Chapter 12. Maya Dynamics and Effects

Autodesk's Maya is renowned for creating special effects animations that simulate not only physical phenomena, such as smoke and fire, but also the natural movements of colliding bodies. Behind that latter type of animation is the Maya dynamics engine, which is the sophisticated software that creates realistic-looking motion based on the principles of physics.

Another powerful Maya animation tool, Paint Effects, can create dynamic fields of grass and flowers, a head full of hair, and other such systems in a matter of minutes. Maya Unlimited also offers dynamic simulations for hair, fur, and cloth. In this chapter, we will cover the basics of dynamics in Maya and let you practice working with particles right ...

Get Introducing Maya 2009 now with the O’Reilly learning platform.

O’Reilly members experience books, live events, courses curated by job role, and more from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers.