Lynda.COM Maya 2011: Creating Natural Environments

Author:
Aaron F. Ross

Duration:
04h 18m

Released on:
2/22/2011

Exercise files:
Yes

Software works on:
Windows only

In Maya 2011: Creating Natural Environments, author Aaron F. Ross demystifies a common challenge of 3D modeling: fashioning realistic natural environments such as landscapes, atmospheres, and foliage.
Starting with flat terrain, Aaron shows how to sculpt various types of geometry and smooth out jagged, polygonal edges.
The course also covers creating convincing backgrounds and clouds, populating a scene with foliage using 3D Paint Effects, and incorporating natural light.
Exercise files accompany the course.

Recommended prerequisite: Maya 2011 Essential Training

Topics include:
Laying out the scene
Sculpting terrain with Soft Selection and the Sculpt Geometry tool
Creating 2D textures using Artisan and Paint Effects
Applying 2D and 3D procedural textures
Building backgrounds with skydomes and matte paintings
Shaping clouds with Maya Fluids
Creating non-physical daylight and casting shadows
Rendering with Maya software


Introduction 08m 33s
Welcome 01m 04s
Setting up the project 02m 47s
Setting up the Mac 04m 42s

1. Terrain Modeling 46m 40s
Choosing a model type 02m 33s
Laying out the scene 06m 42s
Creating a camera 06m 49s
Adding detail 02m 07s
Splitting polygons 04m 03s
Deleting edges and vertices 01m 52s
Using soft selection 04m 52s
Sculpting geometry 05m 28s
Extruding polygons 04m 18s
Projecting UV coordinates 04m 28s
Using Mesh Smooth with the Maya software renderer 03m 28s

2. Shading 54m 17s
Understanding Artisan and Paint Effects 01m 38s
Painting on objects 09m 25s
Customizing 2D Paint Effects brushes 08m 52s
Saving Paint Effects brushes 04m 48s
Managing 3D paint textures 03m 46s
Creating layered maps 09m 12s
Applying 2D procedural textures 07m 27s
Applying 3D procedural textures 05m 26s
Baking textures 03m 43s

3. Backgrounds 29m 35s
Understanding backgrounds and matte paintings 02m 19s
Creating a skydome 05m 25s
Shading the skydome 04m 27s
Creating matte paintings 11m 59s
Constraining backgrounds to the camera 05m 25s

4. Fluid Clouds 46m 13s
Creating 3D fluid containers 06m 42s
Choosing fluid options 06m 26s
Adding atmosphere 05m 15s
Adjusting fluid shading attributes 08m 01s
Controlling fluid texture 10m 56s
Animating fluid texture 08m 53s

5. 3D Paint Effects 52m 17s
Understanding 3D paint effects 10m 10s
Working with strokes 04m 01s
Painting objects 06m 23s
Customizing brushes 10m 33s
Customizing tubes 09m 18s
Animating turbulence 07m 09s
Controlling polygon output 04m 43s

6. Lighting and Rendering 19m 53s
Creating non-physical daylight 06m 41s
Casting shadows 05m 54s
Rendering with Maya Software 07m 18s

Conclusion 01m 07s
Next steps 01m 07s