3D Animation for the Raw Beginner Using Maya

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Chapter 1

Getting Oriented

FOCUS AND APPROACH OF THIS BOOK

is is a hands-on book and the chapters have a very prescriptive avor. Section I uses an

incremental, example-driven approach that illustrates the core concepts of 3D modeling,

animation, and rendering. en in Section II we gather up the concepts we have learned

and put them together in a series of focused charts.

e book covers the principles of 3D animation. Our vehicle for doing this is Autodesk

Maya, arguably the most popular and powerful general-purpose 3D modeling, animation,

and rendering application that is available for purchase by the general public. As of the

time of this writing, students can download it for free at: http://students.autodesk.com.

(is is the full version of Maya, but it cannot be used commercially.) We take brief looks

at other modeling, animation, and rendering applications. is book does not cover the

myriad of technical and workow issues that arise with large-scale team projects; rather, it

is directed at people who are building small, animated projects on their own or in a small

team environment. Character modeling is given only very brief attention.

is book is intended as a one-semester text for beginners with no experience with

3D modeling or animation. It targets the many computer-centric professions that demand

solid “literacy” knowledge of 3D modeling and animation. ese include a broad spectrum

of disciplines, including engineering, advertising, desktop and Web application develop-

ment, lm, architecture, and product design. It is important to keep in mind, though, that

Maya is not an engineering tool, and so this book does not cover computer-aided design

(CAD); for that, a more appropriate tool to learn is Autodesk AutoCAD or SolidWorks.

Within the context of single person or small team projects, the focus of the book is on

workow within Maya and not on the workow of a complete animated video project,

which invariably demands several other applications besides Maya. Brief attention is given

to the other applications that are necessary to complete a project; in particular, we look

at the use of image editing applications and how they can be used to prepare textures

for animated models, as this is a crucial step that aects the animator’s workow within

Maya. We give less attention to audio editing and video editing, focusing mostly on how a