MAYA Tutorials

Check out These Great Articles!

Alvaro Castaneda ~ Particle Basics
Alvaro Castaneda ~ Half-tone Effect
Alvaro Castaneda ~ Managing Projects
Alvaro Castaneda ~ Maya Logo part 2
Alvaro Castaneda ~ Maya Logo part 1
Chris Lupetti ~ Mastering Maya 8.5
Aharon Rabinowitz ~ Creating the 3D Ribbon Effect
Michael Hurwicz ~ Animation Writing and Development: from Script Development to Pitch
John David Hutton ~ Learning Maya 7 Book Bundle
Michael Hurwicz ~ Dell's new Precision M90 mobile workstation

	Brian Barnes view bio MAYA [digital] Cinematography & Directing by Dan Ablan Brian C. Barnes takes a look at examines [digital] Cinematography & Directing by Dan Ablan and published by New Riders Publishing. Brian recommends it to anyone that is looking for an overview and insight into the entire 3D animation process. Review back to top

	Chad Briggs view bio MAYA Animating a Ribbon with Maya One common request or problem i've seen several Maya users stumble across is how to properly animate a ribbon that zips across the screen and is flexible enough to bend and twist in various ways. While it sounds simple in concept, it may not be as straightforward and obvious as one would think to set this up properly with the maximum animation capabilities. In this article, Chad Briggs demonstrates a solution that he came up with in response to a recent gig. Tutorial MAYA Maya 6 Killer Tips In this article, CreativeCOW leader Chad Briggs reviews Maya 6 Killer Tips written by Eric Hanson, Kenneth Ibrahim, and Alex Nijmeh, and published by New Riders Press (August 2004), ISBN: 0321278534, and finds that "reading Maya 6 Killer Tips was a revelation, [it] is an excellent book that presents just the right information you need to take your mastery of the program to the next level. Review MAYA Creating Hair in Maya In this tutorial, Chad Briggs will guide intermediate/experienced Maya users through creating hair with PaintFX. Once created, this hair can be animated and deformed through Maya's dynamics/cloth engines. This tutorial will focus on the creation of the hair. Tutorial MAYA Maya 4.5 Fundamentals Always looking for good reference materials, Creativecow leader, Chad Briggs takes a look at Maya 4.5 Fundamentals by Jim Lammers with Lee Gooding published by New Riders Publishers. Read why Chad gives this book 4 1/2 COWs. Review back to top

	Eric Calcagnino view bio MAYA 3D Graphics & Animation, Second Edition Eric J. Calcagnino takes a look at 3D Graphics & Animation Second Edition written by Mark Giambruno and published by New Riders Publishing. Review back to top

	Alvaro Castaneda view bio MAYA Particle Basics Particles are a great world to explore. In this video tutorial from CreativeCOW leader Alvaro Castaneda, well learn how to create particles in very simple ways. We also add collision objects gravity and render them in a liquid like mesh. Tutorial, Video Tutorial MAYA Half-tone Effect In this video tutorial from CreativeCOW leader Alvaro Castaneda, we will create a nice looking effect in Maya that emulates the half-tone print effect. This tutorial shows that Maya can create looks not traditionally associated with 3D rendering applications. Tutorial, Video Tutorial MAYA Managing Projects In this Maya video tutorial from CreativeCOW leader Alvaro Castaneda, youll learn why is important to keep everything nice and organized into projects. Well also learn other ways to create folders by using the mighty command line / shell. Tutorial, Video Tutorial MAYA Maya Logo part 2 In this Maya video tutorial from CreativeCOW leader Alvaro Castaneda, we add shaders to our geometry to later light and render our final logo. This is part 2 of a 2 part series Creating a Logo in Maya. Tutorial, Video Tutorial MAYA Maya Logo part 1 In this video tutorial from CreativeCOW contributor Alvaro Castaneda, we begin by tracing the logo in a vector app, then use that to start building the logo, using Maya to bring it to life. This is part 1 of a 2 part series Creating a Logo in Maya. Tutorial, Video Tutorial back to top

	Christopher Cherubini view bio MAYA Impressionist Paint FX using Fur Have you ever thought that you'd like to create something like a painted effect in Maya, but that you didn't want to use Paint Effects? In this tutorial, Christopher Cherubini demonstrates using Fur to create an Impressionist look to the scene. The theory behind this method is to drive the color of your shader, and in turn your fur without lights, putting all the lighting control into the shader. Tutorial back to top

	Nelson Cruz view bio MAYA Texturing, Lighting, and Rendering in Maya In this tutorial by Nelson Cruz, you will be applying textures to and rendering the wheel that you created last month. The three main areas you will look at are texturing, lighting, and rendering. This is part two of a two part series. Tutorial MAYA Understanding Nurbs primitives in Maya In this tutorial, Nelson Cruz demonstrates building a simple car wheel in Maya using Nurbs primitives. Tutorial back to top

