hair
Setting up constraints
Rendering the curtain scene
Beyond the lesson
Fluid Effects
Introduction
Preparing for the lessons
Lesson 1: Creating a dynamic
2D fluid effect
Introduction
Creating a two-dimensional
fluid container
Adding a fluid emitter
to a container
Changing the behavior of
a fluid
Combining colors in a fluid
Colliding a fluid with
an object
Beyond the lesson
Lesson 2: Creating a non-dynamic 3D
fluid effect
Introduction
Creating a 3D fluid container
Adding fluid to a container
Defining shader attributes
for a fluid
Texturing the contents
of a fluid container
Adding self shadowing to
texture density
Beyond the lesson
Lesson 3: Creating a dynamic
3D effect
Introduction
Creating a 3D container
Painting Fuel and Density
into a container
Painting Temperature values
into a container
Adding color to Density and Temperature
Beyond the lesson
Lesson 4: Creating an ocean effect
Introduction
Creating an ocean plane
and shader
Adding a preview plane
to an ocean
Modifying ocean attributes
Floating objects
Beyond the lesson
Fur
Introduction
Preparing for the lessons
Lesson 1: Assigning a fur description
Introduction
Lesson setup
Duplicating objects across
an axis of symmetry
Renaming surfaces on a
model
Assigning objects to a
reference layer
Assigning a fur description
preset to a model
Reversing surface normals
Modifying the fur direction
Painting fur attributes
Modifying the color of
a fur description
Creating a new fur description
Beyond the lesson
Lesson 2: Rendering fur
Introduction
Lesson setup
Creating lights in a scene
Adding mental ray shadow
maps to lights
Rendering the scene
Beyond the lesson
nCloth
Introduction
Preparing for the lessons
Lesson 1: Creating nCloth
collisions
Introduction
Lesson setup
Creating an nCloth object
Making an nCloth collide
with its environment
Adjusting the accuracy
of nCloth collisions
Beyond the lesson
Lesson 2: Creating nCloth
constraints
Introduction
Lesson setup
Constraining an nCloth
to a passive object
Changing which nCloth points
are constrained
Making nCloth flap in dynamic
wind
Beyond the lesson
Lesson 3: Creating nCloth
Clothing
Introduction
Lesson setup
Making the dress into an
nCloth object
Making the character wear
the dress
Caching nCloth to speed
up playback
Adjusting the fit of the
dress
Defining the behavior of
nCloth clothing
Painting nCloth properties
Open the second scene for
the lesson
Setting the initial state
Constraining nCloth clothing
Improving the quality of
the nCloth simulation
Smoothing nCloth clothing
Beyond the lesson
nParticles
Introduction
Preparing for the tutorials
Lesson 1: Creating nParticles
Introduction
Lesson setup
Creating an nParticle system
Making nParticles collide
with their environment
Setting Nucleus Space Scale
Adjusting nParticle size
and color
Adjusting nParticle collision attributes
Beyond the lesson
Lesson 2: Creating a smoke simulation
with nParticles
Introduction
Lesson setup
Creating an nParticle system
Editing nParticle Lifespan
and Radius
Open the second scene for
the lesson
Adding a Volume Axis field
Adjusting nParticle velocity
Adjusting nParticle Shading attributes
Open the third scene for
the lesson
Fine tuning your smoke
effect
Beyond the lesson
Lesson 3: Creating a liquid simulation
with nParticles
Introduction
Lesson setup
Creating a Water style
nParticle object
Adjusting Liquid Simulation attributes
Adding fluidity to the
nParticles
Open the second scene for
the lesson
Convert nParticles to a
polygon mesh
Cache your nParticle simulation
Adding surface tension
Adding Motion Streak
Open the third scene for
the lesson
Render your liquid simulation
Assigning material shaders
Rendering a simulated frame
Beyond the lesson
Additional Learning Resources
Books & DVDs
User to User Discussion
Technical Support
Classroom Training
Events & Seminars
The Area (user community)
What's New
What's New in Autodesk
Maya
What's New in General
What's New in Performance
What's New in Modeling
What's New in Animation
What's New in Rigging
What's New in Paint Effects
What's New in Dynamics
What's New in Fluid Effects
What's New in nCloth
What's New in nParticles
What's New in Rendering
and Render Setup
What's New in MEL and Python
What's New In Documentation
What's New in API
What's New - Previous versions
Installation and Licensing
User Guide
General
Basics
Interface overview
Working in Maya
3D coordinates
Maya Interface
Objects and components
Selection, tools, and actions
Main window
Menus and menu sets
Marking menus
Shelves
Maya Web browser plug-in
Autodesk Maya Error
Report
Get help
Customize the interface
Print the Maya Help
Work with menu items, tools,
and options
Select tools and actions
Set the options for a tool
or menu item
Select actions from marking
menus
Select actions from the
hotbox
Select actions on a shelf
Load the default shelves
Rearrange the interface
Start Maya from the command
line
Install the Maya Web browser
plug-in
Selecting
Select objects or components
Select multiple components
Select only unobstructed
components
Select multiple component
types
Select a node
Select only certain types
of objects or components (selection masks)
Save and reuse a selection
Select objects based on
hierarchy
Select components by painting
Soft Select components
Change one type of selection
to another
Grow, shrink, or change
the selected region of CVs or polygon components
Highlight components
before selecting them
Viewing the scene
Move and rotate the camera
Using the ViewCube
Tumble, track, dolly, or tilt the view
Use the mouse to control camera azimuth, elevation,
yaw or pitch
Center the view on selected or all objects
Return to previous views
Change and resize panels
Change the panel layout
Create a window from the contents of a panel (tear
off)
Control what camera is shown in a view
Show, hide, or change the grid
Show information over top of a view (heads-up display)
Change the display of objects
Change the look and smoothness of the selected objects
Show or hide objects
Show or hide components
Show or hide object-specific UI
Show an isolated subset of objects or components
in a panel
Change an object’s wireframe color
Transforming objects
Transformations
The pivot point
World space, object space,
and local space
Maya interface
Construction history
Construction planes
Copies vs. instances
Transform objects and components
Use manipulators
Lock a manipulator to the
current selection
Move, rotate, or scale
objects and components
Move, rotate or scale components
proportionally
Use the Universal
Manipulator
Move components with the
Tweak mode
Move, rotate, or scale
components with reflection
Change the pivot point
Flip objects
Transform along different
axes
Preserve textures during
transformation
Set transformation values
to zero
Align and snap
Snap to the grid, a curve,
points, or a view plane
Snapping with live objects
Align objects
Position objects along
a curve
Snap one object to another
Change history
Undo, Redo,
and Repeat
Edit completed commands
(construction history)
Show a custom manipulator
for the selected node
Create and edit models
Create geometric primitives
Create text
Edit objects
Cut, Copy,
and Paste
Delete
Duplicate
Edit component numeric
values directly
Transfer attribute values
Troubleshooting Manipulators
and Transformations
Issues with manipulators
Issues with transformations
Nodes and attributes
Nodes and attributes overview
Two views of the scene:
hierarchy and dependency
Scene hierarchy
Dependency graph
The Outliner
The Hypergraph
Node types
View and edit attributes
Change attribute values
in the Attribute Editor or Channel
Box
Show or hide the manipulator
for an attribute in the Channel Box
Inline numeric calculation
in multiple cells
View and edit multiple
attributes on multiple nodes
Save and reuse attribute
presets
Lock the value of an attribute
Create, edit, or delete
custom attributes
Open multiple Attribute
Editors
Control the display of
attributes in the Channel Box
View and change the hierarchy
of nodes
View and edit the hierarchy
of nodes
Change the visual layout
of nodes in the Hypergraph
Change the order of nodes
View and change input and
output history relationships between nodes
Show inputs and outputs
(dependency graph)
Connect input and output
attributes
Connect attributes with
an expression
Break connections between
attributes
Set a node’s update state
Change the display of nodes
and attributes
Show or hide nodes
Control which objects or
attribute types appear in an editor
Save and reuse object or
attribute visibility filters in editors
File management
Managing your files
Supported image formats
(rendering)
Supported file formats
Create, open, or save a
scene file
Autosave a file
Open recently saved files
Import files
Export objects to a new
file
Export objects directly to Mudbox
Archive a scene
Export objects as a referenced
file
Export and Apply Reference
Edits
Organize files into projects
View images or animations
Recover data after a crash
Scene management
Managing complex scenes
Organizing objects
Sets and partitions
Layers
Optimize scene size
Organize objects
Change the name of one
or more objects
Make an object unselectable
(template)
Organize objects on display
layers
Edit all objects on a layer
at once
Group objects together
Create and edit sets
Create nested sets
Keep a collection of sets
from having overlapping membership
Annotate and measure
Annotate or document objects
Measure the distance between
two points
Show parameter or arc-length
values on a curve or surface
Assets
Asset overview
What are assets?
Parts of an asset
Working with assets
What is encapsulation?
Published attributes and
nodes
Asset templates
Parts of an asset template
Template file format
Assets and file referencing
The Asset Editor
Asset workflows
Pre-planning Workflow
Artist control workflow
Artist workflow tips
Creating and removing assets
Create assets
Preview the contents of
an asset
Remove assets
Navigating assets
Select an asset
Select asset contents
Set the current asset
Lock an asset
Hide unpublished nodes
and attributes
Organize assets in the
Channel Box
Organize assets in the
Attribute Editor
Mark an asset with a custom
icon
Navigate assets in the
Hypergraph or Hypershade
Expand and collapse assets
Lay out nodes inside an
asset
Show and hide connections
Customize an asset’s background
View assets in the Hypershade
Navigate assets in the
Outliner
Showing or hiding asset
contents
View published attributes
Customize how an asset
is treated in the UI
Editing Assets
Add nodes to an asset
Remove nodes from an asset
Publish or unpublish attributes
Publish ramp attributes
Publish swatch attributes
Publish attributes connected
to external nodes
Publish multiple attributes
to one published name
Edit published attribute
values
Publish or unpublish nodes
Example: Swapping arms
on a robot (Advanced Assets only)
Bind/unbind an attribute
or node
Autobind an asset
Rename a published name
Connect asset attributes
Transfer attribute values
between assets
Example: Duplicating animation
on non-matching hierarchies
Assign a custom command
or menu to an asset
Creating templates and
views
Create an asset template
Assign a template to an
asset
Edit an asset template
Reload an asset template
Save an asset template
Change the template search
path
Organize asset templates
into packages
Create a binding set
Customize a template binding
set
Add a view to an asset
template
Set the active view for
an asset
Customize a template view
Localize the asset user
interface
Example: Creating a template
and a view
Assets and file referencing
Prepare an asset for referencing
Reference an asset
Export an asset as a file
reference
Replace referenced assets
Example: Referencing and
swapping a car in a scene
Lock referenced assets
Create a proxy asset
Preferences and customization
Save preferences
Customize the look and
feel of the interface
Show or hide user interface
elements
Change user interface colors
Change the scene view background
color
Arrange the interface
Create a custom panel layout
Add a new panel to the
list of available panels
Change the length (scale)
of normals in the display
Customize shelves
Create, rename, rearrange,
or delete a shelf
Add a tool, action, or
Maya script to a shelf
Edit the MEL or Python
script associated with a shelf item
Edit the contents of a
shelf
Use a custom name or icon
for a shelf item
Change the display of shelves
Customize menu sets
Custom menu sets
Manage custom menu sets
Customize marking menus
and the hotbox
Create or edit a marking
menu
Assign a marking menu to
a hotkey
Add a marking menu to the
hotbox
Customize the hotbox
Customizing the Script
Editor
Maya Hotkeys
Maya Hotkeys
Assign a predefined command
to a hotkey
Hotkeys in Maya for Mac
OS X
Assign a MEL script to
a hotkey
View a list of all assigned
hotkeys
Customize how Maya works
Switch operations between
actions and tools
Load or unload Maya plug-ins
Improve performance, quality,
or interactivity
Switch between Y-up and
Z-up
Advanced customization
Directly modify the settings
files
Run MEL commands whenever
Maya starts up
Run MEL commands whenever
a scene is opened or closed
Create a custom heads-up
display readout
Performance tips
Set Maya to use maximum
memory (increase the Virtual Memory limit)
Get the most out of Maya
Running Maya in Japanese
Japanese Maya overview
Extended ASCII characters in node and attribute
names and scene portability
Run Maya with a Japanese user interface
Run Maya in English within a Japanese environment
Prepare Maya files containing Japanese text
Basics Tools
Status line (toolbar)
Panel toolbar
Command line
Tool Box
Select Tool
Lasso Tool
Paint Selection Tool
Move Tool
Rotate Tool
Scale Tool
Universal Manipulator
Soft Modification Tool (toolbox)
Show Manipulator Tool
Quick layout buttons
Hotkeys
View hotkeys
Tool and action hotkeys
Transform marking menus
Basics Menus
File
File > New Scene
File > Open Scene
File > Save Scene
File > Save Scene
As
File > Archive Scene
File > Save Preferences
File > Optimize Scene
Size
File > Import
File > Export All, Export
Selection
File > Export to
Offline File
File > Assign Offline
File
File > Export Selected
to Mudbox
File > View Image
File > View Sequence
File > Create Reference
File > Reference
Editor
File > Project >
New
File > Project >
Edit Current
File > Project >
Set
File > Recent Files
File > Recent Projects
File > Exit
Edit
Edit > Undo, Redo, Repeat
Edit > Recent Commands
List
Edit > Cut
Edit > Copy
Edit > Paste
Edit > Delete
Edit > Delete by
Type > History
Edit > Delete by
Type > Non-Deformer History
Edit > Delete by
Type > Channels, Edit > Delete by Type
> Static Channels, Edit > Delete by Type > Non-particle
Expressions
Edit > Delete by
Type > Motion Paths
Edit > Delete All
by Type
Edit > Select Tool
Edit > Lasso Select
Tool
Edit > Paint Selection
Tool
Edit > Select All
Edit > Deselect
Edit > Select Hierarchy
Edit > Invert Selection
Edit > Select All
by Type
Edit > Quick Select
Sets
Edit > Duplicate
Edit > Duplicate
Special
Edit > Duplicate
with Transform
Edit > Transfer Attribute
Values
Edit > Group
Edit > Ungroup
Edit > Level of Detail
Edit > Parent
Edit > Unparent
Create
Create > NURBS Primitives
Create > Polygon
Primitives
Create > CV Curve
Tool
Create > EP Curve
Tool
Create > Bezier Curve
Tool
Create > Pencil Curve
Tool
Create > Arc Tools
> Three Point Circular Arc, Two Point Circular Arc
Create > Measure
Tools > Distance Tool, Parameter Tool, Arc
Length Tool
Create > Text
Create > Adobe Illustrator
Object
Create > Construction
Plane
Create > Locator
Create > Annotation
Create > Empty Group
Create > Sets >
Set, Partition
Create > Sets >
Quick Select Set
Modify
Modify > Transformation
Tools > Move Tool, Rotate Tool, Scale
Tool, Show Manipulator Tool
Modify > Transformation
Tools > Universal Manipulator
Modify > Transformation
Tools > Move Normal Tool
Modify > Transformation
Tools > Default Object Manipulator
Modify > Transformation
Tools > Proportional Modification Tool
Modify > Transformation
Tools > Soft Modification Tool
Modify > Reset Transformations, Freeze Transformations
Modify > Snap Align
Objects > Point to Point, 2 Points to 2 Points,
3 Points to 3 Points
Modify > Snap Align
Objects > Align Objects
Modify > Snap Align
Objects > Position Along Curve
Modify > Align Tool
Modify > Snap Together
Tool
Modify > Evaluate
Nodes
Modify > Make Live
Modify > Center Pivot
Modify > Prefix Hierarchy
Names
Modify > Search and
Replace Names
Modify > Add Attribute
Modify > Edit Attribute
Modify > Delete Attribute
Modify > Convert
> NURBS to Polygons
Modify > Convert
> NURBS to Subdiv, Polygons to Subdiv
Modify > Convert
> Smooth Mesh Preview to Polygons
Modify > Convert
> Polygon Edges to Curve
Modify > Convert
> Subdiv to Polygons
Modify > Convert
> Subdiv to NURBS
Modify > Convert
> Texture to Geometry
Modify > Convert
> Displacement to Polygons with History
Modify > Convert
> Fluid to Polygons
Modify > Convert
> nParticle to Polygons
Modify > Convert
> Instance to Object
Modify > Replace
Objects
Display
Display > Grid
Display > Heads Up
Display
Display > UI Elements
Display > Hide, Show
Display > Wireframe
Color
Display > Object
Display
Display > Transform
Display
Display > Polygons
Display > NURBS
Display > Subdiv
Surfaces
Display > Animation
Display > Rendering
Window
Window > General
Editors > Component Editor
Window > General
Editors > Attribute Spread Sheet
Window > General
Editors > Connection Editor
Window > General
Editors > Visor
Window > General
Editors > Display Layer Editor
Window > General
Editors > Asset Editor
Window > General
Editors > Blind Data Editor
Window > General
Editors > Channel Control
Window > General
Editors > Script Editor
Window > General
Editors > Command Shell
Window > Rendering
Editors
Window > Animation
Editors
Window > Relationship
Editors
Window > Settings/Preferences
> Preferences
Window > Settings/Preferences
> Tool Settings
Window > Settings/Preferences
> Performance Settings
Window > Settings/Preferences
> Hotkey Editor
Window > Settings/Preferences
> Color Settings
Window > Settings/Preferences
> Marking Menu Editor
Window > Settings/Preferences
> Shelf Editor
Window > Settings/Preferences
> Panel Editor
Window > Settings/Preferences
> Plug-in Manager
Window > Attribute
Editor
Window > Outliner
Window > Hypergraph:
Hierarchy
Window > Hypergraph:
Connections
Window > Paint Effects
Window > UV Texture
Editor
Window > Playblast
Window > View Arrangement,
Window > Saved Layouts
Window > Save Current
Layout
Window > Frame All
in All Views, Window > Frame Selection in All Views
Window > Minimize
Application
Window > Raise Main
Window
Window > Raise Application
Windows
Assets
Assets > Create Asset
with Transform
Assets > Add to Asset
Assets > Remove from
Asset
Assets > Asset Editor
Assets > Export Proxy
Asset
Assets > Publish
Attributes
Assets > Unpublish
Attributes
Assets > Publish
Connections
Assets > Lock Unpublished
Attributes
Assets > Unlock Unpublished
Attributes
Assets > Publish
Node
Assets > Unpublish
Node
Assets > Assign Template
Assets > Select Asset
Contents
Assets > Advanced
Assets > Create
Assets > Advanced
Assets > Node Publishing
Assets > Advanced
Assets > Node Unpublishing
Assets > Advanced
Assets > Set Current Asset
Help
Menu Search
Help > Maya Help
Help > Learning Path
Help > Learning Movies
Help > Tutorials
Help > What’s New
Help > Support Center
Help > Subscription
Center
Help > Release Note
Updates
Help > The Area
Help > Download Bonus
Tools
Help > Download Vegetation
Help > Report a Problem
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Feature
Help > Customer Involvement
Program
Help > Autodesk DirectConnect
Help
Help > Autodesk FBX
Help
Help > MEL Command
Reference
Help > Python Command
Reference
Help > Node and Attribute
Reference
Help > Browser Setup
Assistant
Help > Find Menu
Help > About Maya
Panel menus
View
View > Camera Tools
> Tumble Tool
View > Camera Tools
> Track Tool
View > Camera Tools
> Dolly Tool
View > Camera Tools
> Zoom Tool
View > Camera Tools
> Roll Tool
View > Camera Tools
> Azimuth Elevation Tool
View > Camera Tools
> Yaw-Pitch Tool
View > Camera Tools
> Fly Tool
Shading
Shading menu
Shading > Wireframe
Shading > Smooth
Shade All
Shading > Smooth
Shade Selected Items
Shading > Flat Shade
All
Shading > Flat Shade
Selected Items
Shading > Bounding
Box
Shading > Points
Shading > Use default
material
Shading > Wireframe
on Shaded
Shading > X-Ray
Shading > X-Ray Joints
Shading > X-Ray Active
Components
Shading > Object
Transparency Sorting
Shading > Polygon
Transparency Sorting
Shading > Interactive
Shading
Shading > Color Index
Mode
Shading > Backface
Culling
Shading > Smooth
Wireframe
Shading > Hardware
Texturing
Shading > Hardware
Fog
Shading > Apply Current
to All
Lighting
Lighting menu
Show
Show menu
Show > Isolate Select
Show > Grid
Panels
Panels > Look Through
Selected
Panels menu
Basics Windows and Editors
Asset Editor
Attribute Editor
Attribute Spread Sheet
Channel Box
Color Chooser
Color Settings
Component Editor
Display Layer editor
File Browser
Hotbox customization
Hotkey Editor
Marking Menu Editor
Menu Sets
Namespace Editor
Outliner
Panel editor
Plug-in Manager
Preload Reference Editor
Relationship Editor
Script Editor
Shelf Editor
Visor
Hypergraph
Hypergraph overview
Hypergraph tips
Hypergraph limitations
Maya Help
Maya Help overview
About the web browser
Index
Search
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Viewing PDF Documentation
Contacting Customer Support
Preferences window
Preferences overview
Interface preferences
UI Elements preferences
ViewCube preferences
Help preferences
Display preferences
Kinematics preferences
Animation (Display)
preferences
Manipulators preferences
NURBS preferences
Polygons preferences
Subdivs preferences
Settings preferences
Animation (Settings)
preferences
Assets preferences
Cameras preferences
Dynamics preferences
Files/Projects preferences
Modeling preferences
Rendering preferences
Selection preferences
Snapping preferences
Sound preferences
Time Slider preferences
Undo preferences
Save Actions
Modules preferences
Applications preferences
Reference Editor
Reference Editor overview
Reference Editor toolbar
Reference Editor Layouts
Reference editor menus
Basics Nodes
Camera node
General attributes for
nodes
General attributes
Transform attributes
Display
Node behavior
Level of Detail group
node
Mac OS X and Linux Specific Notes
Appendix
Using Maya with Mac OS
X
Notes and Procedures
Troubleshooting Maya for
Mac OS X
Using Maya with Linux
Notes and Procedures
Troubleshooting Maya for
Linux
File referencing
About file referencing
File referencing workflows
About proxy references
Proxies with shared edits
Proxy referencing workflows
About proxy tags
Proxy referencing tips
About the Reference Editor
Modifying a file reference
Locking a file reference
How Maya keeps track of
edits to file references
Namespaces
File referencing tips
Saving reference edits
to grandchild files
File reference and node
structure
Work with file references
Work with proxy references
Work with namespaces
List, copy, or remove reference
edits
Edit reference paths in
the Reference Editor
View selected references
Export to an offline file
Assign Offline File
Paint Effects and 3D Paint
Paint Effects and 3D Paint Tool overview
What is Painting in Maya?
