Basic Assets
The most commonly used
asset is the asset with a transform node. Assets with transform
nodes are most appropriate for collections of objects that you want
to manipulate as a whole (for example, multiple pieces of geometry
that compose a single prop in a scene).
To create an asset with a transform
- Select the nodes you want to place in an asset.
- Select
Assets > Create Asset with Transform> .
The Create
Asset with Transform Options window appears.
- Set Operation to Create
asset with transform.
- Set the connected nodes to be included
in the asset by turning on the appropriate options in the Include
Options.
- Click Apply and close.
An asset node is created
containing the selected nodes and their children.
You can also create an
asset without a transform node. Assets without transforms work well
for nodes that don’t have parenting relationships in the DAG (for
example, lighting and shading).
Advanced assets require
more management if you do want them to interact with the DAG hierarchy,
but are useful if you want to create an asset without inserting
a node into the hierarchy, or if you want advanced control over parenting
encapsulated nodes.
You can use the Create
Advanced Asset Options window to customize which nodes,
connected or related to your selected nodes, will also be included.
To create an asset without a transform
- Select the nodes you want to place in
an asset.
- Select
Assets > Advanced Assets > Create > .
The Create
Advanced Asset Options window appears.
- Set Operation to Create
asset.
- Name your asset.
- Set the connected nodes to be included
in the asset by turning on the appropriate options in the Include
Options. The
NoteInclude
Connected option includes nodes directly connected to
the selected nodes, as well as indirectly connected nodes (nodes
connected to directly connected nodes and so forth).
- Select Selection Transform to
automatically publish the selected object as the asset’s selection
transform. Select Transform Attributes to automatically
publish the selection transform node’s basic attributes (translation, rotation,
and scale) to the asset.
- Click Apply and close.
An asset node is created
containing the selected objects and any related nodes you specified.
Including a subset of nodes
When working with either
basic assets or advanced assets, you may want to include a subset
of the nodes that are included when you use the provided Include
Options. Rather than including and then removing unwanted
nodes manually, you can use the Preview contents option
to customize your selection before creating the asset.
To create an asset with a subset of connected
or related nodes
- Use the Preview contents option
in the Create Advanced Asset Options window to
select a set of connected or related nodes (for information on how
to do this, see
Preview the contents of an asset).
Even if you don’t want
all the connected or related nodes, these options often provide
a good starting point for a node selection.
- Modify the selection to include only
the nodes you want in the asset.
- Select
Assets > Advanced Assets > Create > .
The Create
Advanced Asset Options window appears.
- Set Operation to Create
asset.
- Turn off Include connected and Include
hierarchy.
Maya creates an asset
encapsulating only the currently selected nodes.
NoteYou can also use
this technique for assets with transforms, though it is not as useful
since children of the selected nodes are automatically placed in such
an asset.