Maya® Studio Projects Texturing and Lighting

Maya® Studio Projects Texturing and Lighting

by Lee Lanier
Released May 2011
Publisher(s): Sybex
ISBN: 9780470903278

Read it now on the O’Reilly learning platform with a 10-day free trial.

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

Start your free trial

Book description

Learn to create realistic digital assets for film and games with this project-based guide

Focused entirely on practical projects, this hands-on guide shows you how to use Maya's texturing and lighting tools in real-world situations. Whether you need to sharpen your skills or you're looking to break into the field for the first time, you'll learn top industry techniques for this important skill as you follow the instructions for several specific projects. You can even create your own version, using final Maya scene files to validate results.

  • Lighting and texturing projects are often an excellent way for new animators to break into the business
  • This is the only project-based book dedicated to understanding and implementing Maya's texturing and lighting tools for creating realistic digital assets for film, video, and games
  • Walks you step by step through lighting and texturing objects, characters, and locations
  • Written by a professional CG artist who has worked on high-profile films including Antz and Shrek

Practical, project-based instruction in this guide will help you perfect your skill with Maya's texturing and lighting tools.

Table of contents

  1. Cover Page
  2. Title Page
  3. Copyright
  4. Dear Reader,
  5. Acknowledgments
  6. About the Author
  7. Contents
  8. Introduction
    1. Who Should Buy This Book
    2. How This Book Is Structured
    3. A Note on Rendering and UV Manipulation
    4. Maya and Photoshop Versions
    5. Hardware Requirements
    6. The Companion DVD
    7. Naming Conventions
    8. How to Contact the Author
  9. CHAPTER 1: Texturing and Lighting a Product, Part 1
    1. Project: Reviewing the Scene File
    2. Material Types and Critical Attributes
    3. Hypershade Functionality
    4. Project: Assigning Materials
    5. Lighting Techniques and Maya Light Types
    6. Project: Creating Lights and Shadows
    7. 2D and 3D Procedural Textures
    8. Project: Applying Textures
    9. Scanline and Raytraced Rendering
    10. Project: Raytracing Reflections
  10. CHAPTER 2: Texturing and Lighting a Product, Part 2
    1. Project: Accentuating the Logos
    2. Batch Rendering
    3. Project: Adding Strategic Fill Light
    4. Project: Splitting Material Assignments
    5. Project: Fine-Tuning the Shadow
    6. Light Width
    7. Project: Switching to mental ray
    8. Anti-Aliasing Theory
    9. Project: Blurring Reflections
    10. The Final Gathering System
    11. Project: Activating Final Gathering
    12. Optimizing the Scene
    13. Project: Creating the Final Render
  11. CHAPTER 3: Texturing and Lighting a Chapter, Part 1
    1. Project: Preparing the Scene
    2. Project: Assigning Materials
    3. 1-, 2-, and 3-Point Lighting
    4. Project: Roughing in the Lighting
    5. Examining the UVs of NURBS Surfaces
    6. Translucence
    7. Project: Roughing in the Textures
    8. Project: Creating a Custom Skin Bitmap
    9. Project: Switching to mental ray
  12. CHAPTER 4: Texturing and Lighting a Character, Part 2
    1. Custom Connections in the Hypershade
    2. Project: Adjusting the Skin-Shading Network
    3. Project: Activating Image-Based Lighting
    4. Project: Deactivating Shadows
    5. Project: Addressing Texture Warp
    6. Project: Fine-Tuning
    7. Color Space and Monitor Calibration
    8. Maya Color Profiles
  13. CHAPTER 5: Texturing and Lighting a Vehicle, Part 1
    1. Project: Preparing the Scene
    2. UV Maps
    3. Project: Assigning Materials
    4. Project: Roughing in the Lighting
    5. Project: Creating a Sky in Maya
    6. Project: Roughing in the Textures
    7. Displacement Maps
    8. Project: Displacing the Hill
    9. Paint Effects
    10. Project: Painting Grass
  14. CHAPTER 6: Texturing and Lighting a Vehicle, Part 2
    1. Project: Completing the Texture Maps
    2. Project: Refining the Materials
    3. Motion Blur
    4. Project: Adding Motion Blur
    5. The Render Layer Editor
    6. Project: Breaking the Scene into Render Layers
    7. Project: Adding Reflectivity
    8. Project: Creating the Final Render
  15. CHAPTER 7: Texturing and Lighting an Environment, Part 1
    1. Project: Preparing the Scene
    2. mental ray Shaders
    3. Project: Assigning Materials
    4. Physical Sun and Sky and Portal Lights
    5. Project: Setting Up the Skylights
    6. Project: Adding Textures
    7. Global Illumination
    8. Project: Activating Global Illumination
  16. CHAPTER 8: Texturing and Lighting an Environment, Part 2
    1. Project: Preparing the Scene
    2. Ambient Occlusion
    3. Project: Adding Occlusion
    4. Multirender Passes
    5. Project: Creating Multirender Passes
    6. Project: Fine-Tuning the Render
    7. Stereoscopic 3D
    8. Project: Setting Up a Stereoscopic Camera
  17. APPENDIX: About the Companion DVD
    1. What You'll Find on the DVD
    2. System Requirements
    3. Using the DVD
    4. Troubleshooting
    5. Customer Care
  18. Index

Product information

  • Title: Maya® Studio Projects Texturing and Lighting
  • Author(s): Lee Lanier
  • Release date: May 2011
  • Publisher(s): Sybex
  • ISBN: 9780470903278