Maya Paint Effects
What is Paint Effects?
How the Paint Effects Tool works
Prepare to use Paint Effects
Painting in 2D
Paint in 2D
Display the Paint
Effects canvas
Set up the canvas
Paint on the canvas
Flip Tube Direction
Erase paint from the canvas
Smear and blur paint on
the canvas
Paint pixels
Clear the canvas
Zoom and track
Create new images
Create seamless repeating
textures
Modify textures applied
to surfaces
Paint on existing images
and textures
Save images
Painting in 3D
Paint in 3D
Set up to paint in 3D
Paint different ways in
3D
Select which UV set to
use for Paint Effects (polygons only)
Automatically paint multiple
strokes on a surface
Select strokes
Delete strokes
Modify existing strokes
Create a Paint
Effects modifier
Attach brushes to curves
Modify tube behavior using
control curves
Hide and show strokes and
curves
Modify stroke display quality
Convert Paint
Effects to polygons
Optimizing Paint
Effects Mesh quality
Convert Paint
Effects to NURBS
Convert Paint
Effects to curves
Painting in the Paint Effects
Panel
Paint in the Paint
Effects Panel
Switch between views for
painting
Show and hide the Paint
Effects panel toolbar
Save a snapshot of the Paint
Effects panel view
Save depth as grayscale
values
Change the Brush
Type
Change the panel lighting
Display RGB, luminance,
or alpha channels
Switch between a stylus
and the mouse
Working with brushes
Work with brushes
Select preset brushes
Define template brush settings
Reset the template brush
Create new brush presets
Modify brush settings for
existing strokes
Select brushes in your
scene
Map file textures to color
and opacity
Blend preset brush settings
Animating strokes
Add spring behavior to
strokes with tubes
Keyframe brush and stroke
attributes
Animate tube growth, gaps,
twist, and textures
Animate the stroke path
Make tubes react to forces
Create animated textures
Animate textures on strokes
Loop brush animations
Paint Effects samples and
techniques
Animate rain effects
Animate a plant growing
up a column
Animate a starfield
Create textures from painted
3D objects
Work on an animation project
Rendering scenes with Paint Effects strokes
Prepare to render scenes with Paint
Effects
Render scenes with Paint Effects strokes
Troubleshooting Paint Effects
Troubleshoot Paint
Effects
3D Paint Tool
What is the 3D
Paint Tool?
How the 3D
Paint Tool works
Preparing your model for
the 3D Paint Tool
Paint textures on
3D objects
Restrict the paint area
on polygons
Flood the surface
Reflect paint
Paint over existing textures
Paint attributes not seen
in hardware texturing
Layer painted textures
Save textures
Paint attributes not shown
in the Texture list
Switch nodes and painted
textures
Paint Effects and 3D Paint
Tools
Paint Effects Tool
3D Paint Tool
Paint Effects and 3D Paint
Menus
Modify
Modify > Convert
> Paint Effects to Polygons
Modify > Convert
> Paint Effects to NURBS
Modify > Convert
> Paint Effects to Curves
Display
Display > Rendering
> Paint Effects Mesh Display
Display > Rendering
> Stroke Display Quality
Texturing
Texturing > 3D Paint
Tool
Paint Effects
Paint Effects > Flip
Tube Direction
Paint Effects > Paint
Effects Globals
Paint Effects > Paint
Effects Tool
Paint Effects > Make
Paintable
Paint Effects > Paint
on Paintable Objects
Paint Effects > Paint
on View Plane
Paint Effects > Apply
Settings to Last Stroke
Paint Effects > Apply
Settings to Selected Strokes
Paint Effects > Get
Settings from Selected Stroke
Paint Effects > Share
One Brush
Paint Effects > Remove
Brush Sharing
Paint Effects > Select
Brush/Stroke Names Containing
Paint Effects > Create
Modifier
Paint Effects > Auto
Paint > Paint Grid
Paint Effects > Auto
Paint > Paint Random
Paint Effects > Curve
Utilities > Simplify Stroke Path Curves
Paint Effects > Curve
Utilities > Set Stroke Control Curves
Paint Effects > Curve
Utilities > Attach Brush to Curves
Paint Effects > Curve
Utilities >Transfer All Strokes To New Object
Paint Effects > Curve
Utilities > Make Pressure Curve
Paint Effects > Mesh
Quality Attributes
Paint Effects > Get
Brush
Paint Effects > Template
Brush Settings
Paint Effects > Reset
Template Brush
Paint Effects > Preset
Blending
Paint Effects > Save
Brush Preset
Paint Effects > Brush
Animation > Bake Spring Animation
Paint Effects > Brush
Animation > Make Brush Spring
Paint Effects > Brush
Animation > Loop Brush Animation
Paint Effects and 3D Paint
Windows and Editors
Paint Effects panel
Paint Effects Brush
Settings
Render Settings window
Paint Effects Rendering
Options
Paint Effects and 3D Paint
Nodes
strokeShape node
lineModifier node
Artisan
Artisan overview
What is Artisan?
Tools that use Artisan
Reset Artisan brush tools
Using Artisan brush tools
Using Artisan brush tools
How Artisan brush tools
work
Paint strokes
Flood paint
Paint reflected
Restrict an area for painting
Map attributes
Set stylus pressure
Change the brush outline
color
Create an Artisan tool
shelf
Use Artisan hotkeys
Use Artisan marking menus
Painting with MEL scripts and
the Paint Scripts Tool
Painting with MEL scripts
and the Paint Scripts Tool
Overview of MEL script
painting
Script paint
Set Paint Scripts Tool
settings
Script paint on restricted
surface areas
Flood surfaces
Write MEL Scripts for the Paint
Scripts Tool
Painting attribute values
Painting attribute values
Paint attributes
Restrict an area for painting
Flood surfaces
Map attributes
Set Paint
Attributes Tool settings
Make an attribute paintable
Artisan Menus
Modify
Modify > Paint Scripts Tool
Modify > Paint Attributes Tool
Artisan Windows and Editors
Artisan Tool Settings
MEL and Expressions
Background
MEL Overview
The MEL and expressions
book
MEL for programmers
Running MEL
Run MEL commands
See or record the MEL commands
associated with actions
Make a shelf button for
a script
Get help on a MEL command
Values and variables
Integer and floating point numbers
Strings
Explicit and implicit typing
Variables
Assigning values to variables and attributes
Printing values
Picking a random number
Arrays, vectors, and matrices
Arrays
Get and change the size of an array
Vectors
Matrices
Style
Good MEL style
Using white space
Adding comments
Naming variables
Procedures and scripts
Bullet-proof scripting
Controlling the flow of
a script
Testing and comparing values
Boolean values
if...else if...else
?: operator
switch...case
while
do...while
for
for-in
break
continue
Testing the existence of
commands, objects, and attributes
The difference between
= and ==
Common problems
Attributes
Attributes overview
Attribute names
Data types of attributes
Getting and setting attributes
Getting and setting multi-value
attributes
Procedures
Procedures
Defining procedures
Calling procedures
Global and local variables
Testing if a function is
available in MEL
Checking where a procedure
comes from
Animation expressions
Animation expressions
Creating animation expressions
Each attribute can only
have one driver
time and frame keywords
Find an animation expression
you created previously
Edit text in an animation
expression
Edit an animation expression
with a text editor
Delete an animation expression
I/O and interaction
User interaction
Reading and writing files
Testing file existence,
permissions, and other properties
Manipulating files
Working with directories
Executing system commands
Reading from and writing
to system command pipes
Calling MEL from AppleScript
and vice-versa
Debugging, optimizing,
and troubleshooting
MEL debugging features
Signaling with error, warning,
and trace
Handling errors with catch
and catchQuiet
Showing error line numbers
Showing the calling stack
when an error occurs
Optimizing script and expression
speed
Optimize scripts
Optimize expressions
Reduce redundant expression
execution
Troubleshooting
Accessing global variables
Initialization is different
from assignment
Common expression errors
Executing MEL commands
in an expression can have unintended side effects
Error message format
Common error messages
Common info messages
Creating interfaces
ELF commands
Windows
Controls
Layouts
Groups
Menus
Collections
Parents and children
Naming
UI command templates
Deleting UI elements
Attaching commands to UI
elements
A simple window
Modal dialogs
Using system events and
scriptJobs
Particle expressions
About particle expressions
Particle expressions
Creation expression execution
Runtime expression execution
Set the dynamics start
frame
Set attributes for initial
state usage
Write creation expressions
Write runtime expressions
Work with particle attributes
Add dynamic attributes
Understand per particle
and per object attributes
Understand initial state
attributes
Assign to a custom attribute
Assign to a particle array
attribute of different length
Use creation expression
values in a runtime expression
Work with position, velocity,
and acceleration
Work with color
Work with emitted particles
Work with collisions
Work with lifespan
Work with specific particles
Assigning to vectors and
vector arrays
Assign to vectors and vector
arrays
Assign to a vector variable
Use the vector component
operator with variables
Assign to a vector array
attribute component
List of particle attributes
Script nodes
MEL script nodes
Create or edit a script node
Prevent script nodes from executing when you open
a file
Advanced
Advanced programming topics
Automatic type conversion
Limits
Local array collection
Array arguments are passed
by reference
Changing the user script
locations with MEL
Advanced animation expressions
topics
How often an expression
executes
Use custom attributes in
expressions
Display attribute and variable
contents
Reproduce randomness
Remove an attribute from
an expression
Disconnect an attribute
Rename an object
Executing MEL commands
in an expression
Understand path names
Unexpected attribute values
Data type conversions
Syntax
Command syntax
Delimiters and white space
Expressions, operators and statements
Operator precedence
Blocks
Comments
Differences between expression and MEL syntax
Useful functions
Limit functions
Introduction to limit functions
abs
ceil
floor
clamp
min
max
sign
trunc
Exponential functions
Introduction to exponential
functions
exp
log
log10
pow
sqrt
Trigonometric functions
Introduction to trigonometric
functions
cos
cosd
sin
sind
tan
tand
acos
acosd
asin
asind
atan
atand
atan2
atan2d
hypot
Vector functions
Introduction to vector
functions
angle
cross
dot
mag
rot
unit
Conversion functions
Introduction to conversion
functions
deg_to_rad
rad_to_deg
hsv_to_rgb
rgb_to_hsv
Array functions
Introduction to array functions
clear
size
sort
Random number functions
Introduction to random
number functions
gauss
noise
dnoise
rand
sphrand
seed
Curve functions
Introduction to curve functions
linstep
smoothstep
hermite
General commands
Introduction to general
commands
eval
print
system
FAQ
Tasks
How can I get the names
of selected objects?
What is the command for
getting the Set Editor?
Why are the extra attributes
I added not in the Channel Box?
How can I change the order
of extra attributes in the Channel Box?
How can I export selected
data to an already opened file?
How can I customize AEnewNonNumericMulti.mel
so that I can disable buttons?
How do I make my Qt window
work consistently with Maya?
Scripting and syntax
What is the operator for
raising to a power?
How can I find out what
variables have been declared?
How do I list all global
variables?
How can I change an integer
to a string?
Can I specify a dynamic
matrix?
How do I execute a statement
created at runtime?
What is the difference
between eval, backquotes, and ()?
How can I stop a MEL script
that is running?
Why does a conversion error
occur when I am expecting a flag argument to be a float?
Modeling
How can I count polygons?
How can I get the name
of a (selected) shape node?
Commands to pick curve
on surface
How do I get and set specific
UV values on a polygon?
How can I create a closestPointOnSurface
node?
How can I get an object’s
pivot point in world space?
Animation, dynamics, and
rendering
How do I get or set the
position along the timeline using MEL?
How to randomize keyframes?
How do I export sets from
a Maya file?
How can I select a set
of particles?
How do I kill individual
particles?
How can I make a list of
what objects are connected to what shading groups?
How can I render from within
a script?
How do I set the batch
render directory in MEL?
What is the command to
strip shaders from an object?
Example scripts
Learning from Maya’s own
script files
Read animation values from
a text file
Particle Collision Boundary
Point Explosion
Testing Added Particle
Attributes
Testing Dynamics Events
Dynamics Time Playback
Finding Unshaded Objects
MEL Windows and Editors
Expression Editor
Python
Python in Maya
Using PyMEL
Using Python
Python and threading
Python from an external
interpreter
Important differences between
MEL and Python
Current limitations
Tips and tricks for scripters
new to Python
Python advanced techniques
Creating an editor window
using Python
Release Notes
Glossary
Glossary: A
absolute mode
active lines
active view
AIFF file format
aim constraint
aim vector
air field
algorithm
aliasing
alpha channel
ambient light
angle of view
angular unit
angular velocity
anim curve
anim file
animation
animation control
animation layer
anti-aliasing
aperture
API
area light
area value
articulation
Artisan tools
ASCII file
aspect ratio
asset
atmosphere
attenuation
attractor
attribute
Attribute Editor
attribute map
Attribute Spread Sheet
automatic mapping
axis
azimuth
Glossary: B
back shadow
backdrop
backface culling (backculling)
background
bake
bake-set
ball joint
barrier constraint
batch bake
batch render
bend deformer
beveling
Bezier curve
Bezier patch
bias
bin
bind
binary file
bind pose
binding skin
birail
blacking
blend
blend shape
blind data
Blinn material
blobby surface
blur
bone
bone lattice flexor
bone sculpt flexor
bookmark
Boolean operation
border edge
border line
BOT
bounciness
bounding box
breakdown
broadcast quality
Brownian texture
brush
brush stamp
B-spline patch
bump map
bumpiness
Glossary: C
cache file
camera
canvas
CgFX Viewer
chamfer
channel
Channel Box
Channel Control
character
character mapper
character partition
character set
character setup
child scene
child object
chroma keying
clip
clipping plane
cloth
cloud
clumping
cluster deformer
CMYK
color bar
color curve
color map
color set
combing
common edge
common end point
component
component mode
Component Editor
component video
composite video
compositing
compound attribute
concave polygon
Connection Editor
constrained object
constraint
construction history
construction plane
container
container template
contour rendering
control curve
control point
control vertex (CV)
coordinate system
CPV rendering
crease line
creation expression
culling
current character set
curvature modulation
curve attractor
curve-on-surface
CV
cylindrical projection
Glossary: D
DAG
DAG object
damping
decoder
deformable object
deformation
deformation chain
deformation order
deformer
deformer set
dependency graph (DG)
depth channel
depth map
depth of field
diffuse
digital disk recorder
DirectConnect
directional light
directional point emitter
displacement map
displacement material
displacement to polygons
dolly
dongle
dope sheet
double transformation effect
dress-up pose
driven key
dropoff
dropouts
DWG
DXF
dynamic attribute
dynamics
Glossary: E
EBU time code
edge
edge loop
edge ring
edit point
effector
effects
elevation
ELF
emitter
encapsulation
encoder
end effector
end joint
envelope
environment fog
environment map
environment variable
equalizer map
ethernet address
Euler angle
Euler rotation
expression
extrude
Glossary: F
face
falloff
FBIK (full-body IK)
FBIK effector
FBIK solver
FBX
Fcheck
FFD (free-form deformation)
field
field rendering
file referencing
file texture
fillet blend
fill shader
final gather
FK (forward kinematics)
FK posing
flag
flare deformer
flat shading
flexor
floating license
floor contact
fluid effects
focal length
follicle
fractal
frame
framebuffer
frame range
free-form geometry
Fresnel reflection
frustum
fur
fur description
fur feedback
fur file
fur render settings
fur normal
fur shading effects
Glossary: G
gamma
gamma correction
garment
geometry
geometry cache
geometry constraint
ghosting
gimbal lock
global space
glow object
gnomon
goal
Graph Editor
grid
grouping
Glossary: H
hair
hair curve
halo
handle
handle vector
handle wire
hardware render
HDTV
helix
hidden attribute
hidden-line
hierarchy
highlight
high-quality interactive
shading
hinge joint
hinge rigid body constraint
hotbox
hotkey
HSL
HSV
hull
HumanIK
Hypergraph
Hypershade
Glossary: I
IFF
IGES
IK (inverse kinematics)
IK chain
IK handle
IK posing
IK solver
IK spline curve
IK system
image-based lighting (IBL)
image plane
image viewer
IMF
impulse
industrial quality
influence object
in-point
input connection
input node
instance
interface
intersection line
invisible node
invisible object
IPR
isoparm
Glossary:
J
jaggies
jiggle deformer
joint
joint chain
joint chain
plane
joint chain plane indicator
joint cluster
flexor
joint lattice
flexor
joint sculpt
flexor
Glossary: K
key
kinematics
Glossary: L
lattice deformer
Layer Editor
layer set
lens flare
light fog (illuminated
fog)
light source
linear unit
LMB
local axes
local space
locator
loft
luminance
Glossary: M
.ma file format
macro
manipulator
marking menu
mask channel
material
matrix
matte
matte channel
Maya
.mb file format
MEL
.mel file format
mental ray
mesh
mesh brush
MMB
model
motion blur
MotionBuilder
motion capture
motion history dependence
motion path
motion warping
MultiPoint
MultiStreak
muting
Glossary: N
nail rigid body constraint
namespace
nCloth
neutral pose
Newton field
nickeling
node
nonlinear deformer
nonmanifold topology
non-planar polygon
normal
normal constraint
normalization
NTSC
Maya Nucleus
numeric render type
NURBS
Glossary: O
object
object space
occlusion culling
ocean
offset
offset mesh
opacity
optical FX node
orient constraint
origin axis
orthographic projection
Outliner
out-point
output connection
output node
outside points transform
oversampling
Glossary: P
Paint Effects
Paint Hair
paint sculpt map
PAL
panel
parameter
parameterization
parametric space
parent constraint
parent object
parent scene
particle
particle object
partition set
patch
path
path curve
Phong material
Phong E material
photon map
pick mask
pin constraint
pivot point
pixel
planar polygon
plane
plateau tangent
Platonic solid
Playblast
plug-in
point
point constraint
point light
point of view
pole vector
pole vector constraint
polygon
polygon count
polygon proxy mode
polygonal shell
polygonal solid
pond
popup help
pose
Preload Reference editor
prelighting
preroll
preset
primitive
procedural texture
profile curve
profile line
projection map
proxy reference
proxy set
proxy tag
PSD
PSD network
Glossary: Q
quantize
quaternion
rotation
Glossary: R
radial field
radial wrinkle deformer
ramp
ray (light ray)
raytracing
real time
redirect control
Reference Editor
reference view set
referenced scene
reflection map
refraction
Relationship Editor
relative mode
render layer
render settings
Render View
rendering
reserved word
resolution
rest pose
retargeting
revolve surface
RGB
RGBA
rigging
rigid body
rigid body constraint
rigid skin
rigid skin object
rigid skin point
RLE
RMB
rolling camera
rolling effect
root joint
rotate order
rotation
rotoscoping
roughness
runtime expression
Glossary: S
scale constraint
scanline
scene hierarchy
scene view
screen projection
screenspace
Script Editor
scrubbing
sculpt deformer
sculpt geometry tool
sculpt map
search envelope
SECAM
selection mask
selective file loading
self-illumination
self-shading
serial number
set
set driven key
shaded surface
shader
shader manager
shading
shading map
shading network
shadow
shape node
shared display layers
shared polygons
shelf
shell
shininess
sine deformer
skeleton
skin object
skin point
skinning
smear
smooth proxy
smooth shading
smooth skin
smooth skin influence object
smooth skin object
smooth skin point
smoothing
SMPTE time code
soft body
soft modification
software render
solver
sorting bin
soundtrack
source
specular reflection
sphere render type
spherical projection
spin impulse
spline
spot light
spring constraint
spring IK solver
sprite
squash deformer
start pose
stitching
storyboard
streak
stroke
STU space
subcarrier
subdivision surface
substitute geometry
summary
surface
surface sampler
surface highlights
surface material
swatch rendering
sync
sync generator
Glossary: T
tangent
tangent constraint
target
template
tessellation
text filter field
texture
texture map
thorn
time
time warp
time working units
toon shading
topology
track
Transfer Maps
transform (xform)
transform node
transformation
translate
transparency
transplant
Trax Editor
trim
tube
tumble
turbulence field
tweaking
twist deformer
Glossary:
U
underworld
nodes
Unfold UVs
uniform field
universal
joint
universal
manipulator
up axis
up vector
utility node
UV coordinate
system
UV Lattice
UV set
UV Smudge
UV
Snapshot
Glossary: V
valency
vector
vector render
vertex
vertex normal
video field
videotape controller
view
view axis
ViewCube
Visor
visualization map
volume axis field
volumetric material
vortex field
voxel
VTR
Glossary:
W
wake
warp image
wave deformer
weight
wheelmouse
wire deformer
wire
dropoff locator
wireframe
working units
workspace
world space
world up vector
wrap deformer
wrinkle
deformer
Glossary:
X
xform
x-ray shading
XYZ coordinate
system
Glossary:
Y
Y-up world
Glossary:
Z
zoom
Z-up world
Glossary: Numerics
2D motion blur
3D motion blur
3D paint tool
Modeling
Polygonal Modeling
Polygons overview
Introduction to polygons
Polygon modeling overview
Polygon normals
Two-manifold vs. non-manifold
polygonal geometry
Planar and non-planar polygons
Polygon component display
Polygon modeling features
on marking menus
Polygon selection and creation
Polygon selection
Select polygon components
Select a face loop
Select a vertex loop
Select an edge ring
Select an edge loop
Edge ring and edge loop
selection tips
Select border edges
Select a path of edges
between two vertices
Select components based
on criteria
Change vertex selection
using pick walk
Change edge loop selection
using pick walk
Polygon creation
Create polygon primitives
Create polygon primitives
interactively
Create polygon primitives
using the Create menu
Create polygon primitives
using the Shelf
Create a polygon mesh
Add polygons to an existing
mesh
Create a polygon face with
a hole
Extrude a polygon face,
edge, or vertex
Extrude polygons in an
arc or wedge shape
Create symmetrical polygon
meshes
Duplicate polygon faces
Polygon conversion
Convert NURBS surfaces
to a polygon mesh
Convert polygon faces to
triangles or quadrangles
Convert polygonal surfaces
to subdivision surfaces
Convert textures to a polygon
mesh
Polygon modeling preferences
and tips
Polygon modeling preferences
Display the polygon count
in the scene view
Combining, separating,
and splitting
Merge polygons
Merge boundary edges
Merge vertices, edges,
or faces into one vertex
Bridge between border edges
Combine and separate polygon
meshes
Combine polygon meshes
Combine polygon meshes
using booleans
Edit the original objects
after a boolean operation
Separate polygon shells
into separate meshes
Extract faces from a mesh
Split polygon components
Split shared vertices
Split polygon faces
Connect arbitrary components
Split multiple polygon
faces
Split a face so that a
vertex is added at its center
Insert an edge loop
Create edge loops that
are offset from an edge
Divide polygon components
Divide faces into triangles
or quadrangles
Subdivide faces by painting
Divide polygon edges
Editing polygons
Modifying polygon meshes
Bevel polygon edges
Spin polygonal edges
Crease polygonal edges
and vertices
Chamfer a vertex
Deform a polygonal mesh
Make a hole in a polygon
face
Fill holes in a polygon
mesh
Flip triangle edges
Transfer vertex attributes
Moving polygon components
Move, rotate, or scale
polygon components
Move polygon vertices along
their normals
Slide polygon edges
Smoothing polygon meshes
Smoothing overview
Preview a smoothed polygonal
mesh
Work with polygon meshes
using Subdiv Proxy
Smooth polygon meshes
Editing polygon normals
Edit the vertex normals
to affect polygon shading
Reverse polygon normals
Deleting and simplifying
polygons
Delete polygon vertices
and edges
Clean up, simplify, or
validate meshes
Reduce the number of faces
in a mesh
Sculpting surface meshes
Soft Selection
Soft Selection overview
Soft Select a NURBS or
polygon surface mesh
Modify Soft Selection Falloff
Influence multiple meshes
Reflect Soft Select transformations
Soft Select UVs
Example: Expanding cheeks
with Soft Selection
Sculpt Geometry Tool
Sculpt Geometry Tool overview
Sculpt a NURBS or polygon
surface mesh
Sculpt a subdivision surface
mesh
Smooth a surface mesh
Relax a surface mesh
Erase surface sculpting
to an earlier state
Sculpt according to an
attribute map on NURBS
Sculpt across seams and
surface edges on NURBS
Keyframe sculpting changes
Coloring polygons
Color per vertex overview
Coloring polygons using
color per vertex data
Prelighting polygons
Polygon color sets
Working with color per
vertex data
Make vertex colors visible
Assign colors to polygon
vertices
Assign colors to polygon
vertices by painting
Assign colors to polygon
vertices using Prelight
Animate polygon vertex
colors
Remove colors or prelighting
from polygon vertices
Create and edit color sets
Assigning Color Per Vertex
per instance
Transfer color data between
meshes
Blind data
Blind data overview
What is blind data?
