Technical Notes Week #6 - Maya Character Notes + More Photoshop

 

Technical Notes Week #5 



(we started on some character modelling work in Maya this week) - notes are below:

    • Never edit the default shaders, you will break everything (make new ones)

    • You can change dimensions of planes to match needed aspect ratios and subdivision level

    • Can make new lambert shaders in the Hypershade window

    • Reminder to set project properly (make sure your files are in the right places)

    • Ideal to have front and profile character reference images made transparent first

    • Clan click the colour option, and there is a little icon beside the colour properties on the right which allows you to link image textures in

    • Crank up ambient colour slider (ensure that shading doesn’t make your reference imagery too dark)

    • Use number keys to navigate view modes (e.g. wireframe, material, etc.)

    • UV -> UV editor to edit UVs if they are not aligned properly

    • Reference images should go into a display layer

    • Maya rounds off to 2 decimal places - set your scale properly

    • All squares are 1 unit in Maya - do not model too small (or some of your sculpting tools, etc. will not work)

    • Nice to move everything up so the foot of the character is positioned on the grid

    • Saving iteratively in Maya helps to avoid issues with file corruption 

    • Add new useful tools to your custom shelf 

    • Do not deviate from the edge loops shown in the tutorial provided

    • Don’t do your work in smooth preview cause you may destroy your topology

    • Small checkered looking button on toolbar enables material preview

    • Can switch between object and world orientation 

    • Be careful you do not double extrude (when in doubt, undo - can also check in smooth view)

    • Try and use as few edges as possible initially

    • Need enough edges to give control but no extra for a subdivision mesh

    • Multicut lets you cut new edges, insert edge loop tool goes all the way around

    • Work in regular edge loops that run through your geometry

    • “You pretty much have to only model one hand in your 3d career” <- ears too

    • Faces you have to make a lot

    • Starting from the lips is good for the face model (pretty digestible) 

    • 8 edges on anything is a good way to make things connect together - especially cylinders (also cubes and spheres)

    • Model without clothing first and then use parts of the base model to start making the clothing

    • “F” to focus on mesh/area

    • Can shift + click/drag on extrude option for a face

    • Need to drag select vertices when operating in orthographic to select the front and back vertex

    • Can assign a modelling lambert to make things semi-transparent (I think by scrolling timeline)

    • “not art, just observation)

    •  

    • “Figure out where the foot is narrow and where your foot is wide. Figure out what everything is that you’re looking at”

    • Press “3” to preview in smooth preview (subdivided stuff)

    • Groups of edges close together are important for joints (for rigging)

    • Always look along the edge of your surface to make sure there’s nothing flat that shouldn’t be (or vice versa)

    • Try and generally see at least 1 step ahead of what you’re doing when following a tutorial

    • “Anywhere with completely flat lines is not good, because this is meant to be a foot. Add some curvature to everything, from every angle.”

    • Can gradually introduce more geometry to add more nuance

    • You can use the “circularise” option on a group of edges in a ring

    • Constantly match between the front and the side view as much as possible (keep track)

    • Can set mesh origin to centre and duplicate the mesh flipped -1 on the X axis - ensure that it’s a mesh instance (allowing changes to sync - ‘duplicate special options’)

    • Can hold X to snap to grid

    • Need to merge to confirm vertices are connected

    • The easiest way to symmetrise to to delete half and then duplicate

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