From jacobson@cns.uni.edu Mon Aug 25 16:33:34 2008 Date: Mon, 25 Aug 2008 16:33:34 -0500 (CDT) From: Mark Jacobson To: 810-088-11-fall@uni.edu Subject: Maya 3D Graphics... Hi 088 MAYA students, I have to finish getting moved today, or pay another month's rent on a storage bin at University Self Storage, so this will NOT be the class #1 summary. I will do that late tonight or tommorrow morning, depending on how long the moving and heavy lifting takes. Here is what was covered today. 1. Go to my home page at http://www.cs.uni.edu/~jacobson and follow the link to Fall 2008 courses and from the courses.html page follow the link to our MAYA class web page. 2. There you will be able to find links to download the MAYA PLE. This is only for those of you who do NOT yet have the textbook. If you have the textbook, of course, its faster to install the free MAYA PLE (personal learning edition) from your textbook CD-ROM. 3. From the MAYA PLE on your own computer, or the MAYA PLE that you can use in the Wright 112, Wright 110 or Wright 339 or ITT 335 computer labs, read and listen to the following Essential Skills Movies: a. #1 Zoom, pan and roll: Navigation essentials. b. #2 Move, rotate, scale. c. #3 Create & view objects Note: Help menu, Learning Movies command will get you to the Learning Movies window Essential Learning Movies One minute movies with tips & tricks Note: If you don't have Quicktime 7.1 or later installed on your computer, you will get the following error message at the bottom left of your MAYA window. // Error: QuickTime not found. Download from bottom of Essential Skills movie window. This area is called the Command Response and always shows the successful result of your actions, or else an error. For example, if you do the Create menu, Polygon Primitives, Cube command you would see the following: // Result: pCube1 polyCube1 The MAYA GUI (Graphical User Interface) takes a while to get used to, so don't get discouraged. The toolbox is on the left side of the entire Maya window. ------------- The handout from today's class is entitled: The Workspace ------------- The Tool Box tools from top to bottom are listed there: 1st Select, <--- we'll use this Lasso, Paint Selection, 4th Move, <--- we'll use these three frequently 5th Rotate, 6th Scale, Universal Manipulator, Soft Modification, Show Manipulators, 10th the last tool you used. <---- might use this from time to time These are often called the QWERTY tools. Q - keyboard shortcut for the Select tool W - shortcut for the Move tool E - " " Rotate tool R - shortcut for the Scale tool T - irrelevant to us for now Y - shortcut for the "last tool you used", such as Create >> Polygon Primitive >> Sphere Look at your QWERTY keyboard for any computer or typewriter. ------ ------------- The handout from today's class is entitled: The Workspace ------------- What does it say about the Command Line? This bar has an area to the left for inputting simple MEL commands and an area to the right for feedback. So where did you see the messages like: // Result: pCube1 polyCube1 or // Error: QuickTime not found. Download from bottom of Essential Skills movie window. In the feedback area of the command line. Please IGNORE the MEL command input area. Are you starting to become familiar with a few aspects of the complicated, and overwhelming at first, MAYA UI (User Interface)? Slowly, but surely you will get there, but it is very unfamiliar territory you are exploring. So do NOT get discouraged. Take is slow and know that is expected it will be confusing at first. Remember the first time you ever learned to ride a bike or to roller blade? It was a HUGE challenge the first few times, but you gradually got better at it and familiar with it and now it is 2nd nature. The Help Line at the bottom of the entire MAYA window is very helpful, ha ha, lol. :-) As you pass your mouse over different buttons or portions of the entire MAYA GUI, or right after you do certain commands from the menu or the shelf, or right after you choose the Move or the Rotate or the Scale tools from the Tool Box, what will you see and where will you see it? Helpful information on what the tool is for or what to do next if you chose it or chose a certain command! ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- RGB = Red, Green, Blue RGB = x, y, z Color codes for the X, Y and Z axis in all your Panels. Color codes for the MANIPULATORS, manipulator handles when you choose the MOVE or the ROTATE or the SCALE tool with a POLYGON sphere or POLYGON cube or a POLYGON cylinder selected. Red for the X manipulator, Green for the Y manipulator, and Blue for the Z manipulator. R G B x y z Look over the Create Polygon Primitives menu. Turn off Interactive Creation, if you want to. It is the 2nd to last command on the Create menu, Polygon Primitives submenu. How do you switch from Wireframe view of the object(s) to Smoothly Shaded solid view????? 4 and 5 are the keyboard shortcuts. You can also use the Panel menu (NOT the Main menu bar). The PANEL menu for any of the View Panels has a Shading menu. Shading menu, Wireframe is the default (4) Shading menu, Smooth Shade All is invoked by keystroke 5 by most Maya users. 4 and 5 are the keyboard shortcuts. Exercise: Create a Polygon Sphere and then type W or click on the Move tool. Move the Polygon Sphere so it has a new X location, but retains the Y and Z of 0. Remember, X is RED (not Green, not Blue). Create another Polygon Sphere and move it anywhere by using the center manipulator Move handle. Create a Polygon Cube and Scale it to a larger size. Rotate it using the Rotate tool. Now, switch to the selection tool. Click anywhere except on one of your 3 polygons (two spheres and one cube). Click on the Wireframe of any one of the Polygons. Press F to Frame the selected Object (or objects) in the persp (perspective) Panel. What happened? Pull down the View menu (its a PANEL menu). Choose Default Home. View menu >> Default Home command What happened? Using the Alt key (or Option key for Macintosh), do some Tumbling, Tracking and Dollying. Alt+LMB Alt+MMB Alt+RMB Note: Dollying is also mistakenly often referred to as Zooming. After you Tumble LMB = Left Mouse Button and Track MMB = Middle MB and Dolly RMB = Right MB do this: View menu >> Default Home command Try selecting one of the Polygons, and then hold down the Shift key and select a 2nd Polygon. 1. What does the Move tool do now, if you choose it and Move the TWO selected objects???? 2. What does F do (shortcut the Frame the selection in the Panel), if you type f when more than one object is selected????? I will link this email note from the class web page so its easier to read again there. Gotta go get some heavy lifting done now, or be out $84 for another month of storage fees! :-) As you tumble, think of our Des Moines Olympic hero. We'll shade something in a Gold in honor of Iowa gymnastics. :-) We are going to lose our balance a few times, and if you go for a goal of losing your balance at least once every day this semester, you'll learn alot more Maya than if you always stay in your comfort zone with it, or if you skip days of practice. A little bit every day would be better than once or twice per week when practicing and learning MAYA or guitar or piano or tabla or Tae Kwon Do or field hockey. *** Shawn Johnson As you track, think of our Des Moines Olympic hurdling hero. Sometimes things go wrong when you are ahead, but that is part of the beauty and drama of sports and life too. We are going to face a few hurdles in learning MAYA. *** Lolo Jones Mark P.S. Note, in Wright Hall you can turn the sound on for those computers, but its hard to hear the Learning Movies teacher very well unless you bring headphones. The Wright Computers have a default of Sound muted and low volume, so reset those and you can hear it. Of course, word the teacher of the Learning Movie speaks is displayed for you to READ across the bottom of the movie one minute tutorial. However you do it, be sure to PAUSE and take notes and then RESTART it. Watch a movie several times, if you need to. That is how I first started with MAYA. PAUSE would be especially good for a UNI MAYA class learning movie, of course. Panthers have PAWS and take advantage of them. 3D graphics is our Prey. Happy hunting! :-)