Working with blind data
Set up the structure of blind data
Apply blind data to components
Make blind data visible
Appendices
Appendix A: Tangent and binormal vectors
Polygons menus
Select
Select > Object/Component
Select > Vertex
Select > Edge
Select > Face
Select > UV
Select > Vertex Face
Select > Select Edge
Loop Tool
Select > Select Edge
Ring Tool
Select > Select Border
Edge Tool
Select > Select Shortest
Edge Path Tool
Select > Convert
Selection > To Vertices
Select > Convert
Selection > To Vertex Faces
Select > Convert
Selection > To UVs
Select > Convert
Selection > To UV Shell
Select > Convert
Selection > To UV Border
Select > Convert
Selection > To UV Edge Loop
Select > Convert
Selection > To Edges
Select > Convert
Selection > To Edge Loop
Select > Convert
Selection > To Edge Ring
Select > Convert
Selection > To Contained Edges
Select > Convert
Selection > To Faces
Select > Convert
Selection > To Face Path
Select > Convert
Selection > To Contained Faces
Select > Grow Selection
Region
Select > Shrink Selection
Region
Select > Select Selection
Boundary
Select > Select Contiguous
Edges
Select > Select Using
Constraints
Mesh
Mesh > Combine
Mesh > Separate
Mesh > Extract
Mesh > Booleans
Mesh > Smooth
Mesh > Average Vertices
Mesh > Transfer Attributes
Mesh > Paint Transfer
Attributes Weight Tool
Mesh > Clipboard
Actions > Copy Attributes
Mesh > Clipboard
Actions > Paste Attributes
Mesh > Clipboard
Actions > Clear Clipboard
Mesh > Reduce
Mesh > Paint Reduce
Weights Tool
Mesh > Cleanup
Mesh > Triangulate
Mesh > Quadrangulate
Mesh > Fill Hole
Mesh > Make Hole
Tool
Mesh > Create Polygon
Tool
Mesh > Sculpt Geometry
Tool
Mesh > Mirror Cut
Mesh > Mirror Geometry
Edit Mesh
Edit Mesh > Keep
Faces Together
Edit Mesh > Extrude
Edit Mesh > Bridge
Edit Mesh > Append
to Polygon Tool
Edit Mesh > Cut Faces
Tool
Edit Mesh > Split
Polygon Tool
Edit Mesh > Insert
Edge Loop Tool
Edit Mesh > Offset
Edge Loop Tool
Edit Mesh > Add Divisions
Edit Mesh > Slide
Edge Tool
Edit Mesh > Transform
Component
Edit Mesh > Flip
Triangle Edge
Edit Mesh > Spin
Edge Forward
Edit Mesh > Spin
Edge Backward
Edit Mesh > Poke
Face
Edit Mesh > Wedge
Face
Edit Mesh > Duplicate
Face
Edit Mesh > Connect
Components
Edit Mesh > Detach
Component
Edit Mesh > Merge
Edit Mesh > Merge
To Center
Edit Mesh > Collapse
Edit Mesh > Merge
Vertex Tool
Edit Mesh > Merge
Edge Tool
Edit Mesh > Delete
Edge/Vertex
Edit Mesh > Chamfer
Vertex
Edit Mesh > Bevel
Edit Mesh > Crease
Tool
Edit Mesh > Crease
Sets > Create Crease Set
Edit Mesh > Assign
Invisible Faces
Proxy
Proxy > Subdiv Proxy
Proxy > Remove Subdiv
Proxy Mirror
Proxy > Crease Tool
Proxy > Toggle Proxy
Display
Proxy > Both Proxy
and Subdiv Display
Normals
Normals > Vertex
Normal Edit Tool
Normals > Set Vertex
Normal
Normals > Lock Normals
Normals > Unlock
Normals
Normals > Average
Normals
Normals > Set to
Face
Normals > Reverse
Normals > Conform
Normals > Soften
Edge
Normals > Harden
Edge
Normals > Set Normal
Angle
Color
Color > Prelight
(Maya)
Color > Batch Bake
(mental ray)
Color > Assign New
Vertex Bake Set
Color > Assign Existing
Bake Set
Color > Edit Assigned
Bake Set
Color > Create Empty
Color Set
Color > Delete Current
Color Set
Color > Rename Current
Color Set
Color > Modify Current
Color Set
Color > Color Set
Editor
Color > Set Keyframe
for Vertex Color
Color > Apply Color
Color > Paint Vertex
Color Tool
Color > Toggle Display
Colors Attribute
Color > Color Material
Channel
Color > Material
Blend Setting
Polygons windows and editors
Blind Data Editor
Color Set Editor
Polygons nodes
blendColorSets
Tangent Space
Smooth Mesh
NURBS Modeling
NURBS overview
What are NURBS?
NURBS modeling overview
The mathematics behind
NURBS
Degree of NURBS curves
and surfaces
Parameterization of NURBS
curves and surfaces
Normals
Periodic, closed, and open
geometry
Curvature and Continuity
Components of NURBS curves
Moving edit points vs.
moving CVs
Multi-knots and CV multiplicity
Tips for constructing NURBS
curves
Displaying and selecting
NURBS components
Bezier curves
Creating NURBS curves
Draw curves
Create a curve from a surface
edge, isoparm, or curve-on-surface
Create a Bezier curve
Create arcs
Create a fillet curve between
two existing curves
Create a degree 3 curve
to match degree 1 (scan) data
Creating NURBS surfaces
Create NURBS primitives
Create a flat surface inside
a curve
Skin a surface across profile
curves
Sweep a profile curve along
a path curve
Sweep one or more profile
curves along two path curves (birail)
Create a surface within
bounding curves
Create a four-sided surface
with continuity (Square)
Create a surface using Revolve
Extrude and bevel a surface
from a curve
Duplicate NURBS surface
patches
Create NURBS transition
surfaces
Round off the meeting point
between two edges
Create a fillet between
two surfaces
Create a surface between
two sets of boundary curves
Editing NURBS
Reshape a curve or surface
manually
Align a curve with a curve
or surface
Align surface edges
Smooth a curve
Lock or unlock the length
of a curve
Straighten, smooth, curl
or bend a curve
Extend a curve
Extend a surface
Select curve CVs: first,
last or all
Edit NURBS curves and surfaces
Join curves or surfaces
together
Split a curve or surface
(detach)
Insert additional edit
points/isoparms in a curve or surface to add more CVs
Create an offset copy of
a curve or surface
Reverse the direction of
a curve or surface normals
Reduce the complexity of
a curve or surface
Control multi-knots and
CV hardness
Automatically add spans
to areas of a curve with high curvature
Convert a curve or surface
to uniform parameterization
Convert a surface to non-rational
geometry
Change a curve or surface’s
degree or number of spans/patches
Make a curve or surface
open or closed
Match the topology of one
curve to another
Edit Bezier curves
Add / Remove anchors
Add / Remove tangents
Transform anchors and tangents
Open / Close a curve
Break / Smooth tangents
Weight / Even tangents
Convert a curve between
Bezier and NURBS
Trimming
Trimming NURBS surfaces
NURBS Booleans
Curves-on-surface
Create a curve-on-surface
Trim or untrim a NURBS
surface
Perform boolean operations
on surfaces
Stitching
Stitch multiple surfaces
together
Manually stitch surface
edges together
Manually stitch surface
points together
Sculpting surface meshes
Soft Selection
Using Soft Selection for
NURBS
Sculpt Geometry Tool
Using the Sculpt Geometry Tool for
NURBS
NURBS menus
Edit Curves
Edit Curves > Duplicate
Surface Curves
Edit Curves > Attach
Curves
Edit Curves > Detach
Curves
Edit Curves > Align
Curves
Edit Curves > Open/Close
Curves
Edit Curves > Move
Seam
Edit Curves > Cut
Curve
Edit Curves > Intersect
Curves
Edit Curves > Curve
Fillet
Edit Curves > Insert
Knot
Edit Curves > Extend
> Extend Curve
Edit Curves > Extend
> Extend Curve on Surface
Edit Curves > Offset
> Offset Curve, Offset Curve on Surface
Edit Curves > Reverse
Curve Direction
Edit Curves > Rebuild
Curve
Edit Curves > Fit
B-spline
Edit Curves > Smooth
Curve
Edit Curves > CV
Hardness
Edit Curves > Add
Points Tool
Edit Curves > Curve
Editing Tool
Edit Curves > Project
Tangent
Edit Curves > Modify
Curves
Edit Curves > Modify
Curves > Lock Length
Edit Curves > Modify
Curves > Unlock Length
Edit Curves > Modify
Curves > Straighten
Edit Curves > Modify
Curves > Smooth
Edit Curves > Modify
Curves > Curl
Edit Curves > Modify
Curves > Bend
Edit Curves > Modify
Curves > Scale Curvature
Edit Curves > Bezier
Curves
Edit Curves > Bezier
Curves > Anchor Presets
Edit Curves > Bezier
Curves > Tangent Options
Edit Curves > Selection
Edit Curves > Selection
> Select Curve CVs
Edit Curves > Selection
> Select First CV on Curve
Edit Curves > Selection
> Select Last CV on Curve
Edit Curves > Selection
> Cluster Curve
Surfaces
Surfaces > Revolve
Surfaces > Loft
Surfaces > Planar
Surfaces > Extrude
Surfaces > Birail
Surfaces > Boundary
Surfaces > Square
Surfaces > Bevel
Surfaces > Bevel
Plus
Edit NURBS
Edit NURBS > Duplicate
NURBS Patches
Edit NURBS > Project
Curve on Surface
Edit NURBS > Intersect
Surfaces
Edit NURBS > Trim
Tool
Edit NURBS > Untrim
Surfaces
Edit NURBS > Booleans
> Union Tool, Difference Tool, Intersection
Tool
Edit NURBS > Attach
Surfaces
Edit NURBS > Attach
Without Moving
Edit NURBS > Detach
Surfaces
Edit NURBS > Align
Surfaces
Edit NURBS > Open/Close
Surfaces
Edit NURBS > Move
Seam
Edit NURBS > Insert
Isoparms
Edit NURBS > Extend
Surfaces
Edit NURBS > Offset
Surfaces
Edit NURBS > Reverse
Surface Direction
Edit NURBS > Rebuild
Surfaces
Edit NURBS > Round
Tool
Edit NURBS > Surface
Fillet > Circular Fillet
Edit NURBS > Surface
Fillet > Freeform Fillet
Edit NURBS > Surface
Fillet > Fillet Blend Tool
Edit NURBS > Stitch
> Stitch Surface Points
Edit NURBS > Stitch
> Stitch Edges Tool
Edit NURBS > Stitch
> Global Stitch
Edit NURBS > Sculpt
Geometry Tool
Edit NURBS > Surface
Editing > Surface Editing Tool, Break
Tangent, Smooth Tangent
Edit NURBS > Selection
NURBS nodes
DetachSurface node
StitchSrf node
Subdivision Surfaces
Subdivision surfaces overview
What are subdivision surfaces?
Subdivision surface modeling overview
Standard mode and polygon
proxy mode
Subdivision surface conversion
Prepare a polygonal surface for conversion to
a subdivision surface
Prepare a NURBS surface for conversion to a subdivision
surface
Convert a NURBS or polygonal surface to a subdivision
surface
Convert a subdivision surface to polygons
Convert a subdivision surface to a NURBS surface
Editing subdivision surfaces
Create a new subdivision level
Switch between subdivision levels
Apply or remove a crease in a subdivision surface
Use polygon tools to modify a subdivision surface
Modify a subdivision surface using Soft Modification
Display the edited vertices on a subdivision surface
Convert a subdivision component selection
Attach subdivision surfaces
Use transformation tools with subdivision surface
components
Improve interactive performance when editing subdivision
surfaces
Cleaning up subdivision surfaces
Reduce the number of levels in a subdivision surface
Remove unused vertices from a subdivision surface
Mapping and editing UVs
UV mapping for subdivision surfaces
Edit UVs in Polygon Proxy Mode
Map UVs onto a subdivision surface
Edit subdivision surface UVs
Sculpting surface meshes
Using the Sculpt
Geometry Tool for subdivision surfaces
Subdivision surfaces tips
Bind subdivision surfaces
to skeletons
Apply a deformer to a subdivision
surface
Render subdivision surfaces
Subdivision surfaces menus
Subdiv Surfaces
Subdiv Surfaces > Texture > Planar
Mapping
Subdiv Surfaces > Texture > Automatic
Mapping
Subdiv Surfaces > Texture > Layout
UVs
Subdiv Surfaces > Full Crease Edge/Vertex
Subdiv Surfaces > Partial Crease Edge/Vertex
Subdiv Surfaces > Uncrease Edge/Vertex
Subdiv Surfaces > Mirror
Subdiv Surfaces > Attach
Subdiv Surfaces > Match Topology
Subdiv Surfaces > Clean Topology
Subdiv Surfaces > Collapse Hierarchy
Subdiv Surfaces > Standard Mode
Subdiv Surfaces > Polygon Proxy Mode
Subdiv Surfaces > Sculpt Geometry Tool
Subdiv Surfaces > Convert Selection
to Faces
Subdiv Surfaces > Convert Selection
to Edges
Subdiv Surfaces > Convert Selection
to Vertices
Subdiv Surfaces > Convert Selection
to UVs
Subdiv Surfaces > Refine Selected Components
Subdiv Surfaces > Select Coarser Components
Subdiv Surfaces > Expand Selected Components
Subdiv Surfaces > Component Display
Level > Finer
Subdiv Surfaces > Component Display
Level > Coarser
Subdiv Surfaces > Component Display
Level > Base
Subdiv Surfaces > Component Display
Filter > All
Subdiv Surfaces > Component Display
Filter > Edits
Mapping UVs
UV mapping overview
Introduction to UV mapping
Creating UVs
Viewing and evaluating
UVs
UV mapping tips
UV Texture Editor overview
UV sets
Mapping UVs
Planar UV mapping
Cylindrical UV mapping
Spherical UV mapping
Automatic UV mapping
User-defined UV mapping
Confirm UV placement
Transfer UVs between meshes
Editing UVs
Display UVs
Select UVs
Display a subset of UVs
Move, rotate, and scale
UVs
Dolly or track within the UV
Texture Editor
Display a texture behind
the UVs
Delete UVs
Update a texture image
after UV modification
Use the UV
Texture Editor grid
Save an image of the UV
layout
Modify UVs using the UV
Lattice Tool
Modify UVs using the UV
Smudge Tool
Separate and attach UV
shells
Display overlapping UVs
Display UV winding order
Layout UV shells
Map border UVs to a square
or circle
Straighten border UVs
Relax and untangle UVs
Unfold a UV mesh
Example: Lay out a UV shell
using unfold and relax
Flip or rotate UV shells
Copy UVs and color attributes
between polygons
UV sets
Create UV sets
Switch between UV sets
Duplicate, rename, or delete
a UV set
Assign a texture to a UV
set
Copy UVs from one UV set
to another
Working with per-instance
UV sets
Edit NURBS UVs
UVs menu reference
Create UVs
Create UVs > Planar
Mapping
Create UVs > Cylindrical
Mapping
Create UVs > Spherical
Mapping
Create UVs > Automatic
Mapping
Create UVs > Create
UVs Based On Camera
Create UVs > Best Plane
Texturing Tool
Create UVs > Assign
Shader to Each Projection
Create UVs > Create
Empty UV Set
Create UVs > Copy
UVs to UV Set
Create UVs > Set
Current UV Set
Create UVs > Rename
Current UV Set
Create UVs > Delete
Current UV Set
Create UVs > UV Set
Editor
Create UVs > Per
Instance Sharing
Edit UVs
Edit UVs > Normalize
Edit UVs > Unitize
Edit UVs > Flip
Edit UVs > Rotate
Edit UVs > Grid
Edit UVs > Align
Edit UVs > Warp Image
Edit UVs > Map UV
Border
Edit UVs > Straighten
UV Border
Edit UVs > Relax
Edit UVs > Unfold
Edit UVs > Layout
Edit UVs > Cut UV
Edges
Edit UVs > Split
UVs
Edit UVs > Sew UV
Edges
Edit UVs > Move and
Sew UV Edges
Edit UVs > Merge
UVs
Edit UVs > Delete
UVs
Edit UVs > UV Texture
Editor
UVs windows and editors
reference
UV Texture Editor
UV Texture Editor reference
UV Texture Editor menu
bar
UV Texture Editor toolbar
UV Set Editor
UVs tool reference
Move tool (in UV
texture editor)
Animation
Animation
Animation Basics
Animation in Maya
Controlling animation
Previewing animation
Playblasting animation
Muting animation
Adding sound to your animation
Baking simulations
Animation Snapshot and
Animated Sweep
Turntable animation
Scene timewarp effects
Animated rotation in Maya
Edit animation preferences
Use the animation controls
Set the appearance of key
ticks in the Time Slider
Create a turntable animation
Preview your animation
Ghost an object
Change the status of a
mute node from the Channel Box
Apply Motion Trails to
an object
Playback animation
Display the frame rate
of an animation
Set and display timecode
for the scene
View object manipulators
during playback
Optimize your scene for
playback
Playblast animation
Add sound to your animation
Import an audio file
Display audio on the Time
Slider
Example audio workflow
Play an audio file
Set the audio playback
settings
Delete audio from your
scene
Set up audio on Linux
Create timewarping effects
Create a global timewarp
effect
Edit a global timewarp
effect
Remove a global timewarp
effect
Set Animation Snapshot
and Animated Sweep
Set Animation Snapshot
and Animated Sweep
Apply animation snapshot
Apply animated sweep
Turn Animation Snapshot
and Animated Sweep on or off
Delete Animation Snapshot
or Animated Sweep construction history
Keyframe Animation
Keys
Auto Key
Keys in the Attribute
Editor
Keys in the Channel
Box, Graph Editor, and Dope
Sheet
Cutting, copying, and pasting
keys between scenes
Keys clipboard
Driven keys
Breakdowns
Inbetweens
Keyframe animation and
the Graph Editor
Keyframe animation and
the Dope Sheet
Set keys
Set key preferences
Add keys
Set key options
Modify key attributes
Edit the keyability of
an object
Disable the editability
of attributes without deleting them
Use Auto Key
Edit keys
Cut keys
Copy keys
Paste keys
Copy and paste keys in
the Graph Editor
Delete keys
Scale keys
Snap keys
Bake keys
Mute keys in the Dope
Sheet or Graph Editor
Create Dope
Sheet custom key colors
Set Breakdowns
Set Breakdowns
Convert keys to Breakdowns
Convert Breakdowns to keys
Set Inbetweens
Set Driven Keys
Set Driven Keys overview
Set a driven key relationship
Use the Graph
Editor and Dope Sheet
Display the Graph
Editor and Dope Sheet
Navigate the Graph
Editor graph view or Dope Sheet view
area
Set curve display options
in the Graph Editor
Filter curve display in
the Graph Editor
Turn on Pre-selection highlighting
in the Graph Editor
Manipulate a range of time
and keys in the Dope Sheet
Edit curves
View curves while editing
Set curve behavior
Use single-click curve
editing
Set rotation interpolation
for curves
Smooth curves
Simplify curves
Resample curves
Scale curves
Mute or unmute a channel
in the Dope Sheet or Graph
Editor
Template or untemplate
an animation channel and its curve in the Graph Editor
Fix corrupted curves
Manipulate curves with
the lattice manipulator
Change animation curve
colors
Edit tangents
Edit keys from curves
Add keys to a curve
Move keys on a curve
Copy and paste keys on
a curve
Delete keys from a curve
Nonlinear Animation
What is nonlinear animation?
