O'Reilly logo

Stay ahead with the world's most comprehensive technology and business learning platform.

With Safari, you learn the way you learn best. Get unlimited access to videos, live online training, learning paths, books, tutorials, and more.

Start Free Trial

No credit card required

How to Cheat in Maya 2012

How to Cheat in Maya 2012

by Eric Luhta
Publisher: Focal Press
Release Date: March 2013
ISBN: 9780240816982
View table of contents
Start reading

Book Description

The Maya guide for animators, How to Cheat in Maya 2012 presents everything you need to know about character animation in Maya. Fully updated for the latest revision of Maya, this book provides you with complete, step-by-step walkthroughs of essential animation techniques to increase your efficiency and speed. This is an animator's workflow in book form, written by professional animators-not a software book with a few animation pointers thrown in.

In addition to all the gold-mine coverage and interviews with expert animators from the previous edition, How to Cheat in Maya 2012 also features a new in-depth chapter on the principles of animation, updated information on camera settings and animation using Maya's new Camera Sequencer tool, the ins and outs of the brand new Editable Motion Trails tool, new techniques for working with characters in multi-shot animation tests and short films, a new cycles chapter covering actions like flying and walks, time-saving scripts, and advanced tricks with the new Graph Editor. The proven "How to Cheat" series gets you up to speed quickly, and in a way that's fun.

Table of Contents

  1. Cover
  2. Title
  3. Copyright
  4. Contents
  5. How to Cheat and Why
  6. Acknowledgments
  7. How to Use This Book
  8. 1. Animation Principles
    1. Squash and stretch
    2. Anticipation
    3. Staging
    4. Straight Ahead/Pose to Pose
    5. Overlapping Action/Follow-through
    6. Slow In/Slow Out
    7. Arcs
    8. Secondary Action
    9. Timing
    10. Exaggeration
    11. Solid Drawing
    12. Appeal
    13. Interlude: What Is Workflow?
  9. 2. Splines
    1. How Splines Work
    2. Splines and Spacing
    3. Tangent Types
    4. Tangent Handles
    5. Spline Technique
    6. Spline Reference
    7. Interlude: Which Field Is Right for Me?
  10. 3. Graph Editor
    1. Graph Editor Windup
    2. Visual Tools
    3. Working with Keys ma
    4. Value Operators
    5. Buffer Curves
    6. Interlude: Filming Video Reference
  11. 4. Techniques
    1. Auto Key
    2. Timeline Techniques
    3. Figure 8 Motion
    4. Copying Curves
    5. Editable Motion Trails
    6. IK and FK
    7. IK/FK Switching
    8. Character Sets
    9. Multiple Pivot Points
    10. Reblocking
    11. Interlude: Office Etiquette
  12. 5. Constraints
    1. Parenting
    2. Parent Constraints
    3. Constraining a Prop
    4. Constraint Weights
    5. Animating with Constraints
    6. Interlude: Doing Personal Work
  13. 6. Gimbal Lock
    1. What is Gimbal Lock?
    2. Rotation Modes
    3. Setting Rotation Order
    4. Zeroing Out Poses
    5. Euler Filter
    6. Interlude: Keeping Perspective
  14. 7. Cameras & Layout
    1. Framing and Lenses
    2. Camera Sequencer
    3. UberCam
    4. Animating Cameras
    5. Interlude: Finding Inspiration
  15. 8. Blocking
    1. Thumbnails and Reference
    2. Setting up the Scene
    3. Key Poses 1
    4. Key Poses 2
    5. Rough Timing
    6. Camera Animation
    7. TweenMachine
    8. Breakdown Poses
    9. Adding the Shuriken
    10. Refining the Timing
    11. Copied Pairs
    12. Interlude: Making A Short Film
  16. 9. Cycles
    1. Cycle Basics
    2. Stride Length
    3. Walk Cycle
    4. Flying Cycle
    5. Interlude: Style
  17. 10. Polishing
    1. Cushions
    2. Moving Holds
    3. Texture
    4. Finishing Touches
    5. Interlude: Getting Feedback
  18. 11. Facial Animation
    1. Planning and Prep
    2. Core Poses
    3. Lip Sync 1 - Jaw Motion
    4. Lip Sync 2 - Mouth Corners
    5. Lip Sync 3 - Mouth Shapes
    6. Lip Sync 4 - Tongue
    7. Blinks
    8. Blink and Brows
    9. Blink and Brows
    10. Eye Darts
    11. Final Touches
    12. Interlude: Repetitive Stress Injury
  19. 12. Animation Layers
    1. How Animation Layers Work
    2. Animation Layer Basics
    3. Creating Variations
    4. Creating Variations 2
    5. Layers for Texture
    6. Interlude: Your Demo Reel
  20. Animator Interviews
  21. Index