Preparing for the lessons

To ensure the lessons work as described, do these steps before beginning:

1. Confirm that you have Maya Muscle loaded. The Muscle menu displays in the main menu bar if Muscle is loaded. If you need to load Muscle manually, do the following:
   • Select Window > Settings/Preferences > Plug-in Manager.

     The Plug-in Manager opens.

   • Locate MayaMuscle.mll and turn on Loaded.

     Maya loads the Muscle module and adds the Muscle menu to the main menu set. To load Muscle automatically every time you start Maya, turn on Auto load.

2. If you have not already done so, download the Maya Muscle Advanced Techniques Lesson Data from the following location: www.autodesk.com/maya-advancedtechniques. Then set the muscleAdvancedTutorials/Rigging simple muscles directory as your Maya project.

It is recommended that you save your work periodically and at the end of each section as you progress through this tutorial, however sample files of the finished scene for each lesson are also included.