Nonlinear animation tools
in Maya
Nonlinear animation components
in Trax
Camera shots
Codec support
Open and view the Trax
Editor
Open the Trax
Editor
Set the Trax
Editor view
Set the Time Slider’s playback
range to reflect the range of clips in Trax
Use the Outliner and Visor with
Trax
Use the Outliner with
Trax
Use the Visor with
Trax
Create, load, and highlight
character sets
Create character sets
Load character sets
Rename character sets in
the Trax Editor
Highlight characters, groups,
or subcharacters in Trax
Collapse, expand, and edit
summaries
Expand and collapse a summary
track
Edit the summary clip
Create clips and poses
Create clips
Create expression or constraint
clips
Create poses
Cut, copy, and paste clips
Duplicate clips
Manipulate clips
Edit clip weighting
Move clips
Trim clips
Scale clips
Cycle clips
Hold clips
Split clips
Merge clips
Enable or disable clips
Activate or deactivate
clips
Offset clip channels
Create and edit blends
Create and edit time warps
Key on top of clips
Key into a clip
Edit clip attributes
Edit a clip’s animation
curves
Select and edit source
clips
Select source clips
Copy source clips to a
character
Edit source clips
Select, create, and remove
tracks
Select tracks
Add tracks
Remove tracks
Group and ungroup clips
Create groups
Rename groups
Ungroup clips
Work with subcharacter
sets in Trax
Create a source clip for
subcharacter set curves
Rename subcharacter sets
in the Trax Editor
Import/export animation
data
Import or export animation
data
Work with audio in Trax
Open the Camera
Sequencer
Create camera shots
Create a camera shot
Create groups of camera
shots
Create a group of camera
shots
Add a camera shot to a
group
Select camera shots in
a group
Unmute camera shots in
a group
Ungroup camera shots and
delete groups
Delete a camera shot
Import and export editorial
content
Add audio to a sequence
Associate audio with a
sequence
Adjust the timing of audio
in a sequence
Manipulate camera shots
in a sequence
Change the length of a
shot
Create a hold for a camera
shot
Move and re-order shots
in a sequence
Remove gaps and overlaps
between camera shots
Turn on ripple editing
Assign an image plane to
a camera shot
Playblast camera shots
Playblast a shot
Playblast a sequence of
shots
Path Animation
What is path animation?
Positioning your object
on a path curve
Orienting your object on
a path curve
Manipulating your object
on the motion path
Motion path markers
Marker timing
Create a motion path animation
Create a motion path using
a curve
Create a motion path using
keys
Edit motion paths
Detach an object from a
motion path
Delete motion paths
Animate along a motion
path
Create a path animation
Create a path animation
using the Motion Path Manipulator tool
Animate an object along
a surface
Orient an object on a path
Deform an object along
a motion path curve
Set motion path markers
Set motion path markers
Motion Capture Animation
Motion capture devices
Motion capture devices
Server
Axis
Button
Attachments
Virtual devices
Motion capture systems
Optical capture system
Magnetic capture system
Motion capture process
Motion capture process
Rehearsing the motion
Recording the motion
Filters and Resamplers
Saving files to disk
Motion capture tips
Tips for full-body motion
capture
Tips for working with the
data
Create motion capture animation
Create full body motion
capture
Create simple motion capture
Set devices
Geometry Caching
Geometry caching overview
What is geometry caching?
Geometry cache creation
Geometry cache XML description
file
Geometry cache threading
Create and edit geometry
caches
Cache geometry
Work with geometry cache
clips
Animation Layers
What are animation layers?
Understanding layered animation
Animation layer stack
Animation layer modes
Animation layer states
Animation layer weight
BaseAnimation
Create animation layers
Open the Animation
Layer Editor
Create an animation layer
Set the animation layer
modes
Add and remove attributes
from animation layers
Animate on layers
Load existing animation
to work with layers
Keyframe objects on animation
layers
Add constraints to animation
layers
Mute, Lock, and Solo animation
layers
Keyframe the weight of
animation layers
Display ghosts for layered
animation
Select objects with attributes
on an animation layer
Select an animation layer
node
Organize animation layers
Re-order animation layers
Parent and unparent animation
layers
Package animation layers
into assets
View layered animation
Change the animation layer
stack display
Filter the display of animation
layers
View layer weight animation
Template the curves of
locked animation layers
Manipulate animation layers
Import and export animation
layers
Copy an animation layer
Extract animation to or
from an animation layer
Merge animation layers
Bake animation layers
Delete or empty animation
layers
Example workflows with
animation layers
Use animation layers to
modify existing animation
Use animation layers like
takes
Use animation layers to
enhance motion capture data
Keyframe two characters
on separate animation layers
Advanced workflow: Use
constraints and expressions with animation layers
Animation Menus
Edit
Edit > Keys >
Copy Keys
Edit > Keys >
Cut Keys
Edit > Keys >
Paste Keys
Edit > Keys >
Delete Keys
Edit > Keys >
Delete FBIK Keys
Edit > Keys >
Scale Keys
Edit > Keys >
Snap Keys
Edit > Keys >
Bake Simulation
Window
Window > Animation
Editors > Graph Editor
Window > Animation
Editors > Trax Editor
Window > Animation
Editors > Dope Sheet
Window > Animation
Editors > Expression Editor
Window > Playblast
Animate
Animate > Set Key
Animate > Set Breakdown
Animate > Hold Current
Keys
Animate > Set Driven
Key menu
Animate > Set Driven
Key > Set
Animate > Set Driven
Key > Go to Previous and Go to Next
Animate > Set Transform
Keys menu
Animate > Set Full Body
IK Keys
Animate > Set Blend
Shape Target Weight Keys
Animate > Create
Clip
Animate > Create
Pose
Animate > Ghost Selected
Animate > Unghost
Selected
Animate > Unghost
All
Animate > Create
Motion Trail
Animate > Create
Animation Snapshot
Animate > Update
Motion Trail/Snapshot
Animate > Create
Animated Sweep
Animate > Motion
Paths menu
Animate > Motion
Paths > Set Motion Path Key
Animate > Motion
Paths > Attach to Motion Path
Animate > Motion
Paths > Flow Path Object
Animate > Turntable
Animate > Scene Time
Warp menu
Animate > Set Timecode
Geometry Cache
Geometry Caching menus
Geometry Cache >
Create New Cache
Geometry Cache >
Import Cache
Geometry Cache > Export
Cache
Geometry Cache >
Disable All Caches On Selected
Geometry Cache >
Enable All Caches On Selected
Geometry Cache >
Replace Cache
Geometry Cache >
Merge Caches
Geometry Cache >
Delete Cache
Geometry Cache >
Append to Cache
Geometry Cache >
Replace Cache Frame
Geometry Cache >
Delete Cache Frame
Geometry Cache >
Delete History Ahead Of Cache
Geometry Cache >
Paint Cache Weights Tool
Animation Tools
Animation controls
Animation controls menu
Animation Windows and Editors
Animation Layer Editor
Animation Layer Editor
overview
Animation Layer Editor
menu bar
Animation Layer toolbar
Animation Layer pane
Camera Sequencer
Camera Sequencer overview
Camera Sequencer menu
bar
Camera Sequencer toolbar
Camera Sequencer shot
view area
Camera Sequencer timeline
and playback controls
Channel Control Editor
Dope Sheet overview
Dope Sheet editor
Dope Sheet menu
bar
Dope Sheet toolbar
Dope Sheet outliner
Dope Sheet view
area
Graph Editor
Graph Editor overview
Graph Editor menu
bar
Graph Editor toolbar
Graph Editor outliner
Graph Editor graph
view
Set Driven Key window
Trax Editor
Trax Editor overview
Trax menu bar
Trax toolbar
Track control area
Track view area
Context-sensitive menu
Animation Nodes
animClip
audio
cacheBlend
cacheFile
clipLibrary
clipScheduler
motionPath
mute
shot
Rigging
Character Setup
Character Setup overview
Setting up the components
of your scene for animation
Using skeletons
Skinning your character
Creating deformation effects
Constraining objects
Character sets
Skeletons
What are skeletons?
Skeleton components
Skeleton components
Joints and bones
Joint chains
Skeleton hierarchy
Building skeletons
Building skeletons
Setting up joints for posing
and animation
Skeletons and skinning
Posing skeletons
Posing skeletons
IK handles
IK solvers
IK/FK blending
Retargeting animation
Retargeting character animation
HumanIK in Maya
Full body IK
Full body IK overview
Prepare your character
for full body IK
FBIK joint labelling and
naming conventions
FBIK joint types
FBIK joint labelling and
naming methods
Joint labels and names
Understanding the FBIK
structure
FBIK skeletons and effectors
FBIK effectors
FBIK Body Parts
Character and subcharacter
sets
Character animation with
FBIK
IK and FK Reach
FBIK Keys
Set up joint chains
Create a joint or joint
chain
Create a joint chain with
an IK handle
Insert joints
Connect joints
Move joints
Move joints while using
the Joint Tool
Mirror joint chains
Orient a joint’s local
axes manually
Orient a joint’s local
axes automatically
Reroot skeletons
Set preferred angles
Disconnect joints
Remove joints
Adjust the skeleton display
Display a joint’s local
axis
Display all the local axes
in a skeleton
Set display size of all
joints
Change joint display options
Set the display of IK/FK
animated joint chains
Pose with Forward or Inverse
Kinematics
Pose joints with FK
Set up an IK handle
Specify the IK Handle Tool’s
settings
Create IK handles
View all IK handle components
Pose joints with IK handles
Disable or enable IK handles
Delete IK handles
Set IK solver attributes
Turn all IK solver nodes
on or off
Use single chain IK
Create a single chain IK
handle
Pose joints with single
chain IK handles
Create an ikSCsolver node
in addition to the default
Use rotate plane IK
Create a rotate plane IK
handle
Pose joints with rotate
plane IK handles
Create an ikRPsolver node
in addition to the default
Use multi-chain IK
Create the multi-chain
solver
Create a multi-chain IK
handle
Pose joints with multi-chain
IK handles
Use spline IK
Tips for working with spline
IK handles
Specify the IK
Spline Handle Tool’s settings
Create spline IK handles
Pose joints with spline
IK curves
Use the advanced Spline
IK twist controls
Prevent flipping in the
spline IK chain
Use 2 bone IK
Create a 2 bone solver
Create a 2 bone IK handle
Pose joints with 2 bone
IK handles
Use spring IK
Create spring IK solver
Create and edit a spring
IK handle
Blend FK and IK
Blend IK and FK animation
Set up a HumanIK character
Set up a HumanIK character
Define a HumanIK skeleton
Create a Control Rig
Retarget animation
Retargeting workflow
Set up non-destructive
animation retargeting
Open the HumanIK window
Retarget animation from
one character to another
Adjust retargeted animation
using layers
Adjust retargeting parameters
Bake retargeted animation
to the target character
Example workflow: Non-destructive
retargeting
Using joint labels
Label a skeleton’s joints
Toggle the visibility of
joint labels
Remove the labels from
my joints
Create and use full body
IK
Full body IK workflow
Create the full body IK
system for your character
Pin and unpin your character’s
effectors
Example workflows: Full
body IK
Create auxiliary pivots
Create auxiliary effectors
Create floor contacts for
your character’s hands and feet
Troubleshoot full body
IK
Skinning
What is skinning?
Deformable objects and
skin objects
Direct skinning methods
Indirect skinning methods
Double transformation effects
Editing skin point set
memberships
Point tweaking skinned
objects
Editing node behavior to
improve performance
Skinning workflow summary
Bind pose
Bind pose
Go to the bind pose
Change the bind pose
Reset bind pose from the
command line
Troubleshoot reaching the
bind pose
Smooth skinning
Understanding smooth skinning
Smooth skinning methods
Interactive bind for smooth
skinning
Smooth skin objects and
points
Smooth skin point weights
Smooth skin point sets
Smooth skin influence objects
Smooth skin editing
Editing skin point weights
Painting smooth skin point
weights
Smooth skin weight normalization
Holding smooth skin weights
Set smooth skinning
Bind smooth skin
Use interactive bind for
smooth skinning
Adjust interactive bind
manipulators
Set point tweaking
Set maximum influences
Query skin weights
Hold weights
Paint skin weights
Create a mask when painting
skin weights
Blend smooth skinning methods
Paint skin weights for
creases
Mirror smooth skin weights
Smoothing skin weights
Add an influence object
Add multiple influences
at the same time
Edit smooth skinning
Edit joint smooth skin
attributes
Edit skin cluster channels
or attributes
Edit maximum influences
Modify skin weights
Rotate joints while painting
skin weights
Change a skinned object's
deformation order
Copy smooth skin weights
Move weights to other influences
Replace bound geometry
with unbound geometry
Reset skin point weights
to default weights
Set normalization mode
and normalize weights
Prune insignificant smooth
skin weights
Fix smooth weights
Remove unused influences
from a smooth skinned surface
Export weights
Import weights
Detach smooth skin
Example workflows for smooth
skinning
Skinning a cylinder by
smooth skinning
Skinning a hand
Interactive skin binding
example workflow
Rigid skinning
What is rigid skinning?
Understanding rigid skinning
Understanding rigid skinning
Rigid skin objects and
points
Rigid skin point sets
Flexors
Checking the binding
Adjusting rigid skin behavior
Set rigid skinning
Rigid bind skin
Paint rigid skin weights
Paint rigid skin membership
Create all types of flexors
Example workflow for rigid
skinning
Edit rigid skinning
Edit joint cluster channels
and attributes
Edit rigid skin point weights
Edit rigid skin membership
Paint rigid skin point
set membership
Detach rigid skin
Detach and reattach to
skeletons
Detach and reattach to
selected joints
Copy joint lattice flexors
Edit joint lattice flexor
channels
Copy bone lattice flexors
Edit bone lattice flexor
channels
Reassign bone lattice flexor
joints
Edit sculpt flexor channels
Edit with joint cluster
flexor manipulators
Constraints
What are constraints?
Point constraint
Point constraints
Set point constraints
Set point constraint options
Create point constraints
Add target objects for
point constraints
Animate target object weights
Offset constrained object’s
position
Edit point constraints
Edit point constraint node
behavior
Edit point constraint attributes
Edit point constraint channels
Remove target objects for
point constraints
Change target object weights
for point constraints
Delete point constraints
Aim constraint
Aim constraints
Set aim constraints
Set aim constraint options
Create aim constraints
Edit aim constraints
Edit aim constraint channels
Edit aim constraint attributes
Add target objects for
aim constraints
Remove target objects for
aim constraints
Change target object weights
for aim constraints
Prevent rolling effects
for aim constraints
Control motion history
dependence effects for aim constraints
Delete aim constraints
Examples
Orient constraint
Orient constraints
Set orient constraint
Set orient constraint options
Create orient constraints
Add orient constraint target
objects
Edit orient constraints
Edit orient constraint
channels
Edit orient constraint
attributes
Remove orient constraint
target objects
Change orient constraint
target object weights
Animate target object weights
for orient constraints
Delete orient constraints
Troubleshoot orient constraint
error messages
Scale constraint
Scale constraints
Set scale constraints
Set scale constraint options
Create scale constraints
Edit scale constraints
Edit scale constraint channels
Edit scale constraint attributes
Add target objects for
scale constraints
Remove target objects for
scale constraints
Change target object weights
for scale constraints
Animate target object weights
for scale constraints
Delete scale constraints
Parent constraint
Parent constraints
Set parent constraints
Create a parent constraint
Parent constraint example
workflow
Edit parent constraints
Edit a parent constraint
Add target objects to a
parent constraint
Modify parent constraint
offsets
Geometry constraint
Geometry constraints
Set geometry constraints
Set geometry constraints
workflow
Set geometry constraint
options
Create a geometry constraint
Animate target object weights
for geometry constraints
Animate the constrained
object for geometry constraints
Edit geometry constraints
Edit geometry constraint
channels
Edit geometry constraint
attributes
Add target objects for
geometry constraints
Remove target objects for
geometry constraints
Change target object weights
for geometry constraints
Delete geometry constraints
Normal constraint
Normal constraints
Set normal constraints
Set normal constraint options
Create normal constraints
Edit normal constraints
Edit normal constraint
channels
Edit normal constraint
attributes
Add target objects for
normal constraints
Remove normal constraint
target objects
Change normal constraint
target object weights
Prevent rolling effects
for normal constraints
Control motion history
dependence effects for normal constraints
Delete normal constraints
Tangent constraint
Tangent constraints
Set tangent constraints
Set tangent constraint
options
Create tangent constraints
Edit tangent constraints
Edit tangent constraint
channels
Edit tangent constraint
attributes
Delete tangent constraints
Point on Poly constraint
Point on Poly constraints
Create Point on Poly constraints
Edit Point on Poly constraints
Closest Point constraint
Closest Point constraints
Set closest point constraints
Edit closest point constraints
View closest point constraint
result
Pole Vector constraint
Pole Vector constraints
Set pole vector constraints
Set pole vector constraint
options
Create a pole vector constraint
Edit pole vector constraints
Edit pole vector constraints
workflow
Edit pole vector constraint
attributes
Add target objects to a
pole vector constraint
Remove target objects from
pole vector constraints
Change target object weights
for pole vector constraints
Offset constrained pole
vector’s end position
Delete pole vector constraints
Blending animation and
constraints
Animation-Constraint blending
Set Driven Key-Constraint
blending
Animate and constrain an
object
Animation-Constraint blending
workflow
Set the rest position
Turn all constraint nodes
on or off
Modify constraint axes
Remove a target object
Character Sets
What are character sets?