	Rene de la Fuente view bio Adobe After Effects Maya Camera Import into After Effects 5.5 It makes sense to use a 3D program to create a 3D scene; but what if you need to re-use the camera motion info from that scene for advanced compositing? In this tutorial, Ren de la Fuente and Will Scates walk through the basic steps needed to accomplish this using Alias|Wavefronts Maya 4 and Adobe After Effects v 5.5. Tutorial back to top

	Sean Fennell view bio MAYA Sean Fennell examines Maya 4.5 Savvy Maya COW leader, Sean Fennell examines Maya 4.5 Savvy by John Kundert-Gibbs, Peter Lee, John L. Kundert-Gibbs and published by Sybex Books. Sean concludes with, '' Maya 4.5 Savvy will aid beginner through intermediate artist work more comfortably in Maya 4.5.'' Review back to top

	Joaquin Gil view bio Cinema 4D Xfrog 4 for Maya 6 Kino Gil, noted film effects artist and host team leader of Creative Cow's Maya forum, gives his impressions of one "the best kept secrets" in Computer Graphics Imagery. He gives an honest view of some of the strengths and weaknesses of the system and concludes that Xfrog 4 for Maya 6 ''..one of the best and most powerful 'plugins' for Maya I have found yet.'' Review MAYA Learning Maya 6: Book Suite Joaquin Kino Gil, noted film effects artist and host team leader of Creative Cow's Maya forum, reviews Learning Maya 6: Book Suite, by Alias Inc. [formerly Alias|Wavefront]. Review MAYA MAYA CHARACTER CREATION: Modeling and Animation Controls by Chris Maraffi Joaquin 'Kino' Gil -- noted major film effects artist, independent filmmaker and Creative Cow's Maya forum host, reviews MAYA CHARACTER CREATION: Modeling and Animation Controls by Chris Maraffi and published by New Riders. Kino concludes his review with "...With this book anyone with a modicum of Maya proficiency can learn to rig and model professionally.'' Read more... Review MAYA MAYA 5 KILLER TIPS by Eric Hanson Joaquin 'Kino' Gil, noted film effects artist and host team leader of Creative Cow's Maya forum, reviews "Maya 5 Killer Tips," written by Eric Hanson and published by New Riders. Kino concludes with "...This is a "must-have" book in every Maya shop and class.'' Find out why Review MAYA Learning Maya 5: MEL Fundamentals Joaquin Kino Gil, noted film effects artist and host team leader of Creative Cow's Maya and Film FX forums, reviews Learning Maya 5: MEL Fundamentals, by Alias [formerly Alias|Wavefront]. Review MAYA MAYA Secrets of the Pros Joaquin Kino Gil, noted film effects artist and host team leader of Creative Cow's Maya forum, reviews ''Maya: Secrets of the Pros,'' edited by John Kundert-Gibbs and published by Sybex. While he points out a few weaknesses of the book, he still gives it Five Cows, our top rating, because not only will it give you a great education in the software itself -- but in many pro-level aspects of effects production and workflow strategy as well. Kino says much of this book would be applicable to any serious animator and regardless of tool or version. This is high praise indeed from a guy whose own body of work includes Godzilla, Contact and Starship Troopers and many others. Review MAYA Kino Gil reviews: Deep Paint 3D with Texture Weapons Kino Gil, noted film effects artist and host team leader of Creative Cow's Maya forum, gives his impressions of Right Hemisphere's 'Deep Paint 3D with Texture Weapons'. Kino takes a quick look at the history of digital Paint FX technology and then jumps into some of the reasons that Deep Paint is an FX Pro power tool. He gives an honest view of some of the strengths and weaknesses of the system and concludes that Deep Paint 3D ''...is the nicest paint program I have used in a long time. I plan to make it into my main paint application.'' Review back to top

	David Heijl view bio MAYA Learning Maya 5 ? Rendering David Heijl takes a look at Sybex' new book: Learning Maya 5 | Rendering and concludes..."judging on contents only, for beginning through intermediate Mayans, this is a must-have book. Good job, Alias." Review back to top

