Maya to Max

[DrYo]

http://digitalartsguild.com/_video/3dsmax/01_basics/3dsmax_basics.html

[TetraLynx]

Thank you! I'll check out that link

[TetraLynx]

Thanks for the tutorial link already posted. What I really needed was the Max to Maya transition guide. You can find it here

http://images.autodesk.com/adsk/files/3dmax_to_maya.pdf

Some things may have changed but I've found it useful. Link was originally posted by user fufanu in 2004 in an archived thread.

I also found this hotkey guide which is helping a lot
http://www.3dvalley.com/tutorials/3d-studio-max-hotkeys-and-mouse-essentials

[DrYo]

I've just added Cheat Sheets for the Hotkeys of 3ds max and Maya

http://digitalartsguild.com/resources.html

[TetraLynx]

Thanks for the links! By far the weirdest thing for me is that most everything is called a Modifier in Max which seems like is similar to History in Maya. Purged history often in Maya but that doesn't seem to be the workflow a lot of people use in Max for modifiers. Not sure why this is, hope it becomes more apparent as I use the program.

[Chris]

Maya history is very similar to having a stack of modifiers. as far as deleting history (in max - 'collapsing the stack') its pretty much the same process, the larger the modifier stack/construction history the more processing and memory needed to process any changes and propagate them through the nodes in the stack. If you dont need to collapse for performance reasons, then it makes sense to keep the stack open, then you can change something later.

also in max you can right click halfway up your stack and go 'collapse to' which will delete your history to that point. This combined with using instances & references for your modifier stack can be a very powerful procedural way of working

The modifier stack has a more consistant 'directional flow' from one node to another than maya. have a look what happens if you add a 'mesh select' node, go to a sub-object mode (componant mode in maya), select some verts/edges/polys, then without exiting sub object mode, add another modifier (like a bend or push or something) - you have now passed your sub object selection to the modifier, so only those componants will be affected by the subsiquent modifier - you can then go back and change the selection modifier and all the subsequent modifiers will change to the new selection. Max works a lot more 'nodally' than some people think - a lot more like houdini in fact... :)

[PEN]

This is getting a little old but will give you some idea of what you need to look for when looking for tools to do a job.

http://www.paulneale.com/tutorials/MaxMaya/maxMaya.htm

[TetraLynx]

Chris I'll check that out. Max is a different workflow but I really am trying to embrace it rather than turning all the Max controls into Maya ones since that undos the apparent Max's workflow advantages.

PEN thanks for posting that link. Any additional reference comparing Maya controls to Max is a great help. Hoping this thread will help others who are struggling with the transition between programs.

[PEN]

Definitely do Not try and turn Max into Maya. They are two different apps and have developed completely different work flows. The stack isn't the history and shouldn't be used in the same way, it does far more and has ways of working with it that you just can't do with a history. Some tools are no where near as good but others are far better, some tools that don't exist in Maya are in Max and vise versa. You need to embrace it as you have said and it will work very well for you.

[Clappy71]

I just made this transition myself. I picked up Switcher by Draster which allows you to use the Maya navigation keys whilst keeping the core Max hotkeys in tact.

But to be honest, a couple of weeks in and I don't even bother using Switcher anymore, and I have come to prefer the Max workflow (especially for modeling). Here are some of the resources I used:

-Digital Tutors max series (although they don't include Polyboost which now ships with Max)
-Gnomonology Max intro tutorial
-Ian Joyner's Gnomon tutorial on character modeling with Max (this one includes the POlyboost tools)

Hope some of these help.

Matt

[TetraLynx]

Thanks Matt! Switcher looks really interesting. How long did you use Maya before switching to Max? Looking into the other resources you suggested.

[Clappy71]

I have used Maya for 5 years now, so I am an advanced user. The initial crossover was really painful. Felt like I was learning from scratch. The hardest part was the viewport navigation.

Aside from those tutorials, here are somethings which helped immensely:

Hotkeys: Max is really hotkey driven, so I mapped out hotkeys for all the tools I use most and printed them off. I find in Maya that I only use a few hotkeys and rely more on a customized toolbar and marking menus. If you love marking menus, the quad menu (right clicking on your object with keyboard combos, like ALT) in Max is virtually the same.

http://www.3dvalley.com/tutorials/3d-studio-max-hotkeys-and-mouse-essentials

The graphite modeling tools: you can go to http://www.polyboost.com/ and watch the videos to help get your head around some of the tools.

There is no menu exactly like the Outliner, but Select by Name is close. The Hypergraph is the Schematic View.

Cheers,
Matt

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