Character node behavior
Creating character sets
Animating character sets
Redirecting character animation
Mapping animation between
characters
Workflow summary
Set Character Sets
Create character sets
Create character sets within
character sets
Create subcharacter
sets
Select character sets
Add channels to a character
set
Edit character sets
Edit character sets
Edit character set node
behavior
Remove channels from a
character set
Edit character set channels
Edit character attributes
View objects in a character
set
Edit character set attributes
View and edit the character
partition
Merge character sets
Delete character sets
Set the current character
set
Map one character to another
Workflow for mapping characters
Map one character to another
Redirect the motion of
an animated character
Workflow for redirecting
animation
Animation redirection example
Redirect the motion of
an animated character
Character Setup Tools
Joint Tool
IK Handle Tool
IK Spline Handle Tool
Insert Joint Tool
Interactive Skin Binding
Tool
Move Skinned Joints
Tool
Paint Skin Weights Tool
Character Setup Menus
Animate
Animate > Set Full
Body IK Keys
Animate > IK/FK Keys
> Set IK/FK Key
Animate > IK/FK Keys
> Enable IK Solver
Animate > IK/FK Keys
> Connect to IK/FK
Animate > IK/FK Keys
> Move IK to FK
Animate > Set Key
Skeleton
Skeleton > Joint
Tool
Skeleton > IK Handle
Tool
Skeleton > IK Spline
Handle Tool
Skeleton > Insert
Joint Tool
Skeleton > Reroot
Skeleton
Skeleton > Remove
Joint
Skeleton > Disconnect
Joint
Skeleton > Connect
Joint
Skeleton > Mirror
Joint
Skeleton > Orient
Joint
Skeleton > Set Preferred
Angle
Skeleton > Assume
Preferred Angle
Skeleton > Enable
IK Handle Snap
Skeleton > Enable
IK/FK Control
Skeleton > Enable
Selected IK Handles
Skeleton > Disable
Selected IK Handles
Skeleton > Joint
Labelling
Skeleton > Joint
Labelling > Add Joint Labels
Skeleton > Joint
Labelling > Toggle Selected Labels
Skeleton > Joint
Labelling > Show All Labels
Skeleton > Joint
Labelling > Hide All Labels
Skeleton > Joint
Labelling > Rename Joints From Labels
Skeleton > Joint
Labelling > Label Based On Joint Names
Skeleton > HumanIK
Skeleton > Full Body
IK
Skeleton > Full Body
IK > Add Full Body IK
Skeleton > Full Body
IK > Add Auxiliary Effector
Skeleton > Full Body
IK > Add Auxiliary Pivot
Skeleton > Full Body
IK > Activate Auxiliary Pivot
Skeleton > Full Body
IK > Change Auxiliary Pivot Placement
Skeleton > Full Body
IK > Show FBIK FK Skeleton
Skeleton > Full Body
IK > Hide FBIK FK Skeleton
Skeleton > Full Body
IK > Add Floor Contact Plane
Skeleton > Full Body
IK > Go to Stance Pose
Skeleton > Full Body
IK > Add Missing Effectors
Skeleton > Full Body
IK > Body Part Autoload
Skin
Skin > Detach Skin
Skin > Go To Bind
Pose
Skin > Bind Skin
> Smooth Bind
Skin > Bind Skin
> Interactive Skin Bind
Skin > Bind Skin
> Rigid Bind
Skin > Edit Smooth
Skin
Skin > Edit Smooth
Skin > Add Influence
Skin > Edit Smooth
Skin > Remove Influence
Skin > Edit Smooth
Skin > Set Max Influences
Skin > Edit Smooth
Skin > Move Skinned Joints Tool
Skin > Edit Smooth Skin
> Interactive Skin Bind Tool
Skin > Edit Smooth
Skin > Paint Skin Weights Tool
Skin > Edit Smooth
Skin > Export Skin Weight Maps
Skin > Edit Smooth
Skin > Import Skin Weight Maps
Skin > Edit Smooth
Skin > Mirror Skin Weights
Skin > Edit Smooth
Skin > Copy Skin Weights
Skin > Edit Smooth
Skin > Smooth Skin Weights
Skin > Edit Smooth
Skin > Weight Hammer
Skin > Edit Smooth
Skin > Copy Vertex Weights
Skin > Edit Smooth
Skin > Paste Vertex Weights
Skin > Edit Smooth
Skin > Move Weights to Influences
Skin > Edit Smooth
Skin > Reset Weights to Default
Skin > Edit Smooth
Skin > Prune Small Weights
Skin > Edit Smooth
Skin > Remove Unused Influences
Skin > Edit Smooth
Skin > Disable Weight Normalization
Skin > Edit Smooth
Skin > Enable Weight Normalization
Skin > Edit Smooth Skin
> Enable Weight Post Normalization
Skin > Edit Smooth
Skin > Normalize Weights
Skin > Edit Smooth
Skin > Substitute Geometry
Skin > Edit Rigid
Skin
Skin > Edit Rigid
Skin > Create Flexor
Skin > Edit Rigid
Skin > Copy Flexor
Skin > Edit Rigid
Skin > Reassign Bone Lattice Joint
Skin > Edit Rigid
Skin > Preserve Skin Groups > Detach Skeleton
Skin > Edit Rigid
Skin > Preserve Skin Groups > Detach Selected Joints
Skin > Edit Rigid
Skin > Preserve Skin Groups > Reattach Skeleton
Skin > Edit Rigid
Skin > Preserve Skin Groups > Reattach Selected Joints
Constrain
Constrain > Point
Constrain > Aim
Constrain > Orient
Constrain > Scale
Constrain > Parent
Constrain > Geometry
Constrain > Normal
Constrain > Tangent
Constrain > Point on
Poly
Constrain > Closest
Point
Constrain > Pole
Vector
Constrain > Remove
Target
Constrain > Set Rest
Position
Constrain > Modify
Constrained Axis
Character
Character > Create
Character Set
Character > Create
Subcharacter Set
Character > Character
Mapper
Character > Add to
Character Set
Character > Remove
from Character Set
Character > Merge
Character Sets
Character > Redirect
Character Setup Windows
and Editors
HumanIK window
HumanIK window
overview
HumanIK menu
bar
Characterize tab
Skeleton Generator tab
Character Pipe tab
Retarget Specific attributes
Character Mapper
Character Setup Nodes
Skeleton and IK nodes
General skeleton and IK
node attributes
joint
ikHandle
effector
hikHandle
hikEffector
hikFloorContactMarker
bindPose
IK solver nodes
Skinning nodes
General skin node attributes
skinCluster
tweak
jointCluster
jointFlexor
boneFlexor
jointFfd
ffd
Constraint nodes
General constraint node
attributes
Rest Position attributes
targetObject Wn
pointConstraint
aimConstraint
orientConstraint
scaleConstraint
parentConstraint
normalConstraint
tangentConstraint
pointOnPolyConstraint
poleVectorConstraint
pairBlend
Character nodes
General character set node
attributes
character
characterMap
characterOffset
Deformers
Deformers overview
What are deformers?
Setting deformers
Deformable objects, points,
and sets
Nodes, history, and the
deformation order
Deformation order
Modifying deformers
Editing deformer set membership
Point tweaking objects
Displaying and hiding intermediate
objects
Changing an object’s deformation
order
Changing evaluation performance
Modeling with deformers
Setup and animation with
deformers
Editing node behavior to
improve performance
Create deformers
Paint deformer set membership
Prune deformer set membership
Edit deformation effects
Edit deformer set membership
Change deformation order
Mirror deformer weights
Set the display of deformation
objects
Set deformer node performance
Edit deformer sets with
the Relationship editor
Work with the tweak node
Blend Shape deformer
What are blend shapes?
Target shapes, base shapes,
and blend shapes
Targets
Scaling influence of all
targets
Matching position, rotation,
and scaling of targets
Blending objects with different
topologies
Deleting a target’s object
Setting target weights
Setting keys for blend
shapes
Saving a blend shape as
a new target
Selecting a blend shape
deformer node
Adding target object shapes
Removing target object
shapes
Swapping target object
shapes
Changing Blend
Shape editor slider orientation
Create deformers
Set blend shape deformers
Use the Blend
Shape editor
Edit deformation effects
Edit blend shape deformers
Propagate topological changes
from base shapes to their target shapes
Paint blend shape deformer
weights
Lattice deformer
What are lattice deformers?
Lattices
Influence lattice and base
lattice
Lattices as deformable
objects
Lattice deformers and lattice
flexors
Skinning with lattice deformers
Create deformers
Set lattice deformers
Edit deformation effects
Edit lattice deformers
Cluster deformer
What are cluster deformers?
Understanding cluster deformers
Creating cluster deformers
Editing cluster deformation
effects
Create deformers
Set cluster deformers
Edit deformation effects
Edit cluster deformers
Paint cluster deformer
weights
Nonlinear deformers
Bend deformer
What are bend deformers?
Creating bend deformers
Editing bend deformation
effects
Flare deformer
What are flare deformers?
Creating flare deformers
Editing flare deformation
effects
Sine deformer
What are sine deformers?
Creating sine deformers
Editing sine deformation
effects
Squash deformer
What are squash deformers?
Creating squash deformers
Editing squash deformation
effects
Twist deformer
What are twist deformers?
Creating twist deformers
Editing twist deformation
effects
Wave deformer
What are wave deformers?
Creating wave deformers
Editing wave deformation
effects
Create nonlinear deformers
Set bend nonlinear deformers
Set flare nonlinear deformers
Set sine nonlinear deformers
Set squash nonlinear deformers
Set twist nonlinear deformers
Set wave nonlinear deformers
Edit nonlinear deformers
Edit bend nonlinear deformers
Edit flare nonlinear deformers
Edit sine nonlinear deformers
Edit squash nonlinear deformers
Edit twist nonlinear deformers
Edit wave nonlinear deformers
Sculpt deformer
What are sculpt deformers?
Creating sculpt deformers
Editing sculpt deformation effects
Create deformers
Create sculpt deformers
Edit deformation effects
Edit sculpt deformers
Soft Modification deformer
What is soft modification?
Create deformers
Use the Soft Modification Tool
Example 1: Soft modification with history
Example 2: Soft modification without history
Example 3: Moving a character’s ear using the Soft
Modification deformer
Example 4: Symmetrically deforming a character’s
nose using the Soft Modification deformer
Resize the Soft Modification Tool falloff manipulator
Jiggle deformer
What are jiggle deformers?
Creating Jiggle deformers
Using a disk cache for
jiggle animation
Create deformers
Set jiggle deformers
Edit deformation effects
Edit jiggle deformers
Paint jiggle deformer weights
Wire deformer
What are wire deformers?
Influence wires and base
wires
Holders
Wire dropoff locators
Creating wire deformers
Editing wire deformation
effects
Create deformers
Set wire deformers
Edit deformation effects
Edit wire deformers
Paint wire deformer weights
Wrinkle deformer
What is a wrinkle deformer?
Creating wrinkle deformers
Editing wrinkle deformation effects
Create deformers
Set wrinkle deformers
Edit deformation effects
Edit wrinkle deformers
Wrap deformer
What are wrap deformers?
Creating wrap deformers
Editing wrap deformation
effects
Skinning with wrap deformers
Create deformers
Set wrap deformers
Wrap deformers example
Edit deformation effects
Edit wrap deformers
Point On Curve deformer
What are point on curve
deformers?
Create deformers
Set point on curve deformers
Edit least squares modifier
attributes
Deformer Tools
Soft Modification Tool
Wire Tool
Wrinkle Tool
Paint Blend Shape Weights
Tool
Paint Cluster Weights
Tool
Paint Jiggle Weights
Tool
Paint Wire Weights Tool
Paint Set Membership
Tool
Edit Membership Tool
Deformer Menus
Edit
Edit > Delete by
Type > Non-Deformer History
Animate
Animate > Set Blend
Shape Target Weights Keys
Create Deformers
Create Deformers >
Blend Shape
Create Deformers >
Lattice
Create Deformers >
Wrap
Create Deformers >
Cluster
Create Deformers >
Soft Modification
Create Deformers >
Nonlinear > Bend
Create Deformers >
Nonlinear > Flare
Create Deformers >
Nonlinear > Sine
Create Deformers >
Nonlinear > Squash
Create Deformers >
Nonlinear > Twist
Create Deformers >
Nonlinear > Wave
Create Deformers >
Sculpt Deformer
Create Deformers >
Jiggle Deformer
Create Deformers >
Jiggle Disk Cache
Create Deformers >
Jiggle Disk Cache Attributes
Create Deformers >
Wire Tool
Create Deformers >
Wire Dropoff Locator
Create Deformers >
Wrinkle Tool
Create Deformers >
Point On Curve
Edit Deformers
Edit Deformers >
Edit Membership Tool
Edit Deformers >
Prune Membership
Edit Deformers >
Blend Shape > Add
Edit Deformers >
Blend Shape > Remove
Edit Deformers >
Blend Shape > Swap
Edit Deformers >
Blend Shape > Bake Topology To Targets
Edit Deformers >
Lattice > Reset Lattice
Edit Deformers >
Lattice > Remove Lattice Tweaks
Edit Deformers >
Wrap > Add Influence
Edit Deformers >
Wrap > Remove Influence
Edit Deformers >
Wire > Add
Edit Deformers >
Wire > Remove
Edit Deformers >
Wire > Add Holder
Edit Deformers >
Wire > Reset
Edit Deformers >
Wire > Show Base Wire
Edit Deformers >
Wire > Parent Base Wire
Edit Deformers >
Display Intermediate Objects
Edit Deformers >
Hide Intermediate Objects
Edit Deformers >
Paint Blend Shape Weights Tool
Edit Deformers >
Paint Cluster Weights Tool
Edit Deformers >
Paint Jiggle Weights Tool
Edit Deformers >
Paint Wire Weights Tool
Edit Deformers >
Paint Set Membership Tool
Edit Deformers >
Mirror Deformer Weights
Deformer Windows and Editors
Blend Shape Editor
Deformer Nodes
General deformer node attributes
Advanced deformer
options
tweak
blendShape
ffdLatticeShape
ffd
cluster
clusterHandle
bend
flare
sine
squash
twist
wave
sculpt
softMod
jiggle
jiggleCache
wire
dropoffLocator
wrap
leastSquaresModifier
Maya Muscle
Introducing Maya Muscle
Overview
Load Maya Muscle
Muscle workflow
Creating Muscles
Creating Maya Muscles
Muscle Objects
Types of Muscle
Other Muscle deformation
Understand muscle Jiggle
Create a capsule
Adjust capsule settings
Create polygon cylinders
from capsules
Convert Maya joints to
capsules
Convert polygonal meshes
to bones
Manually convert NURBS
to Muscle Objects
Set up muscle attach points
Create muscles with the Muscle
Creator
Open the Muscle Creator window
Create a muscle
Delete a muscle
Set muscle pose states
Sculpt muscles
Grow a muscle
Mirror muscles
Copy and paste Muscle Creator settings
Create simple muscles with
the Muscle Builder
Change the shape of simple muscles
Finalize a simple muscle
Adjust simple muscle parameters
Create a Muscle Spline deformer
Set up a Muscle Spline
deformer
Create a Muscle Stretch deformer
Delete a muscle Jiggle
cache
Set up a Master muscle
control
Fix invalid Muscle Object
nodes
Skin Deformation
Skin deformation
Sticky deformation
Relative Sticky deformation
Sliding deformation
Displacement deformation
and rendering
Force deformation
Per-Point Jiggle deformation
Relax deformation
Smooth deformation
Apply the Muscle deformer
Convert Maya skin to Maya
Muscle
Connect Muscle Objects
to a Muscle deformer
Re-Initialize setup data
on Maya Muscle
Auto-Fix invalid Sticky
Bind points
Disconnect muscle nodes
Disconnect selected Muscle
Objects
Auto-Fix deleted/missing
muscles
Delete muscle history
Reset base pose for selected
Muscle Objects
Create base for selected
Muscle Objects
Re-Bind Sticky for selected
Muscle Objects
Visualize the Sticky Bind
distance
Set up Relative Sticky
deformation
Set a constant fat offset
for Sliding deformation
Create a Muscle Direction
object
Set up Displacement deformation
Set up Force deformation
Set up Jiggle deformation
Apply default weights
Paint Muscle weights
Load and save weights
Mirror weights
Transfer weights
Prune weights
Collision
Collision
Smart Collision
Self Collision
Multi-Object Collision
Transform collisions with
KeepOut nodes
Set up Muscle Smart Collision
Connect selected Muscle
Smart Collide nodes
Set up Smart Collision
region weights
Set up Self Collision
Set up Muscle Multi Collision
Rig an object hierarchy
for KeepOut collision
Connect muscles to KeepOut
Caching
Point-caching
Create a cache
Delete a node cache
Technical API
Maya Muscle Commands
cMuscleBindSticky
cMuscleCache
cMuscleCompIndex
cMuscleQuery
cMuscleRayIntersect
cMuscleRelaxSetup
cMuscleSplineBind
cMuscleWeight
cMuscleWeightDefault
cMuscleWeightMirror
cMuscleWeightSave
cMuscleWeightPrune
Muscle Menu
Muscle > Muscles/Bones
Muscle > Muscles/Bones
> Muscle Creator
Muscle > Muscles/Bones
> Convert Surface to Muscle/Bone
Muscle > Muscles/Bones
> Make Capsule
Muscle > Muscles/Bones
> Make Capsule with End Locator
Muscle > Muscles/Bones
> Add End Locator to Capsule
Muscle > Muscles/Bones
> Generate Polygon Cylinders from Capsules
Muscle > Muscles/Bones
> Delete Muscle Jiggle Cache
Muscle > Muscles/Bones
> Fix Invalid Muscle Object nodes
Muscle > Muscles/Bones
> Setup Master Muscle Control
Muscle > Simple Muscles
Muscle > Simple Muscles
> Muscle Builder
Muscle > Simple Muscles
> Set Muscle Parameters
Muscle > Simple Muscles
> Apply Muscle Spline Deformer
Muscle > Simple Muscles
> Custom Muscle Shapes
Muscle > Simple Muscles
> Reset Base Pose for Muscle Spline Deformer
Muscle > Simple Muscles
> Apply Muscle Stretch Deformer
Muscle > Skin Setup
Muscle > Skin Setup
> Apply Muscle System Skin Deformer
Muscle > Skin Setup
> Convert Maya Skin to Muscle System
Muscle > Skin Setup
> Re-Initialize Setup Data on Muscle System
Muscle > Skin Setup
> Bind Fat on Muscle System
Muscle > Skin Setup
> Auto-Fix Invalid Sticky Bind Points
Muscle > Skin Setup
> Auto-Fix Deleted/Missing Muscles
Muscle > Skin Setup
> Safe Delete History
Muscle > Skin Setup
> Disconnect all Muscle Objects
Muscle > Skin Setup
> Disconnect all Muscle Directions
Muscle > Skin Setup
> Disconnect all Muscle Displaces
Muscle > Skin Setup
> Disconnect all Smart Collides
Muscle > Skin Setup
> Setup for Relative Sticky Deformation
Muscle > Skin Setup
> Set Selected Bones/Muscles as Not Relative
Muscle > Skin Setup
> Set Selected Bones/Muscles as Relative
Muscle > Muscle Objects
Muscle > Muscle Objects
> Connect selected Muscle Objects
Muscle > Muscle Objects
> Disconnect selected Muscle Objects
Muscle > Muscle Objects
> Reset Base Pose for selected Muscle Objects
Muscle > Muscle Objects
> Delete selected Muscle
Muscle > Muscle Objects
> Create Base for selected Muscle Objects
Muscle > Muscle Objects
> Re-Bind Sticky for selected Muscle Objects
Muscle > Muscle Objects
> Visualize Sticky Bind Distance for selected Muscle Objects
Muscle > Paint Muscle Weights
Muscle > Weighting
Muscle > Weighting
> Apply Default Weights
Muscle > Weighting
> Load/Save Weights
Muscle > Weighting
> Mirror Weights
Muscle > Weighting
> Transfer Weights
Muscle > Weighting
> Prune Weights
Muscle > Direction
Muscle > Direction
> Make Muscle Direction
Muscle > Direction
> Connect selected Muscle Directions
Muscle > Direction
> Disconnect selected Muscle Directions
Muscle > Displace
Muscle > Displace
> Create Muscle Displace
Muscle > Displace
> Connect selected Muscle Displace nodes
Muscle > Displace
> Disconnect selected Muscle Displace nodes
Muscle > Displace
> Connect NURBS Curve to Muscle Displace
Muscle > Displace
> Disconnect NURBS Curve from Muscle Displace
Muscle > Displace
> Create Maya Muscle Shader Network
Muscle > Displace
> Create Mental Ray mib_cMuscleShader Network
Muscle > Smart Collision
Muscle > Smart Collision
> Create Muscle Smart Collide
Muscle > Smart Collision
> Connect selected Muscle Smart Collide nodes
Muscle > Smart Collision
> Disconnect selected Muscle Smart Collide nodes
Muscle > Self/Multi
Collision
Muscle > Self/Multi
Collision > Self Collision Grouping
Muscle > Self/Multi
Collision > Apply Muscle Multi Collide Deformer
Muscle > Self/Multi
Collision > Rig selection for KeepOut
Muscle > Self/Multi
Collision > Connect Muscles to KeepOut
Muscle > Self/Multi
Collision > Disconnect Muscles from KeepOut
Muscle > Caching
Muscle > Caching
> Set Location of Cache File
Muscle > Caching
> Create Cache
Muscle > Caching
> Delete Node Cache
Muscle > Caching
> Delete Per-Point Skin Jiggle Cache
Muscle > Selection
Muscle > Selection
> Select connected muscleObjects from selected muscleSystems
Muscle > Selection
> Select connected muscleDirections from selected muscleSystems
Muscle > Selection
> Select connected muscleSystems from selected muscleObjects
Muscle > Selection
> Select connected muscleSystems from selected muscleDirections
Muscle > Bonus Rigging
Muscle > Bonus Rigging
> Create Muscle Spline
Muscle > Bonus Rigging
> Surface Attach
Muscle > Bonus Rigging
> Fix Surface Attach to allow for Poly Smooth
Muscle Windows and Tools
Muscle Builder window
Muscle Creator window
Sticky Bind Maximum
Distance window
Muscle Paint window
Default Weights window
Save Weights window
Self Collision Grouping window
Muscle Spline window
Muscle Spline Deformer window
Muscle Spline Deformer
Shape window
Muscle Nodes
Muscle Nodes
cMuscleCreator node
