Introducing Maya® 2011

The CG Production Workflow

Because of the nature of CG and how scenes must be built, a specific workflow works best. Modeling almost always begins the process, which then can lead into texturing, and then to animation (or animation and then texturing). Lighting should follow, with rendering pulling up the rear as it must. (Of course, the process isn’t completely linear; you’ll often go back and forth adjusting models, lights, and textures throughout the process.) Chapters 4 through 11 follow this overall sequence, presenting the major Maya operations in the same order you’ll use in real-world CG projects.

Modeling

Modeling, the topic of Chapters 4 through 6, is usually the first step in creating CG. It’s the topic that garners a lot of coverage ...