Introducing Maya® 2011

The Production Process: Creating and Animating the Objects

As discussed in Chapter 1, “Introduction to Computer Graphics and 3D,” production is typically divided into phases to make workflow easier to manage. In this project, you’ll first create the Sun, the planets, and their moons; then, you’ll animate their respective orbits and rotations.

Creating the Sun and the Planets

The first thing you’re going to do is create the Sun and the planets. Follow these steps:

1. Choose File ⇒ New Scene (or press Ctrl+N). Maya asks if you want to save your current scene. Save the file if you need to, or click Don’t Save to discard the scene.

2. By default, Maya’s screen should begin in an expanded perspective view. Press the spacebar to enable the four-panel ...