cMuscleDirection node
cMuscleDisplace node
cMuscleDisplay node
cMuscleKeepOut node
cMuscleMultiCollide node
cMuscleObject node
cMuscleRelative node
cMuscleShader node
cMuscleSmartCollide node
cMuscleSmartConstraint
node
cMuscleSpline node
cMuscleSplineDeformer node
cMuscleStretch node
cMuscleSurfAttach node
cMuscleSystem node
Maya Muscle Advanced Techniques
Rigging simple muscles
Introduction
Preparing for the lessons
Lesson 1: Setting up basic
skin deformation
Lesson 2: Painting Sticky
weights to bones
Lesson 3: Setting up simple
muscles
Lesson 4: Painting Sticky
weights to simple muscle
Lesson 5: Setting up Sliding
deformation
Lesson 6: Setting up Jiggle
deformation
Rigging muscles
Introduction
Preparing for the lessons
Lesson 1: Create and set
up a muscle object
Lesson 2: Set muscle pose
states
Lesson 3: Edit the muscle
shape
Lesson 4: Adjusting muscle
length
Lesson 5: Sculpting muscles
Lesson 6: Mirroring muscles
Troubleshooting Muscle
Troubleshoot capsules
Troubleshoot muscles
Troubleshoot painting muscle
weights
Troubleshoot deformation
Dynamics and Effects
Dynamics
About Dynamics
Introduction to dynamics
What you can do with Maya
Dynamics
Particles
Overview of particles
Particle objects
Control complex motion
and forces
Emitters
Goals
Goals
Particle goals
Nonparticle goals
Multiple goals
Particle collisions
Colliding Particles
Particle collision events
Rendering particles
Rendering particles
Hardware rendered particles
Use the Particle Cloud
shader
Particle Sampler Info node
Create particles
Place particles on a surface
Animate particles
Work with particle attributes
Edit particle attributes
Choose how particles render
Use lights, reflections,
refractions, and shadows
Set particle color
Set particle opacity
Set particle lifespan
Set attributes on a per
particle basis
Set particle attributes
with the Component Editor
Set particle attributes
with a ramp texture
Connect and disconnect
fields, emitters, and collision objects
Dynamic Relationships Editor
examples
Instance geometry to particles
Instance strokes from Paint Effects
Deform particles
Work with advanced dynamics
Make an object move with
a dynamic parent
Adjust frame-to-frame velocity conservation
Apply forces in an object's
local space
Control execution time
of particle dynamics
Duplicate particle objects
Assign image sequences
to sprites
Export particle data
Work with emitters
Create emitters
Edit attributes of an emitter
Edit attributes of emitted particles
Duplicate emitters
Connect emitters and particles
Vary emission from different
points of point emitters
Use a texture to color
emission or scale the rate
Tips for advanced users
Work with emission randomness
Spread emission more evenly
from NURBS surfaces
Work with goals
Create goals
Edit goal attributes
Animate goal behavior
Create particle collisions
Make particles collide
with a surface
Edit particle collision
attributes
Duplicate collision effects
Create particle collision
events
Edit a particle collision
event
Delete a particle collision
event
Create a MEL procedure
for collision events
Render particles
Before rendering particles
Preview hardware particles
Render hardware particles
at final production quality
View rendered hardware particles
Apply shadow casting to particles
Software rendered particles
Create raytraced shadows
with particles
Create a Particle
Sampler Info node
Examples of using the Particle
Sampler Info node
Set Particle
Sampler Info node attributes
Troubleshoot particles
Fields
Overview of fields
Work with fields
Create fields and connect
objects to them
Edit field attributes
Work with per-particle
field attributes
Keep particles inside a
volume
Set field attributes with
workspace manipulators
Use manipulator icons
Duplicate fields
Types of fields
Work with air fields
Work with drag fields
Work with gravity fields
Work with newton fields
Work with radial fields
Work with turbulence fields
Work with uniform fields
Work with vortex fields
Work with volume axis fields
Work with volume axis curves
Soft and Rigid Bodies
Soft bodies
Rigid bodies
Rigid body constraints
Springs
Soft and Rigid bodies limitations
Create soft bodies
Create soft bodies
Duplicate soft bodies
Render soft bodies with
motion blur
Paint Soft Body Weights Tool
Special uses of soft bodies
Use attributes for advanced applications
Create rigid bodies
Create rigid bodies
Edit attributes of a rigid
body
Edit attributes of a rigid
body solver
Control complex motion
and forces
Convert rigid body animation
to keys
Segregate collisions with
multiple solvers
Work with rigid body constraints
Create a Nail constraint
Create a Pin constraint
Create a Hinge constraint
Create a Spring constraint
Create a Barrier constraint
Edit constraints
Key and parent constraints
Create springs
Create springs
Edit spring operation
Troubleshoot Dynamics
Fix rigid body problems
Fixing problems with constraints
Fix playback problems
Effects
Overview of effects
Fire
Smoke effects
Fireworks
Lightning
Shatter
Curve Flow
Surface Flow
Create Fire
Create Smoke
Create fireworks
Create lightning
Create shatter
Connect shards to fields
Create curve flow
Create a surface flow
Surface Flow procedures
Effects limitations
Troubleshoot Dynamics
Avoid twists in the flow
manipulators
Solvers and caching
Particle caching
Particle disk caching
Particle startup caching
Memory caching
Dynamic Animation
Animating with dynamics
Set the initial state of
dynamic objects
Work with dynamic animation
run-up
Lessen playback time with
dynamics
Disable dynamics for particles
or rigid bodies
PDC File Format
Use the PDC File Format
Dynamics Menus
Window
Window > Relationship Editors
> Dynamic Relationships
Particles
Particles > Particle Tool
Particles > Create Emitter
Particles > Emit
from Object
Particles > Use Selected Emitter
Particles > Per-Point
Emission Rates
Particles > Make
Collide
Particles > Particle
Collision Events Editor
Particles > Goal
Particles > Instancer (Replacement)
Particles > Sprite Wizard
Particles > Connect
To Time
Fields
Fields > Air
Fields > Drag
Fields > Gravity
Fields > Newton
Fields > Radial
Fields > Turbulence
Fields > Uniform
Fields > Vortex
Fields > Volume Axis
Fields > Volume Curve
Fields > Use Selected
as Source of Field
Additional Field Attributes
Soft/Rigid Bodies
Soft/Rigid Bodies >
Create Active Rigid Body
Soft/Rigid Bodies >
Create Passive Rigid Body
Soft/Rigid Bodies > Create
Constraint
Soft/Rigid Bodies >
Set Active Key
Soft/Rigid Bodies >
Set Passive Key
Soft/Rigid Bodies >
Break Rigid Body Connections
Soft/Rigid Bodies >
Create Soft Body
Soft/Rigid Bodies >
Create Springs
Soft/Rigid Bodies >
Paint Soft Body Weights Tool
Effects
Effects > Create Fire
Effects > Create Smoke
Effects > Create Fireworks
Effects > Create Lightning
Effects > Create Shatter
Effects > Create
Curve Flow
Effects > Create
Surface Flow
Effects > Delete
Surface Flow
Solvers
Solvers > Create
Particle Disk Cache
Solvers > Edit Oversampling or
Cache Settings
Solvers > Interactive Playback
Dynamics Windows and Editors
Particle Collision Event Editor
Dynamic Relationships Editor
Sprite Wizard
Dynamics Nodes
Particle nodes
particleShape node
Emitter node
geoConnector node
List of particle attributes
Sprite attributes
geoConnector attributes
Particle Cloud attributes
Particle Sampler Info node
dynGlobals
Soft and Rigid Body nodes
rigidBody node
rigidSolver node
rigidConstraint node
springShape node
Hair
Introducing Maya Hair
Hair overview
Basic workflow for Hair
Creating hair
Overview of creating hair
Start, Rest, and Current
Position curves
Passive hair curves
Creating other models and
effects with hair
Use hair presets
Create your own hair on
surfaces
Choose which hair curves
to display
Select hair, follicles,
curves, and CVs
Set hair curve positions
Assign a selection to a
hair system
Select which UV set to
use for Hair (polygons only)
Make curves dynamic
Transplant hair
Delete hair
Simulating hair
Play a hair simulation
Use hair caches
Modifying hair
Styling hair and modifying
the hair look and behavior
Style the hair and modify
behavior
Change the look of the
hair
Paint hair follicles
Paint hair textures
Modify the hair system
Modify hair follicles
Adjust the hair length
Edit hair curves
Braid hair
Make hair collide
Set up hair constraints
Assign hair constraints
Assign a Paint
Effects brush to Hair
Rendering Hair
Rendering scenes with hair
Set up hair shading
Set up hair self-shadowing
Render scenes with hair
Samples and techniques
for Hair
Sample hairstyles
Create wavy, curly hair
Create ponytails and braids
Sample dynamic curve scenarios
Dynamic spline IK chain
illustrated using a butterfly tail
Stiffness Scale along curve
and emit particles from curve example
Advanced tips for working
with Hair
Troubleshoot Hair
Hair Tools
Scale Hair Tool
Paint Hair Follicles
Paint Hair Textures
Hair Menus
Hair
Hair > Create Hair
Hair > Scale Hair Tool
Hair > Paint Hair Follicles
Hair > Paint Hair Textures
Hair > Get Hair Example
Hair > Display
Hair > Set Start Position
Hair > Set Rest Position
Hair > Modify Curves
Hair > Create Constraint
Hair > Create Constraint > Rubber
Band
Hair > Create Constraint > Stick
Hair > Create Constraint > Transform
Hair > Create Constraint > Hair
to Hair
Hair > Create Constraint > Hair
Bunch
Hair > Convert Selection
Hair > Assign Hair System
Hair > Make Selected Curves Dynamic
Hair > Make Collide
Hair > Assign Hair Constraint
Hair > Assign Paint Effects Brush to
Hair
Hair > Transplant Hair
Hair > Create Cache
Hair > Append to Cache
Hair > Truncate Cache
Hair > Delete Cache
Hair > Delete Entire Hair System
Hair Nodes
pfxHair
hairSystemShape
follicleShape
hairConstraintShape
hairTubeShader
Fluid Effects
Introducing Maya Fluid
Effects
Fluid Effects overview
Types of fluids
Getting started with Fluid Effects
Creating Fluid Effects
What are the components
of a fluid?
Defining the contents of
a fluid container
Fluid examples
Import Fluid examples
Create dynamic fluid effects
Create non-dynamic fluid effects
Create fluid containers
Add properties to fluid containers
Add properties as predefined gradients
Emit fluid properties into
grids
Controlling fluid emission
Create a fluid container
with a fluid emitter
Add fluid emitters to containers
Emit fluids using emission
maps
Emit fluid properties with nParticles
Paint fluid properties
into grids
Add color to fluids
Display fluid container
contents
Display subvolumes of 3D containers
Emit fluids from objects
Set Contents with Curve
Add predefined initial
states to fluid containers
Modifying fluids
Modifying fluids
Changing fluid container
size
Dynamically resize a fluid
container
Controlling auto-resized
boundaries
Auto-resizing fast moving
and high resolution fluids
Change fluid resolution
Change the size of a fluid
container
Set a fluid container to
dynamically resize
Change the resolution of
a fluid
Modify fluid attributes
Set fluid attribute ramps
Change dynamic fluid behavior
Using external forces (fields)
with fluids
Change fluid behavior at
the container boundaries
Define an arbitrary falloff
region for fluid containers
Converting fluids to polygons
Convert a fluid object
to polygons
Set fluid output mesh properties
Setting the output mesh
color set
Use fluid attribute presets
Object interaction with
dynamic fluids
Object interaction
Make fluids collide with
geometry
Move geometry with the
force of a fluid
Move particles with the
force of a fluid
Modify geometry with the
force of a fluid
Work with motion fields
Create motion field
Playing fluids
Fluids playback
Fluids initial state
nCaching fluids
Set the initial state of
a fluid
Delete the initial state
of a fluid
Save the current state
of a fluid
Create fluids cache files
Speed up playback
Preview fluid effects
Open water effects
Open water effects
Ocean and Pond examples
Oceans
Ponds
Wakes
Floating objects
Create ocean effects using
example oceans or ponds
Create new oceans
Preview a patch of ocean
Convert wave displacement
to polygons
Add locators
Add a buoy to an ocean
Make objects float
Make boats float
Create an Interactive boat simulation
Create Ponds
Create wakes
Troubleshoot open water
effects
Ocean jitters along the
horizon
Texturing and shading fluids
Fluid Effects texturing
and shading
Texturing fluids
Fluids as textures
Fluids as materials
Fluid Shape shader
as a particle shader
Ocean shader and texture
Texture a fluid
Apply a fluid texture to
an object
Assign a fluid shape material
to a volume shape
Shade particles using the
fluid shape shader
Rendering fluids
Rendering fluids
Prepare to render fluids
Lighting fluids with internal lights
Cast fluid shadows onto
objects
Cast shadows onto fluids
(fluids receive shadows)
Create motion blur
Set the properties of rendered images
Render scenes with fluid
effects
Optimize rendering times
Improve the render quality
of fluids
Fluid Effects Nodes
fluidShape
fluidEmitter
motionField
cacheFile
cacheBlend
cache_fluidShape
oceanPreviewPlane
locator (Fluid
Effects)
oceanShader / ocean (texture)
Fluid Effects Menus
Modify
Modify > Convert
> Fluid to Polygons
Fluid Effects
Fluid Effects > Create
3D Container
Fluid Effects > Create
2D Container
Fluid Effects > Add/Edit
Contents > Emitter
Fluid Effects > Add/Edit
Contents > Emit from Object
Fluid Effects > Add/Edit
Contents > Gradients
Fluid Effects > Add/Edit
Contents > Paint Fluids Tool
Fluid Effects > Add/Edit
Contents > With Curve
Fluid Effects > Add/Edit
Contents > Initial States
Fluid Effects > Create
3D Container with Emitter
Fluid Effects > Create
2D Container with Emitter
Fluid Effects > Get
Fluid Example
Fluid Effects > Get
Ocean/Pond Example
Fluid Effects > Ocean
Fluid Effects > Ocean
> Create Ocean
Fluid Effects > Ocean
> Add Preview Plane
Fluid Effects > Ocean
> Create Wake
Fluid Effects > Ocean
> Add Ocean Surface Locator
Fluid Effects > Ocean
> Add Dynamic Locator
Fluid Effects > Ocean
> Add Boat Locator
Fluid Effects > Ocean
> Add Dynamic Buoy
Fluid Effects > Ocean
> Float Selected Objects
Fluid Effects > Ocean
> Make Boats
Fluid Effects > Ocean
> Make Motor Boats
Fluid Effects > Pond
Fluid Effects > Pond
> Create Pond
Fluid Effects > Pond
> Create Wake
Fluid Effects > Pond
> Add Pond Surface Locator
Fluid Effects > Pond
> Add Dynamic Locator
Fluid Effects > Pond
> Add Boat Locator
Fluid Effects > Pond
> Add Dynamic Buoy
Fluid Effects > Pond
> Float Selected Objects
Fluid Effects > Pond
> Make Boats
Fluid Effects > Pond
> Make Motor Boats
Fluid Effects > Extend
Fluid
Fluid Effects > Edit
Fluid Resolution
Fluid Effects > Make
Collide
Fluid Effects > Make
Motion Field
Fluid Effects > Set
Initial State
Fluid Effects > Clear
Initial State
Fluid Effects > Save
State As
Fluid nCache
Fluid nCache > Create
New Cache
Fluid nCache > Delete
Cache
Fluid nCache > Attach
Existing Cache File
Fluid nCache > Disable
All Caches On Selected
Fluid nCache > Enable
All Caches On Selected
Fluid nCache > Replace
Cache
Fluids nCache > Merge
Caches
Fluid nCache > Append
to Cache
Fluid nCache > Replace
Cache Frame
Fluid nCache > Delete
Cache Frame
Cache Format
Fluid Effects cache format
Fur
Introducing Maya Fur
Fur overview
Fur workflow overview
Fur Presets
Load Fur
Creating and modifying
fur
Preparing polygon and subdivision
surface models for fur
Create fur
Use Fur Presets
Delete fur
Attach and detach fur
Select the surfaces a fur
description is attached to
Select which UV set to
use for Fur (polygons only)
Preview fur using fur feedback
Reverse fur normals
Offset the direction fur
grows
Style fur using hair curves
Change fur attributes
Edit fur descriptions
Paint fur attribute values
Map fur attribute values
Update fur maps
Remove maps from fur attributes
Make fur clump together
Copy fur descriptions into
other scenes
Animating fur attributes
Animate fur attributes
Adding movement to fur
Add movement to fur
Create a hair system to
be used with fur
Attach and detach hair
systems to/from fur
Delete fur curve attractor
sets
Set the start position
of hair curves to the fur position
Change fur curve attractor
set attributes
Manually keyframe fur movement
Make fur move using dynamics
Adding fur shading effects
Fur shading effects
Fur shading
Create fur shading and
shadows
Create fur shading and
shadows using the mental ray for Maya renderer (Method 2)
Rendering scenes with fur
Rendering fur
MEL scripts for Advanced
Fur Rendering
Set up Fur
Render Settings before rendering
Render scenes with fur
Fur samples and techniques
Create body fur, whiskers,
and eyelashes
Part fur
Work on an animation project
Create fur shadows in the
alpha channel
Troubleshooting Fur
Troubleshoot Fur
Troubleshoot general Fur issues
Troubleshoot rendering Fur in the Maya Software renderer
Troubleshoot rendering Fur in mental ray for Maya
Fur Tools
Paint Fur Attributes Tool
Fur Menus
Fur
Fur > Attach Fur Description
Fur > Edit Fur Description
Fur > Paint Fur Attributes Tool
Fur > Update Fur Maps
Fur > Fur Description (more)
Fur > Reverse Fur Normals
Fur > Offset Fur Direction by
Fur > Fur Shadowing Attributes
Fur > Fur Render Settings
Fur > Attach Hair System to Fur
Fur > Detach Hair System from Fur
Fur > Edit Curve Attractor Set
Fur > Set Start Position To
Fur > Delete Curve Attractor Set
Fur Windows and Editors
Fur Render Settings
Fur Nodes
FurFeedbackShape node
Fur Description node
FurCurveAttractors node
light Shape node
nDynamics
About nDynamics
Introduction to nDynamics
Maya Nucleus solver properties
nDynamic Collisions
Constraining Nucleus objects
nDynamic Force Fields
Nucleus objects and external
dynamic forces
nCloth
nCloth overview
nCloth introduction
Making a mesh nCloth
Optimizing geometry for
nCloth conversion
nCloth collisions
Constraining nCloth
nCloth and external dynamic forces
nCloth simulation and caches
Creating nCloth
Create or remove nCloth
Edit nCloth
Paint nCloth property maps
Create and edit nCloth
collisions
Create and edit nCloth
constraints
Generate Force Fields with
nCloth
Create external forces
for nCloth
Create and edit nCloth
caches
nCloth Examples
nCloth Zipper
nCloth Confetti
nCloth Bag of Marbles
nCloth Tree
nCloth Balloon
nCloth Soda Can
nCloth Shirt
nCloth attribute presets
nCloth material presets
nCloth tips and troubleshooting
Tips
Troubleshooting
Optimizing nCloth
nCloth Advanced Techniques
Overview
Preparing for the lessons
About the tutorial assets
Lesson 1: Converting the
pants to nCloth and setting up the simulation
Lesson 2: Simulating the
pants in a static stance
Lesson 3: Wrapping the
high resolution mesh and simulating the pants during animation
Lesson 4: Simulating the
low resolution shirt
Lesson 5: Simulating medium
resolution meshes using custom nCloth attribute presets
nParticles
nParticles overview
nParticles introduction
Creating nParticle systems
Setting nParticle object properties
nParticle internal ramps
and per-particle attributes
nParticle Lifespan and Size
properties
nParticle collision and
dynamic properties attributes
Shading properties
nParticle emitter properties
Force Field Generation properties
nParticle Rotation
Liquid Simulations
nParticle output meshes
Goal properties
Instancing properties
nParticle collision events
Constraining nParticles
nParticles and external
dynamic forces
nParticle simulation and caching
Creating nParticles
Create nParticles
Set nParticle internal
ramps
Set nParticle Lifespan
Set nParticle size
Set nParticle collision
properties
Set nParticle Dynamic
Properties
Generate Force Fields with
nParticles
Create Liquid
Simulations with nParticles
Convert nParticles to polygons
Set nParticle output mesh
properties
Setting the output mesh
color set
Set nParticle Emission
Attributes
Set nParticle Shading attributes
nParticle Per
Particle (Array) Attributes
Create and Edit nParticle
Constraints
Create and edit goals
Instance geometry to nParticles
Use the Particle
Collision Event Editor with nParticles
Create and Edit springs
for nParticles
nParticles and non-Nucleus
dynamics
Create and edit nParticle
caches
nParticle Examples
nCaching
nCaching overview
What is nCaching?
