Maya 2018 Fundamentals
In this course, you'll get an in-depth look at how to work in the different areas of Maya using a project-based approach.
What you'll learn
This in-depth Maya tutorial is designed to help you get a solid understanding of the core features found in Maya, and help you to ease your transition into this very powerful program. In this course, Maya 2018 Fundamentals, you'll have a chance to learn about different aspects of Maya from three experts. In the first portion of this tutorial, you'll get familiar with some of the vocabulary and foundational skills that you'll need to begin moving around and working in Maya. From there, you'll move into exploring some of the modeling features found in Maya and begin building a flying sail-ship, which will be your central project for the remainder of this course. Then, you'll go through the entire process of adding textures and materials to the ship. Next, you'll see the process of adding animation controls, animated movement, and dynamics. Finally, you'll discover how to add lights, shadows, and how to output your final animated sequence. This course is designed for new Maya users, so the goal is not to weigh you down with a lot of technical information. Instead, its goal is to help you form some good habits and workflows, allowing you to see the entire start-to-finish pipeline for this project, and by the end of this Maya course, you'll be at point where you can feel very comfortable using the software. Software required: Maya 2018.
Table of contents
- Applying and Manipulating Simple Materials 15m
- Creating Glass and Transparent Materials 11m
- Working with Ramp Textures 10m
- Using a Ramp to Create Engine Flames 11m
- Using File Textures with Materials 14m
- Understanding Color Space and Linear Workflow 9m
- Understanding Maya's Color Management System 11m
- Using Bump and Normal Maps 12m
- Working with Animation Controls 9m
- Setting Keyframes in Maya 10m
- The Graph Editor 10m
- Creating Motion Paths 9m
- Adding the Background Geometry 9m
- Creating a New Camera for Animation 8m
- Setting the Clipping Planes of the Camera 3m
- Animating the Camera 15m
- Adding Secondary Motion 9m
- Playblasting the Animation Sequence 8m
- Setting up an Emitter 6m
- Rules of Working with Dynamics 4m
- Common Particle Attributes 12m
- Setting up the Ground Plane 5m
- Animating the Emitter 8m
- Setting the Speed and Emission of Our Particles 12m
- Changing the Particle Type 9m
- Setting up Particle Shading 10m
- Finalizing the Particle Shading 10m
- Caching Simulation Data in Maya 8m
- Understanding Basic Light Types 13m
- Controlling Light Color and Intensity 10m
- Adjusting the Look and Quality of Shadows 13m
- Adjusting the Render Stats of Maya Objects 13m
- Creating a Material to Catch Shadows from the Particles 12m
- Creating Lighting to Match the Environment 13m
- Adjusting Render Stats and ray Visibility for the Scene 8m
- Controlling Sampling and Render Quality for Arnold 14m
- Configuring Output Settings and Rendering the Final Sequence 14m
Course FAQ
Maya is a pro-level 3D Modeling, Animating, and Redering software by Autodesk.
This course is great for hobbyists and future pros alike.
This Maya 2018 beginners course will get you familiar with the vocabulary and foundational skills you'll need, as well as building a new 3D animated model from scratch.
If you're not yet familiar with Maya 2018 basics, this course is perfect for you.
This course is specifically applicable to Maya 2018.
About the authors
Kyle was one of the first authors for Digital-Tutors, now a Pluralsight company. and has been a part of the team for over 10 years. Kyle began his career in computer graphics education as a college instructor and worked as a Digital-Tutors rendering tutor and curriculum manager since 2002. Kyle has contributed to many of the most popular projects and helped the Digital-Tutors team win awards throughout the company's history. Kyle has had the honor of having his art exhibited at the New York ... more
Eddie began teaching creative professionals over ten years ago for Digital Tutors. In 2014 Digital Tutors was acquired by Pluralsight and he continued his focus on creating high quality training for artists in both the film and games industries. With a background in graphic design and illustration Eddie has always been focused on visual appeal. This can be seen through his courses in which he shares secrets for achieving production level quality for concept art, illustrations, textures, mater... more
Justin thrives as a lead modeling author at Pluralsight. Growing up, Justin found a deep interest for the computer graphics industry after watching movies like Jurassic Park, Toy Story, and The Abyss. His ambition would lead him to work at Sony Imageworks in Los Angeles on movies like Monster House and Surf's Up. Justin has also had numerous articles, tutorials, and images published in 3D World and 3D Artist. As an author, Justin enjoys collaborating with fellow authors, especially on project... more