	Michael Hurwicz view bio Autodesk 3ds Max Animation Writing and Development: from Script Development to Pitch Author/Animator/Musician Michael Hurwicz examines ''Animation Writing and Development: from Script Development to Pitch'' by Jean Ann Wright, and finds it inspiring and informative. Definitely recommended for anyone who wants a career in writing for animation, or who is developing an animation script or idea. Wright is a seasoned industry professional, and it shows. Review Autodesk 3ds Max Dell's new Precision M90 mobile workstation Author/Animator/Musician Michael Hurwicz gives us a first look at Dell's new Precision M90 mobile workstation, and finds that it's a significant step forward in technology. But should you wait for what's around the corner? Review Autodesk 3ds Max Stop Staring Author/Animator/Musician Michael Hurwicz examines ''Stop Staring'' by Jason Osipa, and finds that the author manages to make his detailed, in-the-trenches instruction fun. Highly recommended if you want to really get down into the details of lip sync and facial animation. Review MAYA Inside Maya 5 Author/animator Michael Hurwicz examines Inside Maya 5 by Mark Adams, Erick Miller and Max Sims from New Riders. Review back to top

	John David Hutton view bio MAYA Learning Maya 7 Book Bundle CreativeCOW leader John David Hutton takes a thorough look at the Learning Maya 7 Book Bundle and concludes with ''...I give this 3 book bundle a solid 5 cows for a clean, organized, thoughtful layout and instruction set. They contain an awe-inspiring bundle of textures and materials, programs, videos and tutorials. You won't want to miss them.'' Review MAYA Learning Maya 6: Foundation CreativeCOW leader John David Hutton looks at Learning Maya 6 | Foundation published by Sybex and is pleased to find ... ''a tutorial book ..[which presents]... the instruction to you in a way that makes you understand why you're doing those things. You get a very well-rounded instruction on the principles of this 3D software package." Review MAYA Learning Maya 5: Dynamics CreativeCOW leader John David Hutton takes a thorough look at Learning Maya 5 | Dynamics from Sybex and concludes with... ''this is definitely a worthwhile book for any Maya artist interested in learning dynamics." Review MAYA John David Hutton reviews Gnomon 3D Training: Texture Mapping, I: Materials, Texture Mapping, II: Textures and Texture Mapping, III: Projections John David Hutton takes a look at Gnomon 3D Training Tapes. Since these tapes are offered one tape at a time instead of as a set, in this article, John David reviews the tape: Texture Mapping I: Materials. Review back to top

	Mike Kroes view bio Cinema 4D A Guide to Computer Animation for tv, games multimedia and web by Marcia Kuperberg Mike Kroes takes a look at A Guide to Computer Animation for tv, games multimedia and web by Marcia Kuperberg. This book is in the Focal Press Visual Effects & Animation series. Review back to top

	Jannis Labelle view bio Cinema 4D Jannis Labelle reviews Digital Lighting & Rendering Jannis Labelle takes a look at Lighting & Rendering by Jeremy Birn, George Maestri and published by New Riders. Read on to find out why this book changed Jannis' mind abut non-specific software books. Review back to top

	Chris Lupetti view bio MAYA Mastering Maya 8.5 In this article, CreativeCOW contributing editor, Chris Lupetti takes a look at Mastering Maya 8.5 published by Sybex and authored by John Kundert-Gibbs, Mick Larkins, Dariush Derakshani and Eric Kunzendorf. Review back to top

	Aharon Rabinowitz view bio Cinema 4D Creating the 3D Ribbon Effect In this Video Tutorial, Creative Cow Leader Aharon Rabinowitz demonstrates how to quickly create the popular 3D ribbon effect in Maxon Cinema 4D and Maya. Tutorial, Video Tutorial back to top

	Erwin Santacruz view bio MAYA Erwin Santacruz Reviews: Maya 4: Fundamentals CreativeCOW leader, Erwin Santacruz examines a new book by New Riders called Maya 4: Fundamentals by Jim Lammers and Lee Gooding. Review back to top

	Curtis Thompson view bio Cinema 4D Digital Texturing & Painting by Owen Demers CreativeCOW Technical Director, Curtis Thompson examines Digital Texturing & Painting by Owen Demers from New Riders. Review back to top

	Adam Tracksler view bio Cinema 4D Adam Tracksler reviews: Essential CG Lighting Techniques By Darren Booker Adam Tracksler takes a look at Essential CG Lighting Techniques by Darren Booker. Read why Adam describes Essential CG Lighting Techniques ...''as an outstanding book that discusses the art of CG lighting in an intelligent, thoughtful, clear and informative way.'' Review back to top

	Lucas Young view bio Adobe Premiere Pro An Adventure in Photogrammetry Strictly speaking, photogrammetry is the process of measuring and extracting data from photos, but in the film and video world there is a more exciting twist to the idea - if you've seen Panic Room you'll know what I am talking about. Photogrammetry is used to create or replace real-world objects with CGI models - in the case of Panic Room, the camera was able to swoop through banister railings and through the handle of a coffeepot because these objects were created digitally. In this tutorial, Lucas Young gives us a quick example. Tutorial