Beginner Maya

Name: Beginner Maya
Author: Chris Rudder

Explore the Basics of 3D Animation

Preview the first lesson free — get full access to all 31 lessons.

Course: On-Demand

Welcome to Knowledge City's course on "Beginner's Maya 2019." My name is Chris, and I've been teaching STEM courses for over 14 years. I started by teaching programming and game design in 2005. And then I soon discovered the power of Maya, and began to teach it as well in 2008. I became enthralled with Maya, because I wanted to create my own video games from scratch. And Maya is the perfect tool for game designers to create everything visually needed in a game. From the characters themselves, to the animations, to the objects in your game, the special effects, and realistic lighting, and so much more, Maya takes everything a step further, in professional level quality. It's no wonder Maya is considered an industry standard tool for game designers and special effects artists in Hollywood. In this beginner's course, you will learn how to get started in Maya, how to work with basic objects, how to set up your scenes in Maya, what NURBS are and how to use them. And you'll learn about the tools for creating surfaces in Maya. But what exactly does this mean you'll know how to do? Let's get a closer look. Getting started, you'll first learn how to navigate around the Maya user interface, learning where all the most common buttons and tool bars can be found, and what they do. And you'll learn how to use the multiple view ports to look at and work on 3D models from any angle with precision. Working with basic objects, you learn how to use the Maya toolbox to transform objects, to duplicate objects, and how to use grid snapping to place objects with perfect precision. You'll learn how to use use the Maya coordinate system to learn where objects are relative in your scene, how to adjust pivot points, and how to do some work with basic polygon objects. Scenes in Maya, you'll learn how to set up your scenes, how to create hierarchies between your objects, and how to group them. How to use layers to control what Maya displays, and how to use selection masks to ensure you're only influencing the kind of objects you want at any given time. NURBS, you'll learn all about NURBS, which are objects created entirely out of curves. You'll also learn how to create your own curves, and how to create surfaces in Maya. You'll then learn how these functions can work together by creating your own simple model with curves and surfaces. More on NURBS, lastly, you'll learn some more advanced curve and surface techniques, including how to trim surfaces, and how to use trimming and other surface techniques to create a second model. And finally, we'll wrap everything up with more on the power of curves in Maya. Now, let's get started.

Beginner Provider : Chris Rudder 7 chapters · 31 Lessons · 2h 44m in Arabic, German, English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Chinese

Course Description

Start with the Beginner Topics of 3D Animation in Maya. Learn how to setup scenes, work with objects, NURBS, and basic modeling. After this course you will have the basic knowledge of how to get started in Maya.

What You'll Learn

Set up scenes and configure your workspace in Autodesk Maya
Navigate the Maya interface, viewports, and toolbox
Select, transform, duplicate, and snap objects using coordinate systems and pivot points
Work with polygons and organize scenes using hierarchies, grouping, and layers
Create and edit NURBS curves and surfaces using tools like the CV Curve, CV Bezier, Revolve, and Trim tools
Build basic 3D models, including a mirror cube and a scooter model

Key Takeaways

This course covers the beginner topics of 3D animation in Maya, including scene setup, working with objects, NURBS, and basic modeling.
Learners gain a foundational understanding of the Maya interface, including viewports, workspaces, customization options, and the toolbox.
The course teaches core object skills such as selection, transformation, duplicating, snapping, and using coordinate systems and pivot points.
NURBS topics include curve components, surface creation, editing and refining curves and surfaces, and trimming surfaces.
Hands-on modeling practice includes building a mirror cube and a two-part scooter model.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who is this course for?

It is for beginners who want to start with the beginner topics of 3D animation in Maya and gain the basic knowledge of how to get started in Maya.

What will I be able to do after completing this course?

After this course you will have the basic knowledge of how to get started in Maya, including setting up scenes, working with objects, NURBS, and basic modeling.

What topics does this course cover?

It covers setting up scenes, working with objects, NURBS, and basic modeling, along with the Maya interface, navigation, object transformation, polygons, hierarchies and layers, and NURBS curves and surfaces.

What skills will I develop in this course?

You will develop skills in 3D Animation, 3D Modeling, Autodesk Maya, and Maya Embedded Language, and it supports the Autodesk Maya Certified User skill.

What modeling projects are included?

The course includes hands-on models such as a mirror cube, a first model using the Revolve tool, and a two-part scooter model.