Maya Lesson Plans

[I-Iybrid]

Learning Maya on your own is quite dificult in ways. Tutorials are a great help yes, but some stuff isnt covered in many tutorials, either that, or Im not looking in the right place.

[goosh]

There are a lot of little thicks that you learn from people that you won't find in tutorials.

I think that's the biggest advantage of taking classes.

Being here is a good start though.. people will help you out quite a lot.

It's a hard thing learning a package on your own.. specially Maya since it's so complex.. but it can be done.. it just needs a lot of motivation and trying and trying and trying more things

Good luck

Goosh

[JoeSchmo]

Books, Books, Books

The Maya help files are really well organized.
Classes are good, but can't learn much if you
don't spend hours and hours in the program.

A lot of stuff you learn from trial and error.

and of course CGTALK
:buttrock:

[monotypic]

here's my recomendation..

(i'm gonna just assume its for someone who's never really done anything in maya... this is just an example )

set yourself a goal thats actually possible... not one of those "i'm gonna make the coolest character EVER!!!" kinda thing...
maybe say to yourself.. how bout i create a 45 second animation. maybe even throw in a story there.. its up to you..

now... keep things simple... say maybe..
1 character...
rig him/her/it
texture them
and animate about 45 seconds.
____________________________

there's a goal you can reach. and now your able to look for specific tuturials on what you need to accomplish. for instance..
:modeling
:rigging a char.
:animation.
:texturing

more advice:
keep things simple.
keep things organized.
think EVERYTHING through b4 you start.

now after you finish something like that.. set a new goal.. set you standards a little higher.... finish that project.. repeat.

good luck.

[Kabab]

why not spend some time doing some tuts etc then take a class A|W provide these not cheap but would be well worth it.

Its one thing to jump head first in and try to do something way over your head the down side to this is you will probably use the wrong methadolgy.

I personally think your better off learn the software well and then start a crazy project to ensure your using the correct methods etc.

In the end it will probably save you time.

[M_Orlich]

That's great advice monotypic!

I have certainly been guilty of trying to do too much too soon, usually leading to frustration. A long time ago before I knew how little I actually knew I sketched out a simple character and built it in Max. It was crap, but I finished it. Anymore I'm trying to match the quality I see all around me and end up not finishing anything.

What you're saying also makes a lot of sense from the standpoint that as an aspiring 3D artist, you need a demo reel. Which means knowing a little of everything. Thinking of your projects as a the whole deal, progressively building in complex seems much better than what I'm trying to do, master modeling, then master rigging, etc...

In any case you've helped me quite a bit and I thank you very much!
:applause:

M

[alexx]

Originally posted by M_Orlich

What you're saying also makes a lot of sense from the standpoint that as an aspiring 3D artist, you need a demo reel. Which means knowing a little of everything. Thinking of your projects as a the whole deal, progressively building in complex seems much better than what I'm trying to do, master modeling, then master rigging, etc...


well it depends..
if you find out during doing your job that the only thing you are really interested in is e.g. modelling or texturing or animating, i would suggest sticking just to that stuff and leave the rest mostly aside.
it depends a lot on the master plan you are following: going to a smaller company and being an all rounder or aiming for a position at a big studio where you will be a person responsible for a very specific task.

and only to emphasize 2 mentionings of monotypic:
keep things organized!
think EVERYTHING through b4 you start.
whereever you will go - that will help a lot. :)

maybe a last advice:
if you have a chance to get an internship in a company: take it.
i think that is the fastest and best way to learn a package i would say.

cheers & good luck

alexx

[Nurb'd]

Here is a good set of free video for the beginer. Takes you from model of a simple alien to rigging him.

I always pass it on to those having trouble

http://www.digital-tutors.com/digital_tutors/maya/index_neex.htm

[Dark Alchemist]

What about those of us who do not really wish to do animation? Sure its fun but I am more of a picture guy where I used to do stills and try and make them look as realistic as could be. Now I can't seem to be motivated anymore.

Why can't I get motivated anymore? Because I bit off more than I could chew last May (was trying to model a head) before I even had the basics down and now I am just burnt out. Took me till 2 weeks ago before I even looked at 3d again.

[M_Orlich]

Alexx, you also make a very good point. Which also illustrates how difficult it can be to decide on a direction and a good course of action.

Truth be told, I do have aspirations of being a modeler, not necessarily an animator. Although, I do want to be capable of taking any entry level position that presents itself. Again, confusing myself.

I did want to ask you and monotypic if you could elaborate further on what you mean by keeping things organized? And if you'd be willing to share some of the techniques and strategies that you use?

One bit of advice that I give myself that might be useful to somebody is just to keep putting one foot in front of the other. To do more clicky-clicky and less thinky-thinky. I love the lyrics by Neil Peart in the Rush song "Marathon," which talks about life being more like a marathon than a sprint and good things happen for those who maintain a pace, rather than burn themselves out. I guess the allegory goes way back, the old turtle and the hare story.

M

[alexx]

ok.. first of: not to get me wrong: the more you know the better it is.
but:

i have seen animators who did not have the slightest faint about modelling, modellers who saw a shading network and asked "what the F*** is this", and i have seen horses barf..
and just to mention: those guys worked in lead/supervisor positions on godzilla, final fantasy and LOTR 2 - and they did their job really great.

if you apply for a job as a modeller no one will look at the image quality of your renderings.. then its only speed and the hand for the look.. same for every other position.
but concerning me i think that 3D has a lot more to offer than just one part.. and i like to do (try) all.. well.. i can not really tell i succeeded in all :)
so: it is up to you.. but believe me.. you will fast see, what you really want to do, when you create some small projects.. just have a look what is the most fun for you and go for it.

concerning the organization:
that starts with the thinking about the project: what you wanna do and an idea on how you do it (even if it could be that you do it a complete other way later.. but think about it)..
then when it comes to the creation: be tidy!
group stuff, name stuff and write comments.. even i (and i think i am quite organized) happened to open old scenes after 1/2 year to re-check what and how i did it and it took me hours to understand my own thoughts.. since then i comment a lot..
always have in mind that someone else will have to work with your output.. and that is really tricky in 3d anyway..

try to avoid solutions that are like: "i dont know why, but it works".. no one (including you) will be able to understand :)

especially naming:
create a naming convention for yourself (as long as you are not in a company) and stick to it... especially for naming your scenes and render scenes if you have more than one..
name your rendered images in a way, that it is always possible to reproduce which scene file rendered them (i directly aim at the most stupid thing in maya render globals: the output filename at the very top)..
imagine you have several scene files that are saved.. when you use that option you will not find out from which of your scenes it comes from..)

asll this is just the tip of the iceberg but i think you can get the idea about it all..

cheers

alexx

[monotypic]

perfect.. i couldn't have said it better myself.

and yeah.. if you can find an internship somewhere... do all you can to snatch that up...

[alexx]

monotypic :)

btw..
i think this is a really nice thread, since a starter in maya asked how to do it and not asked how to create an effect like in starwars or final fantasy..

and a question like tha is worth an answer that is way more than just RTFM :)

kepp up!

alexx

[M_Orlich]

Thanks for your replies, especially you Alexx.

It's been a very enlightening discussion for me thus far and really do appreicate it greatly.

M:wavey:

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