nCache creation
nCache XML description
file
nCache threading
Create or import nCaches
Work with nCache clips
Rename nCaches
Scale nCache clips
Cycle nCache clips
Hold nCache clips
Trim nCache clips
Split nCache clips
Append nCaches
Merge nCaches
Blend nCaches
Replace nCaches
Detach nCache files
Delete nCache clips
nDynamics menus
nParticles
Modify > Convert >
nParticle to Polygons
nParticles > Create nParticles
nParticles > Use
Selected Emitter
nParticles > Per-Point Emission
Rates
nParticles > Get
nParticle Example
nParticles > Particle
Collision Event Editor
nParticles > Goals
nParticles > Instancer (Replacement)
nParticles > Sprite Wizard
nParticles > Create Springs
nMesh
nMesh > Create Passive Collider
nMesh > Create nCloth
nMesh > Display Input Mesh
nMesh > Display Current Mesh
nMesh > Rest Shape
nMesh > Get nCloth Example
nMesh > Remove nCloth
nMesh > Delete History
nMesh > Convert nCloth Output
Space
nMesh > Paint Vertex Properties
nMesh > Paint Texture Properties
nMesh > Convert Texture
to Vertex Map
nMesh > Convert Vertex
to Texture Map
nConstraint
nConstraint option windows
nConstraint > Transform
nConstraint > Component
to Component
nConstraint > Point
to Surface
nConstraint > Slide
on Surface
nConstraint > Weld
Adjacent Borders
nConstraint > Force Field
nConstraint > Attract
to Matching Mesh
nConstraint > Tearable Surface
nConstraint > Disable Collision
nConstraint > Exclude
Collide Pairs
nConstraint > Remove Dynamic
Constraint
nConstraint > nConstraint Membership
Tool
nConstraint > Select Members
nConstraint > Replace Members
nConstraint > Add Members
nConstraint > Remove Members
nConstraint > Paint properties
by Vertex Map
nConstraint > Paint properties
by Texture Map
nConstraint > Convert Texture
to Vertex Map
nConstraint > Convert
Vertex to Texture Map
nCache
nCache > Create New Cache
nCache > Delete Cache
nCache > Attach Existing Cache
File
nCache > Disable
All Caches On Selected
nCache > Enable All
Caches On Selected
nCache > Replace Cache
nCache > Merge Caches
nCache > Append to Cache
nCache > Replace
Cache Frame
nCache > Delete Cache Frame
nCache > Transfer
Cache to Input Mesh
nCache > Paint Cache Weights
Tool
nSolver
nSolver > Assign Solver
nSolver > Initial State
nSolver > AE Display
nSolver > Interactive Playback
Fields
Fields menu overview
nDynamics nodes
nClothShape
nParticleShape
Emitter node
nucleus
nRigidShape
dynamicConstraintShape
nComponent
cacheFile
cacheBlend
nDynamics tips and troubleshooting
Troubleshooting
Rendering and Render Setup
Shading
About shading and texturing
surfaces
Shading
Surface shading
Surface texture
Swatch rendering for any
renderer
Shading networks
About shading networks
Render nodes
Render node attributes
Render node connections
Maya materials
Surface, displacement,
volumetric materials
Layered shaders
Double-sided shaded surfaces
Maya textures
2D and 3D textures
Procedural textures
File textures
Adobe Photoshop texture
networks
Texture filtering
Mapping and positioning
textures
Texture mapping
Mapping methods
2D and 3D texture positioning
Texture placement vs. label
mapping
Object space, world space
and tangent space
Transfer Maps
Hardware shaders
About hardware shaders
CgFX shaders
HLSL shaders
Build shading networks
Overview of building shading
networks
Open and customize Hypershade
Open and navigate Hypershade
Show top and bottom level
tabs
Hide shape and transform
nodes in Hypershade
Create Hypershade tabs
Hide, resize or customize
the Create bar
Creating and using favorites
Organize render nodes with Hypershade sorting
bins
Change default connection
line colors
Troubleshoot Hypershade
limitations
Create nodes
Create a node
Duplicate a node
Delete a node and its network
Import and export shading
networks
Connect nodes
Show node connections
Assemble nodes into logical
groupings using container nodes in the Hypershade
Connect render nodes using
their default connections
Connect default output
to a specific input attribute
Connect render nodes by
dragging existing connection lines
Connect render nodes using
the Connection Editor
Change existing render
node attribute connections
Delete a render node connection
Adjust node attributes
Set node attributes
Animate a node attribute
Work with shader libraries
View the Shader
Library Gallery
Assign a shading group
from the Shader Library
Create and assign materials
to surfaces
Create a material
Assign materials to surfaces
Assign shaders to polygon
faces
Layer shaders
Create double-sided shaded
surfaces
Troubleshoot changing polygonal
topology may affect shader assignments
Map and position textures
Map a 2D or 3D texture
Position 2D textures and
labels
Position 3D textures
Use a layered texture
Display layered textures
in the hardware renderer with multiple UV sets
Create Texture Reference
Object
Convert a texture or shading
network to a File Texture
Create texture maps with
the Transfer Maps editor
Creating normal maps for
use with hardware shaders
Viewing tangent space or
object space normal maps
Creating and using mirrored
normal maps on a character or object
Hardware shading limitations
Texturing limitations
Filter features and compatibility
with the mental ray for Maya renderer and Maya software renderer
Troubleshoot normal direction
of normal maps are flipped
Use Adobe Photoshop files
in Maya
Use PSD Networks as textures
in Maya
Create a PSD file with
layer sets from within Maya
Display the alpha of a
PSD file in the scene view
Open a PSD network in Adobe
Photoshop from Maya
Sketch out guidelines (“lipstick”)
for paint application
Edit PSD Networks
Convert a PSD node to a
file texture
Adjust conversion options
Update PSD Networks
Photoshop integration limitations
Test textures
Test textures (and texture
ranges)
Disable the initial load
of a file texture image
Using hardware shaders
Work with hardware shaders
Work with CgFX shaders
Work with HLSL shaders
Override a Maya shader
in the scene view using a hardware shader
Troubleshoot working with
HLSL shaders
Display high dynamic range
images
Display a high dynamic
range image
Maya materials and textures
Troubleshoot movies don’t
play on Image Plane
Troubleshoot NURBS surface
blend renders incorrectly
Troubleshoot warped textures
Troubleshoot can’t see
the place2DTexture swatch
Troubleshoot when I move
a referenced object, the texture swims
Troubleshoot movies files
are slow to load
Troubleshoot textures on
deforming surfaces
Troubleshoot Normal Mapping
Troubleshoot texture mapping
Surface Relief
About surface relief
Bump maps
Displacement maps
Feature-based displacement
Connect a texture as a
displacement map
Connect a displacement
map
Preview the displacement
results
Adjust displacement sampling
rates
Convert a displacement
to polygons
Change bounding box scale
Troubleshoot displacement
textures ‘pop’
Troubleshoot black holes
appear on rendered surfaces with displacement maps
Troubleshoot my blurred
file texture looks crisp, not blurred
Troubleshoot bump maps
Backgrounds
About backgrounds
Basic color and texture
backgrounds
Image file backgrounds
Create a basic color background
Create a texture background
Create, edit, or position
an image plane
Depth compositing with
image planes
Create a static image file
background
Create an animated image
file background
Create a 3D image file
background
Size and position an image
file background
Remove or hide a background
Troubleshoot grainy or
jagged background image
Reflection and Environment
True reflections
Simulated reflections
Create true reflections
Simulate reflections with
Env Ball
Simulate reflections with Env
Cube
Simulate reflections with Env
Sphere
Troubleshoot cube maps
swap front and back images
Troubleshoot environment
reflection maps
Atmosphere
Fog, smoke, dust, and silt
Simulate fog, smoke, or
dust
Change the visual effect
of fog, smoke, or dust
Troubleshoot Environment
Fog problems
Baking textures and Prelighting
Baking illumination and
color
Bake sets
Create a bake set
Adjust bake set attributes
Assign objects to existing
bake sets
Create a Bake Set tab in Hypershade
mental ray for Maya Shading
mental ray for Maya shading
concepts
Ambient occlusion concepts
Basics of mental ray for
Maya shading
mental ray for Maya shaders
mental ray Shader connections
mental ray for Maya textures
mental ray for Maya reflections
Scattering
mental ray Surface relief
mental ray for Maya Surface
relief
mental ray for Maya displacement
mental ray atmospheric
effects
Fog, smoke, dust, and silt
Create light fog using
mental ray for Maya sample workflow
Baking textures and prelighting
in mental ray for Maya
Baking to textures and
vertices
Baking with final gather
Limitations of baking to
textures
mental ray custom shaders
mental ray for Maya custom
shaders
The Node Factory
mental ray shader language
extensions
Swatch rendering in mental
ray for Maya
Advanced mental ray for
Maya shading
Phenomena
Custom mental ray text
Custom vertex data
Advanced information
mental ray for Maya reference
links
Basics of mental ray for
Maya shading
Use a mental ray for Maya
shader
mental ray for Maya shaders
sample workflow
Native mental ray light
linking
Render color per vertex
in mental ray for Maya
Create blurry reflections
using mental ray for Maya
Create lightmaps by baking
textures and vertices
Bake lightmaps from the
command line
Create an ambient occlusion
map with the Transfer Map tool
Exclude an object from
an occlusion render
Work with Scattering
High quality texture filtering
with elliptical filtering
Specialized workflow examples
for mia_material and mia_physicalsky shaders
Sample workflow for mia_envblur
Troubleshoot mental ray
for Maya transparency mapping is broken
Advanced mental ray for
Maya shading
Create and use custom mental
ray shaders
Use a custom-made mental
ray for Maya shader in Maya
Write a shader declaration
file
Edit the maya.rayrc file
Load shaders
Relate Maya custom shaders
to mental ray for Maya custom shaders
Integrating Custom Mental
Ray Shaders
Specify light parameters
Custom volume shaders
Troubleshoot custom mental
ray shaders
Work with phenomenon
Build phenomena
Use a phenomenon in a scene
Create custom shaders for
use with multi-render passes
Creating a pass-compliant
shader using the AdskShaderSDK
Work with custom mental
ray text
Assign custom text to an
object or shader
Assign text to entities
Rendering particles with
mental ray for Maya
Using the Particle Sampler
Info node with mental ray shaders
mental ray for Maya dynamic
attributes
Dynamic attributes for
mental ray custom shaders
mental ray for Maya shaders
Troubleshoot crash or render
abort
Troubleshoot node factory
errors in Script Editor
Troubleshoot error messages
Troubleshoot cannot find
main function
Troubleshoot cannot open
input file “shader.lib”
mental ray for Maya transfer
maps
Troubleshoot Transfer Maps
search envelope produces unexpected results
Troubleshoot ambient occlusion
transfer map appears grainy with lost details
Troubleshoot mental ray
for Maya aborts rendering when using normal maps
Atmospheric effects in
mental ray for Maya
Troubleshoot volumetric
fog with depth map shadows
Baking textures in mental
ray for Maya
Troubleshoot 32 bit TIFF
and IFF images are black
Troubleshoot baking quality
with final gather
Troubleshooting mia_roundcorners
shader has no effect
Troubleshooting surfaces
bent incorrectly when mia_roundcorners shader is applied
Troubleshoot batch baking
texture with 32bit .tif produces IMF error
Render node utilities
Render node utilities
Use render
node utilities
Use the Array
Mapper utility
Use the Blend
Colors utility
Use the Bump
2d utility
Use the Bump
3d utility
Use the Clamp colors
utility
Use the Clear
Coat utility
Use the Condition utility
Use the Contrast utility
Use the Distance
Between utility
Use the Double
Switch utility
Use the Gamma
Correct utility
Use the Height
Field utility
Use the Hsv
to Rgb utility
Use the Light
Info utility
Use the Luminance utility
Use the Multiply
Divide utility
Use the 2d
Placement utility
Use the 3d
Placement utility
Use the Plus
Minus Average utility
Use the Projection utility
Use the Remap
Color, Remap Hsv, or Remap Value utilities
Use the Reverse utility
Use the Rgb
to Hsv utility
Use the Quad
Switch utility
Use the Sampler
Info utility
Use the Set
Range utility
Use the Single
Switch utility
Use the Smear utility
Use the Stencil utility
Use the Studio
Clear Coat utility
Use the Surf.
Luminance utility
Use the Triple
Switch utility
Use the Vector
Product utility
Appendices
Appendix A: mental ray
user data nodes
Appendix B: Custom Colors
Appendix C: Custom vertex
data
Shading menus
Window
Window > Rendering
Editors > mental ray > Shader Manager
Create
Create > Volume primitives
Rendering menu
set
Lighting/shading
Lighting/shading >
Material Attributes
Lighting/shading >
Assign New Material
Lighting/shading > Assign
Favorite Material
Lighting/shading >
Assign Existing Material
Lighting/shading >
Assign New Bake Set
Lighting/shading >
Assign Existing Bake Set
Lighting/shading >
Batch Bake (mental ray)
Lighting/Shading >
Transfer Maps
Texturing
Texturing > Create
Texture Reference Object
Texturing > Delete
Texture Reference Object
Texturing > Select
Texture Reference Object
Texturing > NURBS
Texture Placement Tool
Texturing > Create
PSD Network
Texturing > Update
PSD Networks
Shading Windows and Editors
mental ray Custom
text editor
Connection Editor
Assign New Material window
Create Render Node window
Hypershade
Hypershade window
Create bar
Sorting Bins
Hypershade tabs
Hypershade top
tabs
Work Area tab
(bottom tab)
Hypershade toolbars
Hypershade main
toolbar
Hypershade tab
toolbar
Hypershade menu
bar
Hypershade menus
File > Import
File > Export Selected
Network
Edit > Delete
Edit > Delete Unused
Nodes
Edit > Delete Duplicate
Shading Networks
Edit > Delete All
by Type
Edit > Revert Selected
Swatches
Edit > Select All
by Type
Edit > Select Objects
with Materials
Edit > Select Materials
from Objects
Edit > Duplicate
Edit > Convert to
File Texture (Maya Software)
Edit > Convert PSD
to Layered Texture
Edit > Convert PSD
to File Texture
Edit > Create PSD
Network
Edit > Edit PSD Network
Edit > Update PSD
Networks
Edit > Create Container
Edit > Remove Container
Edit > Collapse Container
Edit > Expand Container
Edit > Edit Texture
Edit > Test Texture
Edit > Render Texture
Range
View > Frame All
View > Frame Selected
View > As Icons
View > As List
View > As Small/Medium/Large/Extra
Large Swatches
View > By Name
View > By Type
View > By Time
View > Reverse Order
Bookmarks > Create
Bookmark
Bookmarks > Bookmark
Editor
Create menu
Create > Create Render
Node
Tabs > Create New
Tab
Tabs > Move Tab Up, Move
Tab Down, Move Tab Left, Move Tab
Right
Tabs > Rename Tab
Tabs > Remove Tab
Tabs > Revert to
Default Tabs
Tabs > Show Top Tabs
Only
Tabs > Show Bottom
Tabs Only
Tabs > Show Top and
Bottom Tabs
Tabs > Current Tab
Graph > Graph Materials
on Selected Objects
Graph > Clear Graph
Graph > Input Connections
Graph > Output Connections
Graph > Input and
Output Connections
Graph > Show Previous
Graph
Graph > Show Next
Graph
Graph > Add Selected
to Graph
Graph > Remove Selected
from Graph
Graph > Rearrange
Graph
Window > Attribute
Editor
Window > Attribute
Spread Sheet
Window > Connection
Editor
Window > Connect
Selected
Options > Create
Bar
Options > Bins Sort
Shading Node Only
Options > Display
(Work Area Only)
Options > Keep Swatches
at Current Resolution
Options > Clear Before
Graphing
Options > Show Relationships
Connections
Options > Merge Connections
Options > Opaque Containers
Shading Nodes
Material nodes - Maya software
Surface materials
About surface materials
Common surface material
attributes
Common surface material Specular
Shading attributes
Anisotropic
Blinn
CgFX Shader
HLSL shader
Lambert
Layered Shader
Ocean Shader
Phong
Phong E
Ramp Shader
Shading Map
Surface Shader
Use Background
Shared surface material
sections
Displacement material
About displacement material
Volumetric materials
About volumetric materials
Environment Fog
Volume Fog
Light Fog
Particle Cloud
Volume Shader
Fluid Shape
Common Volumetric material
attributes
Shading group node
Shading group node attributes
Texture nodes
Overview of texture nodes
2D textures
About 2D textures
Bulge
Checker
Cloth
File
Fluid Texture 2D
Fractal
Grid
Mountain
Movie
Noise
Ocean
PSD File
Ramp
Water
Shared 2D texture attributes
3D textures
About 3D textures
Brownian
Cloud
Crater
Fluid Texture 3D
Granite
Leather
Marble
Rock
Snow
Solid Fractal
Stucco
Volume Noise
Wood
Shared 3D texture attributes
Environment textures
About environment textures
Common Environment texture
attributes
Env Ball
Env Chrome
Env Cube
Env Sky
Env Sphere
Other textures
Layered texture
Placement nodes
Place 2d Texture
mental ray for Maya shaders
mental ray for Maya nodes
mental ray mia_material/mia_material_x shader attributes
mental ray render pass
utility shaders
Recommended mental ray
for Maya shaders
Feature-based displacement
map
Feature-based displacement
map attributes
Image Planes
Image plane
Bake set nodes
Texture Bake Set
Vertex Bake Set
Maya Render Nodes
Utilities
About Utilities
Add Double Linear
Add Matrix
Angle Between
Array Mapper
Blend Colors
Blend Two Attr
Bump 2d
Bump 3d
Choice
Chooser
Clamp
Clear Coat
Color Profile
Condition
Contrast
Curve Info
Decompose Matrix
Distance Between
Double Switch
Gamma Correct
Frame cache
Height Field
Hsv to Rgb
Light Info
Luminance
Multiply Divide
Mult Double Linear
2d Placement
3d Placement
Plus Minus Average
Projection
Quad Switch
Particle Sampler
Remap Color
Remap HSV
Remap Value
Reverse
Rgb to Hsv
Sampler Info
Set Range
Single Switch
Smear
Stencil
Studio Clear Coat
Surface Info
Surf. Luminance
Triple Switch
Unit Conversion
Uv Chooser
Vector Product
Toon
Toon shading
Toon shading overview
Toon examples
Adding toon lines and shading
to a scene
Types of toon lines
Toon line connections
Work with toon lines
Hide and show toon lines
Modify toon line attributes
Paint toon line attributes
Use Paint
Effects with toon lines
Use a modifier to alter
toon line and brush attributes
Paint additional lines
in toon scenes
Convert toon lines to polygons
Work with toon shaders
Tips for working with toon
shading
Troubleshoot toon lines
Toon menu
Toon
Toon > Assign Fill Shader
Toon > Assign Outline
Toon > Create Modifier
Toon > Set Camera Background Color
Toon > Get Toon Example
Toon > Reverse Surfaces
Toon > Assign Paint Effects Brush to
Toon Lines
Toon > Convert Toon to Polygons
Toon > Paint Line Attributes
Toon nodes
pfxToonShape node
pfxToonProfileShader node
lineModifier node
Lighting
Basics of Lighting
Light and shadow in the
real world
Absorption, reflection,
and refraction of light
Indirect (global) vs. direct
illumination
Direct light sources
Sources of direct light
Default lighting in Maya
Light decay
Light linking
Shadow linking
Glows, halos, and lens
flares
Shadow
Shadow in Maya
Depth map and raytraced
shadows
Shadow catching
Apply and adjust basic
direct lighting
Plan light sources
A typical direct light/shadow
workflow
Create a Maya light source
Adjust a light source’s
attributes
Move a light source to
another location
Interactively place a spot,
area or directional light
Turn default lighting on
or off
Position features of a
light interactively
Show, hide, or resize a
light manipulator
Move the center of interest
or origin
Move the pivot point
Move the Cone Radius of
a spot light
Move the Penumbra Radius
of a spot light
Move the Decay regions
of a spot light
Move barn doors (shutters)
of a spot light
Light specific surfaces
Determine a light’s area
of illumination
Link light sources to surfaces
Link sets of lights and
objects
Select objects illuminated
by a specific light
Select lights illuminating
a specific object
Link light sources to surfaces
to control shadow calculations
Control area lights
Control highlights of an
area light
Control soft lighting distribution
Produce raytraced shadows
Adjust decay
Interactively set decay
regions
Create custom spot light
intensity or color decay
Adjust a spot light’s light
circle
Control a spot light’s
circle boundary
Apply barn
doors (shutters) to a beam of light
Create glows, halos, or
lens flares
Create a light optical
effect
Adjust the size of the
glow object
Create environments that
glow
Create illuminated fog
Cast shadows
See shadows in the scene
view
Control which objects cast
shadows
Render depth map shadows
Reuse depth maps
Render raytraced shadows
Catch shadows for an alpha
channel
Remove shadows
Troubleshoot direct light
sources
Troubleshoot lights don’t
light the object
Troubleshoot surface glows
affect glow of another surface
Troubleshoot glow flickers
throughout animation sequence
Troubleshoot shader glow
behind semi-transparent object is too intense
Troubleshoot Shader Glow,
Light Glow, and Light Fog limitations
Troubleshoot turning on
Emit Ambient volume light attribute does not update the IPR render
Troubleshoot shadows
Troubleshoot shadow map
problems
Troubleshoot inaccurate
shadows from shadow depth maps
Troubleshoot transparent
objects cast shadows for shadow depth maps
Troubleshoot shadow quality
poor with light fog
Troubleshoot hardware shadows
produce unexpected results
Troubleshoot lights don’t
cast shadows
Troubleshoot shadows flicker
over animations
Troubleshoot jagged edges
Troubleshoot jagged or
flickering shadow edges
Troubleshoot grainy or
flickering shadows in illuminated fog
Troubleshoot dark spots
or streaks on illuminated surfaces (outside of shadows)
Troubleshoot shadow appears
detached from shadow casting surface
Troubleshoot grainy or
flickering shadow edges (raytraced shadows)
Troubleshoot staircase
of dark triangles on surface (raytraced shadows)
Troubleshoot Dmap resolution
changes don’t update in IPR
Troubleshoot translucence
limitation with raytraced shadows
mental ray for Maya Lighting
mental ray for Maya Lighting
concepts
Raytracing concepts
Global illumination, caustics,
and final gather
Final gather and ambient
occlusion
mental ray Light Source
mental ray Area Light
mental ray Native light
linking
Native light linking in
mental ray
Global illumination and
caustics
Global illumination
Caustics
Color bleed
Participating media
Photon maps and photon
tracing
Photon maps
Photon tracing
Final gather and HDRI
Final gather
Irradiance as the source
of light
High Dynamic Range Imaging
(HDRI)
Image-based lighting (sky-like
illumination)
Sun and sky
Simulating the sun and
sky
Shadow in mental ray
mental ray shadow maps
mental ray for Maya reference
links
Create a mental ray area
light source
Create a mental ray area
light
Render with global illumination
and caustics
Global illumination and
caustics workflow
Set up mental ray for Maya
raytracing
Turn on photon emission
for a light source
Flag objects to cast and
receive photons
Set scene-wide photon tracing
overrides
Render with global illumination
Tweak color bleed
Render with Caustics
See the distribution of
photons
Work with Final Gather
Final gather sample workflow
Render with final gather
Store and reuse Final Gather
results
Combine global illumination
with final gather
Work with sun and sky
Adding sun and sky to your
scene
Work with High Dynamic
range images (HDRI)
Render infinitely distant
(sky-like) illumination and reflection
Render finitely distant
illumination and reflection
Cast shadows
To create mental ray shadow
maps
Render detail shadow maps
in mental ray for Maya
Use detail shadow maps
for colored shadows
Troubleshoot depth map
shadow settings and volumes
Troubleshoot mental ray
lighting
Troubleshoot directional
light does not work well with photons
Troubleshoot global illumination
and caustics
Troubleshoot global illumination
doesn’t work or looks incorrect
Troubleshoot caustics don’t
work or look incorrect
Troubleshoot final gather
and HDRI
Troubleshoot final gather
ignores Render Stats settings
Troubleshoot final gather
renders black
Troubleshoot final gather
file problems
Troubleshoot HDR image
warning message
Troubleshoot mental ray
for Maya shadows
Troubleshoot raytraced
shadow artifacts
Troubleshoot shadows are
not motion blurred when the rasterizer is used
Troubleshooting shadow
banding when light angle on a directional light is set above 15
degrees
Troubleshoot fur shadows
flickering
Troubleshoot soft shadows
do not render correctly when Simple Shadow Method is used
Troubleshoot depth map
shadow quality with rapid scanline rendering
Troubleshoot photon tracing
Troubleshoot photon tracing
limitations
Troubleshoot photons are
not bright enough
Troubleshoot no photons
stored after emitting 10000 photons
Lighting menus
Create
Create > Lights >
Directional Light
Create > Lights >
Ambient Light
Create > Lights >
Area Light
Create > Lights >
Point Light
Create > Lights >
Spot Light
Create > Lights >
Volume Light
Rendering menu
set
Lighting/shading
Lighting/shading >
Make Light Links
Lighting/shading >
Break Light Links
Lighting/shading >
Select Objects Illuminated by Light
Lighting/shading >
Select Lights Illuminating Object
Lighting/shading >
Light Linking Editor
Lighting/shading >
Make Shadow Links
Lighting/shading >
Break Shadow Links
Panel menus
Lighting
Lighting > Use Default
Lighting
Lighting > Use All
Lights
Lighting > Use Selected
Lights
Lighting > Use No
Lights
Lighting > Use Previously
Specified Lights
Lighting > Two Sided
Lighting
Lighting > Shadows
Lighting > Specify
Selected Lights
Lighting Windows and Editors
Render Settings for Lighting
Lighting nodes
Light nodes
Directional Light Attributes
Ambient Light Attributes
Area Light Attributes
mental ray Area Light
Attributes (created using area light)
mental ray Area Light
Attributes (created using spot light)
Point Light Attributes
Spot Light Attributes
Volume Light Attributes
mental ray attributes for
lights (point, spot, directional, area)
Image based lighting node
attributes
Light Effects
Shadow attributes
Glow nodes
Optical FX Attributes
Photon and final gather
nodes
mapVizShape node
Rendering
About rendering and renderers
Rendering
Introduction to rendering
Hardware, software, and
vector rendering
Renderers
Maya Software renderer
Maya Hardware renderer
Maya Vector renderer
mental ray for Maya renderer
Select a renderer
Camera set up
Cameras
Viewing cameras vs. rendering
cameras
Maya camera types
Motion blur and depth of
field
Focus and blur
fStop (aperture) and shutter
speed/angle
Motion blur
Framing objects with a
camera
Camera aim
Angle of view (focal length)
Safe display regions for
TV production
Clipping planes
Create and use a camera
Create a camera
Adjust a camera’s attributes
Make an existing camera
renderable
Turn scene view guidelines
on or off
Adjust depth of field
Camera limitations
Look through (select) a
camera
Select the current scene
view’s camera
Look through another camera
Frame your scene
Move a camera to another
location
Aim a camera
Look at selected objects
Frame selected objects
Frame all objects
Frame part of a scene
Save sequential camera
movements
Troubleshoot Resolution
Gate and Film Gate display incorrectly
Panning and zooming in
2D
Using a stereoscopic camera
Create a stereoscopic camera
Render a scene with stereoscopic
camera
Create a custom rig
Create a multi-camera rig
Linking a stereo camera
with a set of objects
Tessellation and Approximation
Tessellation and approximation
Introduction to Tessellation
and Approximation
Maya tessellation
Primary vs. secondary tessellation
passes
NURBS surface, poly, and
subD tessellation
Tessellate NURBS surfaces
View Maya tessellation
settings for an object
Adjust NURBS tessellation
settings
Determine which objects
to tessellate
Display NURBS tessellation
triangles
Use span-based tessellation
Tessellate polygonal surfaces
Adjust polygonal tessellation
Tessellate subdivision
surfaces
Display subdivision surface
tessellation triangles
Adjust subdivision surface
tessellation
Visualize and render images
Rendering methods
Interactive Photorealistic
Rendering (IPR)
Render View rendering
Batch renders from within
Maya (UI)
Render from a command line
Render output
File formats
Subfolders and names of
rendered images
File output location
Pixel aspect ratio
Resolution
Frames vs. Fields
Color, Depth, and Mask
(alpha) channels
Pre Render MEL and Post
Render MEL scripts
Layers and passes
Render layer overview
Working with render layers:
different layer examples
Render layer concepts
Mask and depth channels
Render passes
Render tiles in the Maya
Software renderer
Render tiles
Visualize interactively
in the scene view
Visualize scenes and render
images
A typical rendering workflow
Choose a rendering method
Set scene options
Open the Render
Settings window
Render all or some objects
from a camera
Set the rendered image
file format
Set file name syntax
Set rendered images output
location
Set the resolution and
pixel aspect ratio
Enable color, depth, and
mask channels for rendered images
Create and view depth files
Modify a mask channel
Specify frame or field
rendering
Run Pre Render MEL or Post
Render MEL scripts
Adjust anti-aliasing
Adjust output image filtering
Create and load a plug-in
multipixel filter
Set raytracing quality
Set motion blur
Maya software
Set IPR options
Set Paint Effects rendering
options
Set per-material vector
rendering options
Work with render layers
Work with layers
Work with layer overrides
Remove material overrides
from objects in any render layer
Assign different component
shading for each render layer
Work with attribute overrides
Preview layers
Render layers to PSD format
Batch and command-line
render with layers
Duplicate an existing render
layer
Naming render layers
Recycling rendered images
to save time
Control visibility/reflection
per layer
Merging display layers
or render layers when importing files
Visualize a scene
Visualize interactively
with IPR
See shading and lights
in a scene view
Test render a low-res still
or frame
Test render a low-res animation
Render selected objects
Render a region of your
scene
Visualize interactively
in Viewport 2.0
Perform final renders from
within Maya
Render a single frame
Batch render a still or
animation
Render with several processors
Perform command line rendering
Command line rendering
Render multiple scenes
Rendering multiple scenes
Render using color management
Using color management
in your scene
Using color management
with HDR images in the Render View
Displaying HDR images in
the Render View
Using color management
in the Render View: sample workflow
Troubleshooting Rendering
Troubleshoot image plane
displays black swatch
Troubleshoot displacement
is not displayed
Troubleshoot software-rendered
is too bright
Troubleshoot Multi-UVs
for NURBS don’t software render
Troubleshoot NURBS surface
does not appear when rendering
Troubleshoot rendered image
doesn’t match interactive window display
Troubleshoot projection
texture swims over an animation
Troubleshoot transparent
blobby surface rendering anti-aliasing problem
Troubleshoot memory exceptions
Troubleshoot highlight
artifacts close to object edge
Troubleshoot background
surfaces show through
Troubleshoot objects vibrate
when an animation is rendered as fields
Troubleshoot 2D Motion
Blur problems
Troubleshooting Surfaces
(Maya software)
Troubleshoot edits in the
Texture Editor don’t update in IPR
Troubleshoot looping renders
Troubleshoot render tiles
Troubleshoot assigning
objects to Render Layers through the Relationship editor
Troubleshoot render layer
color indicators do not appear correctly (Linux only)
Troubleshoot Interactive
Photorealistic Rendering (IPR)
Troubleshoot HDR images
are clipped when used with color management
Troubleshoot color management
Troubleshoot Maya import
into Composite
Quality, render speed,
diagnostics
Image quality and render
speed
The speed/quality tradeoff
Anti-aliasing and flicker
Artifacts
Render speed
Maya render diagnostics
Improve rendered image
quality
Adjust scene anti-aliasing
parameters (Maya software)
Adjust per-object anti-aliasing
parameters
Reduce artifacts and flicker
Increase render speed
Increase overall rendering
speed
Increase surface rendering
speed
Increase shadow rendering
speed
Increase camera views render
speed
Global illumination and
caustics
Final Gather
Reduce render memory usage
Reducing memory usage
Cache texture tiles using
BOT (block ordered texture)
Delete information not
relevant to the renderer
Render parts of a scene
separately
Decrease file size (Maya
Vector renderer)
Strategies to decrease
vector render file size
Diagnose scene problems
Run diagnostics
Sample diagnostic messages
Network rendering
Overview of network rendering
Maya network rendering
Managing Maya network rendering
Network rendering with
Backburner
Network render with the
render command line utility
mental ray for Maya rendering
About the mental ray renderer
About the mental ray for
Maya renderer
Motion Blur
mental ray for Maya motion
blur
Approximation in mental
ray for Maya
Approximation
Approximation nodes
Approximation styles
mental ray for Maya geometry
types
Visualize and render images
Command line render
Exporting .mi files
Multi-render passes
Quality, render speed,
diagnostics
mental ray for Maya diagnostics
Converting textures to
optimized format
Network rendering using
mental ray for Maya
Overview of network rendering
in mental ray for Maya
mental ray for Maya network
rendering using Satellite and Standalone
mental ray network rendering:
Satellite and Standalone
Configuration
mental ray for Maya reference
links
mental ray for Maya Output window messages
Work with mental ray for
Maya approximation
Create an approximation
node
Assign an approximation
node
Edit an approximation node
Unassign an approximation
node
Delete an approximation
node
Override approximation
settings
Obtain quads for subdivision
surfaces
Troubleshoot partial creases
rendering as full creases
Control Fine approximation
triangles
Setting Fine approximation
cache limit
Control Fine approximation
triangles
Tweak Approximation node
settings
Render time smoothing of
polygon meshes
Smooth polygon meshes at
render time
Rendering a smooth polygon
mesh
Render a smooth polygon
mesh using Smooth Mesh Preview
Contour rendering
Adding a contour to your
scene
Work with multi-render
passes
Introduction to multi-render
passes: a simple workflow example
Sample workflow for multi-render
passes
Exporting the multi-render
passes for compositing in Composite
Set scene options
Open the Render
Settings window
Modify a mask channel
Adjust anti-aliasing in
mental ray for Maya
Set motion blur in mental
ray for Maya
Perform command line rendering
Rendering from the command
line
Export .mi files
Export a .mi file and render
with mental ray
Managing your scenes using
render proxies
Using render proxies in
your scene
Material assignments for
render proxy
Increase render speed
Increase overall rendering
speed in mental ray for Maya
Increase surface rendering
speed in mental ray for Maya
Increase shadow rendering
speed in mental ray for Maya
Diagnose scene problems
mental ray for Maya error
handling and diagnostics
Network rendering using
Satellite and Standalone
Set up mental ray Satellite
and Standalone
Set up a master machine
with mental ray for Maya
Set up a master machine
with mental ray standalone (method 1)
Set up a master machine
with mental ray standalone (method 2)
Slave machine setup
Submit a job to render
over the network
Dynamic Attributes for
mental ray for Maya
Dynamic Attributes
Troubleshoot mental ray
for Maya rendering
Troubleshoot general mental
ray for Maya rendering issues
Troubleshoot mental ray
standalone rendering
Troubleshoot render layers
do not render correctly when exporting a .mi file
Troubleshoot Motion Blur
Troubleshoot Surfaces
Troubleshoot final gather
causes flicker
Troubleshoot Network rendering
with mental ray for Maya
Troubleshoot HDR images
Troubleshoot Reflection and Refraction passes render
incorrectly with contribution maps
Troubleshoot mental ray
approximation
Troubleshoot exporting
.mi files
Appendices
Appendix A: Extra mental
ray render settings
Appendix B: Creating camera
output passes with mental ray for
Maya
Appendix C: Additional mental
ray for Maya rendering commands
Appendix D: Render layer
presets
Work with layer presets
Render layers example:
automotive preview
Appendix E: Render Passes
for Maya software renderer
Work with render passes
Appendix F: Exporting to
Toxik 2007/2008
Compositing Interoperability
Plug-in for Toxik
Work with Autodesk Toxik
2007
Work with Autodesk Toxik
2008
Render > Export All
Layers to Toxik 2007
Render > Export Selected
Layers to Toxik 2007
Render > Export to Toxik
2008
Appendix G: mental ray
user framebuffers
mentalrayUserBuffer
node attributes
mentalrayOutputPass
node
Rendering menus
File
File > Export All, Export
Selection (mental ray)
Modify
Modify > Convert
> Displacement to Polygons
Create
Create > Cameras
> Camera
Create > Cameras
> Camera and Aim
Create > Cameras
> Camera, Aim, and Up
Create > Cameras
> Stereo Camera
Create > Cameras
> Multi Stereo Rig
Window
Window > Rendering
Editors > Render View
Window > Rendering
Editors > Hardware Render Buffer
Window > Rendering
Editors > Render Settings
Window > Rendering
Editors > Hypershade
Window > Rendering
Editors > Rendering Flags
Window > Rendering
Editors > Shading Group Attributes
Window > Rendering
Editors > mental ray > Approximation Editor
Window > Rendering
Editors > mental ray > Custom Text Editor
Render
Render > Render Current
Frame
Render > Redo Previous
Render
Render > IPR Render
Current Frame
Render > Redo Previous
IPR Render
Render > Test Resolution
Render > Run Render
Diagnostics
Render > Batch Render
Render > Cancel Batch
Render
Render > Show Batch
Render
Render > Render Using
> Maya Hardware
Render > Render Using
> Maya Software
Render > Render Using
> Maya Vector
Render > Set NURBS
Tessellation
Render > Render Using
> mental ray
Render > Export Pre-Compositing
Render > Create Backburner
Job
Stereo
Stereo > Editors
> Custom Stereo Rig
Stereo > Editors
> Custom Multi Rig
Stereo > Create >
Stereo Camera
Stereo > Create >
Multi Stereo Rig
Stereo > Make Links
Stereo > Break Links
Panel menus
View
View > Select Camera
View > Camera settings
View > Camera Attribute
Editor
View > Camera Tools
View > Image plane
Stereo
Stereo > Center
Eye
Stereo > Active
Stereo > Horizontal
Interlace
Stereo > Checkerboard
Stereo > Anaglyph
Stereo > Luminance
Anaglyph
Stereo > Freeview
(Parallel)
Stereo > Freeview
(Crossed)
Stereo > Background
Color
Stereo > Set
Color Using Preferences
Stereo > Swap Interlaced
Eyes
Renderer
Renderer > Default
Quality Rendering
Renderer > High Quality
Rendering
Renderer > Viewport
2.0
Renderer >
[Custom Renderer]
Rendering Windows and Editors
Approximation Editor
mental ray Approximation
Editor
Render Layer Editor
Render Settings
Render Settings window
Render Settings: Common tab
Render Settings: Maya
Software tab
Render Settings: mental
ray tabs
Render Settings: Maya
Hardware tab
Render Settings: Maya
Vector tab
Create Render Passes window
Custom Stereo Rig Editor
Multi-Camera Rig Tool
Render View
Render View menu
bar
Render View toolbar
Rendering Flags
Rendering Flags window
Hardware Render Buffer
Hardware Render Buffer window
Hardware Render Buffer
global settings
Hardware Render Buffer menus
Rendering nodes
Render Layer attributes
Render Layer render
attributes
Render pass nodes
Render pass Attribute
Editor
Render pass set Attribute
Editor
Render pass contribution
map Attribute Editor
mental ray Approximation
Editor nodes
Render View color management
node
mental ray for Maya
Dynamic Attributes for Rendering
Dynamic Attributes for
Rendering
Transform node mental ray
attributes
Transform node mental ray
rendering attributes
Object-specific mental
ray attributes - Attribute Editor
mental ray
Object-specific render attributes
- Attribute Editor
Render Stats
Smooth Mesh Render
Vector Renderer Control
Texture Map
Tessellation
NURBS objects tessellation
Rendering Utilities
Small Utilities
blur2d
from100to97
interlace
filePaste
fileStats
imconvert (Image Magick)
imgcvt
imf_disp
FCheck
Overview of FCheck
FCheck windows
Overview of FCheck features
FCheck options
FCheck hotkeys
Frame numbering and padded
numbers
Start FCheck
Open a file in FCheck
Control animation playback
in FCheck
Open image sequences
Adjust color values
Save images or sequences
Use FCheck with
sound
Use FCheck with
Maya
FieldAssembler
About the FieldAssembler
Reassembling Field Rendered
Images
Define Sequence Dialog
Using the Command Line
Command line renderer
About the command line renderer
Render from the command
line
Stop a command line render
Using customized renderer
Rendering Utilities Tools
Common flags for the command
line renderer
Renderer-specific flags
for the command line renderer
Fur Renderer
Rendering Utilities Windows
and Editors
FCheck
FCheck options
list
Display keys
Image adjustment keys
Animation playback control
keys
FCheck supported
file formats
Supported save formats
FCheck File menu
Fcheck View menu
(Windows)
FCheck Help menu
(Windows)
FCheck Mouse
controls
FCheck Control
Bar
FieldAssembler
File menu commands
Edit menu
commands
Help menu
commands
Translators and Exporters
Translators
Introduction
to Translators
Maya Translators
FBX file translator
FBX file translator
IGES Translator plug-in
IGES Translator plug-in
StudioImport Plug-in and Translator
StudioImport
Export plug-ins
MayaToAlias export plug-in
Wavefront (OBJ) export
plug-in
RenderMan (RIB) export
plug-in
Maya OpenFlight Importer/Exporter
Overview of OpenFlight
Import/export OpenFlight files
User Interface
OpenFlight > Create Light Points
OpenFlight > Create Lights on Curve
OpenFlight > Edit Light Point Colors
OpenFlight > Edit Light Point Normals
OpenFlight workflow considerations
Supported OpenFlight Beads
Known Issues
Games
Introduction
Introduction
Run a games translator
Customize and rebuild translators
Build the necessary translators
Installing on different
platforms
Load translators in Maya
VRML2 Translator
Overview of VRML2
Install the VRML2 translator
Set VRML2 properties in
Maya
Import a VRML2 file using
wrl2ma
Menus
File
File > Export All
> VRML2
RTG Utility and File Format
Overview of RTG translator
Install the RTG translator
Menus
File
File > Export All
> RTG
Game Exchange 2 Translator
Overview of GE2 translator
Install the GE2 translator
Menus
File
File > Export All
> GE2
MDt API
Overview of Games export
toolkit
Incorporate functions/ideas
Use the MDt library
Find API function documentation
Use the MDt API
Minimal Program example
Basic Program example
Developer Resources
API Guide
Maya API introduction
Introduction
Loading a Plug-in
Unloading a plug-in
Writing a simple plug-in
Important plug-in features
Interacting with Maya
MObject
Wrappers
Objects and Function Sets
Naming Conventions
Adding arguments
Error checking
MStatus class
Error logging
Selecting with the API
Overview of selecting with
the API
MGlobal::setActiveSelectionList()
MSelectionList
MItSelectionList
setObject() method
MFn::Type enumeration
MGlobal::selectByName()
Command plug-ins
Overview of adding commands
to Maya
Registering commands
MFnPlugin
initializePlugin()
uninitializePlugin()
Creator methods
MPxCommand
Returning results to MEL
Syntax objects
Flags
Contexts
MPxContext
MPxContextCommand
Tool property sheets
MPxToolCommand
Attaching a plug-in to
a Maya menu
DAG Hierarchy
Overview of the DAG Hierarchy
Nodes
Transforms and shapes
DAG paths
Generalized instancing
Transforms with multiple shapes
DAG walking example
Writing a Shading Node
Overview of shading node
plug-ins
Writing a shading node
plug-in
Anatomy of a shading node
plug-in
InterpNode example code
walkthrough
Shading nodes classification
Shading node icons for Hypershade
Adding a custom shading
node to the Hypershade
Special shading nodes
SuperSampling within shading
nodes
Evaluating shading nodes
outside of the rendering context
Dependency graph plug-ins
Overview of dependency graph plug-ins
Parent class descriptions
The basics
Dependency Graph (DG) nodes
Nodes
Attributes and plugs
Complex Attributes
Data blocks
Data handles
Data creators
Compute methods
A more complex example
MPxNode and its derived classes
Manipulators
Overview of creating manipulators
What is a manipulator?
Base manipulators
Writing a manipulator
Manipulator containers
Communication between manipulators and nodes
Connect manipulators to the Show
Manipulator Tool
Shapes
Shapes in Maya
Shape classes
Writing a shape
Drawing and refresh
Selection
Components
Tweaks and internal attributes
Geometry data
File IO
Deformers
Marking Menus
Example Shapes
Writing a Hardware Shading Node
Overview of hardware shading node plug-ins
Implementing a hardware shading node plug-in
A hardware shading node plug-in example
Improving the performance of hardware shaders
Hardware Shading node plug-in
examples
Writing a Custom Transform Node
Overview of custom transforms
Implementing a custom transform
Example custom transform
Custom Transform node examples
Writing a Deformer Node
Overview of Deformers
Implementing a Deformer Node
Deformer Node Example
Deformer Examples
Writing File Translators
Overview of File Translators
Implementing a File Translator
Accessing MEL commands
File Translator Examples
File Translator Examples
in the developer kit
Multithreading plug-ins
Introduction
Data and Task Parallelism
Threads
Locks
OpenMP
Intel Threading Building
Blocks (TBB)
Threading Challenges
Memory allocation
Threading and Maya
Other types of parallelism
Python threading and Maya
Third party tools
API Classes and plug-ins
Mac OS X platform specific
pthreads issues
Vendor-specific OpenMP
Issues
Polygon API
Overview of Polygon API
How polygons are handled internally
The five basic polygonal API classes
Construction History and Tweaks
polyModifierCmd example
splitUVCmd example
Poly exporter plug-ins
Working with Qt
Overview of Maya's Qt UI
Using the loadUI Command
Using Qt in Plug-ins
Setting up your build environment
Introduction to building
plug-ins and applications
Compiler Requirements
Linux environments (64-bit)
Linux compiler requirement
Using a debugger to debug
your plug-ins
Windows environment (32-bit
and 64-bit)
Installing the Maya Plug-in
Wizard
Maya Plug-in Wizard 2.0(32
bit version)
Maya Plug-in Wizard 2.0(64
bit version)
Mac OS X environment
Maya Python API
Introduction to Maya Python
API
The Development Kit
Using the Maya Python API
Differences between the
C++ Maya API and Maya Python API
Distributing Maya Plug-ins
Distributing individual
files
Distributing Multi-File
Modules
Limitations of Modules
Shared Libraries
mental ray Shaders
Technical Notes
Generic Attributes
Threading and Maya API
Internationalizing plug-ins
Overview of the Maya API
Internationalization Architecture
Internationalization Process
Localization Process
Example code
Translated resource file for Japanese
Translated version of the closestPointOnCurve.pres.mel
resource file
Example Plug-ins
Overview of example plug-ins
Example stand-alone applications
Example C++ plug-in descriptions
Example stand-alone application
descriptions
Shader source code examples
Example Scripted Plug-ins
Appendices
Appendix A: NURBS Geometry
Appendix B: Dependency
graph rendering nodes
Appendix C: Rendering attributes
Appendix D: Frequently
asked questions
Appendix E: API and Devkit
limitations
Appendix F: Adding Image
Plug-ins
Environment Variables
Overview of environment
variables
Setting and getting environment
variables within Maya
Setting environment variables
using Maya.env
Setting environment variables
using system commands
Standard paths
General variables
Audio variables
File path variables
Rendering variables
Mac OS X specific variables
Linux specific variables
File Formats
Maya ASCII file format
About file formats
Maya ASCII file format
Overview of Maya ASCII file format
Write file translators
Embedded comments
Organization of Maya data
Organization of Maya ASCII files
Animation curves
Overview of animation curves
Import anim curves
Export anim curves
Anim File
Format
Maya Image File Format
- IFF
Overview of Maya IFF
Generate IFF files with
Maya
View and convert IFF images
Program with the IL and
FL libraries
Use example programs
Additional resources
IFF Format overview
Introduction to the image
library
Extensions to the IFF format
Channel move
files - MOV
Channel move files (.mov)