3D Modeling & Animation with Maya

Master rapid 3d modeling with maya using the modeling toolkit, auto save, and essential operations like vertex, edge, and face selection, extrude, and mesh combine to build a spaceship.

Use Maya's layer panel in the channel box editor to create layers from selected objects, name them clearly, and control visibility and selectability for focused modeling.

Create an alien tree in Maya from scratch using vertices, the modeling tool kit, multi-cut, and sculpting tools; refine with soft selection, subdivision, grouping, and terrain layer integration before texturing.

Explore creating realistic trees in Maya using paint effects tree mesh, accessing hidden presets via the content browser, and converting paint effects to polygon geometry for rendering.

Learn to render in Maya with Arnold, set up a physical sky, preview with IPR, and convert paint effects to polygons for your own created scene.

Explore the anatomy of a material in Maya, comparing textures and materials, and learn to adjust color, transparency, specular highlights, and mapping in hyper shade.

Create and apply an A.I. standard surface material in Maya, load a texture via file, and adjust diffusion and secular highlights for realistic rendering.

Learn how to fix seamless textures in Photoshop, create and apply a texture and its normal map in Maya using Arnold standard surface, including painting tweaks and exporting JPEGs.

Apply textures to the trunk using Arnold standard, explore texture and normal maps, add a bump map, adjust roughness and highlights, then render.

Texture a spaceship in Maya using two Arnold car paint materials for cockpit and body. Create a normal map from a texture to add space decals and metalness, then render.

Learn to use the uv editor in maya to apply projections, adjust uv maps, and render improved textures, while enabling auto save and exploring the movie editor for quick fixes.

Fix a dark area on a model by creating a new Photoshop layer, sampling a light blue, and saving replacement normal map texture to apply in Maya and unwrap UVs.

Set keyframes in Maya using the timeline and channel box, with hotkeys s for all and shift w, e, r for translate, rotate, and scale.

Learn how to use the Maya dope sheet to edit, copy, and paste key frames, manage auto keyframe, freeze all, and synchronize afterburner animations along the timeline.

Explore Maya's graph editor to fine-tune non-linear animation curves, adjust keyframes, and add subtle wobble and turbulence for realistic plane takeoffs, guided by expert tips.

Create and animate a camera with an aim, use keyframes and the graph editor to refine motion, and preview in perspective before final render with Arnold.

discover how to use Maya's playblast for fast, full-speed animation previews, tweak settings, manage keyframes with the dope sheet and graph editor, and apply linear tangents for snappier motion.

Learn to test renders in Maya, troubleshoot texturing issues, and reset UVs to improve image quality before final renders; preview improvements and plan future edits with the movie editor.

Attach a locator to the afterburners, parent it to the correct burner, and duplicate for a second effect, using match transformations to ensure smooth tracking and avoiding unintended auto keyframes.

Drag a rocket flame particle preset into scene, duplicate it, align with match transforms, rotate to fit, and parent to a locator; set playback to 24 fps to speed renders.

Develop character concept art using front and profile references to align proportions for Maya 3D modeling; sketch an outline and align eyeline with arm and knee lines for 3D import.

Review Maya project structure, create a new project folder, organize files, save scenes with proper naming, and enable autosave in preferences under files and projects to prevent crashes.

Import front and side image planes in Maya to guide 3D modeling, noting mouth alignment differences and how to set planes non-selectable in the layer panel.

Use the outliner and channel box layer panel to create a layer from selected, switch to wireframe, and make it unselectable via reference; name it image planes, spaces not allowed.

Learn to model a leg in Maya by starting with a low-poly cylinder, using hotkeys and tools like extrude, translate, scale, and rotate to shape the knee and ankle.

Model the foot in Maya by refining vertex selections, extrusion with offset, and using world scale, hotkeys, and subdivision to keep independent toes straight.

Learn to model the body in Maya by adding edge loops, extrusions, and symmetric edits in polygon mode, using world space and two pane views for accurate contour.

Learn to model the head in Maya by extruding and shaping geometry, moving and scaling points, and using image planes and subdivisions for a clean, rounded form.

Model the arm in Maya by centering lines, extruding to the elbow, and tweaking points with the tweak tool while managing object and world modes.

Model the hand in Maya by subdividing, extruding, and scaling to create four appendages plus a thumb, then smooth and duplicate for the final hand.

Create a symmetrical model by duplicating and instancing half the model with edit duplicate special, scale minus one on the x axis, then freeze transforms and delete history.

Refine a Maya Kermit model using a reference image, tweak the face with the modeling toolkit, and push points and extrusions to achieve a rounder head and thicker body.

Model the eyes for a Kermit character by forming oval spheres, adjusting scale and rotation for oversized eyes, duplicating for both eyes, and planning texturing in the next lesson.

Combining separate mesh parts into one in Maya, this lecture shows how to use point selection, symmetry, mesh combine, and target weld to align edges.

Clean up history, nest the eyes, and save a new scene to prepare for texturing, then apply lambert materials and a Kermit eye texture using the hypercharged view.

Learn to use the UV editor to apply textures, create a custom UV layout for front-facing polygons, and move, rotate, and scale UVs to place eye textures correctly.

Texture the mouth by selecting the mouth polygons, creating a new Lambert material, and applying a dark red color to complete the mouth texture.

Refine the Maya face model to match the reference by adjusting eyes, smoothing the mouth, and moving edges, then update textures with UV edits for the next animated look.

Prepare a Maya character for export by cleaning history, saving a named version, and smoothing geometry, then export as fbx and test in Mixamo.

Create a simple stink fly to practice rigging and animation in Maya, featuring a basic rig with x-ray joints and a quick playback animation to build your confidence.

Begin with low subdivisions to model a fly's body in Maya, extrude the nose, adjust scale and thickness, refine offset, then prepare to build the wings in the next lesson.

Create wing-like ears by shaping a sphere, extruding, bridging quads, and mirroring them to form wings. Use edge loops, mesh combine, and Mash tools to add subdivisions and weld edges.

Model the eyes for the stink fly creature in Maya by duplicating, scaling, moving, and rotating spheres, then clean up the scene by deleting history to remove extra elements.

Texture the fly model in Maya by creating a new material, applying a texture image, and mapping UVs with spherical or planar projections while cutting seams and unfolding.

Create a bone skeleton and joints, then mirror them to build limbs quickly. Set up a main body controller and nose, paving the way for skin binding and weight painting.

Learn how to bind a model's skin to joints in Maya and address deformation when joints rotate. Prepare to paint weights to control bone influence over regions like the wings.

Apply weight painting to control joint influence in Maya by painting white where movement is allowed and black where it isn’t, adjusting brush size and testing with rotation.

Attach unparented joints to the correct parent using middle mouse dragging under the intended joint, so rotating a foot also rotates its child. This fix prepares the creature for animation.

Create animation layers and name joints to organize the rig; enable auto key for rotation keys. Use the animation and graph editors to copy, paste, and adjust keyframes.

Fix the weight painting in Maya by selecting secondary joints, setting keyframes, and painting out extraneous weights to correct joint weights, locate the culprit (the wing) and verify with playback.

Experiment with Stinkfly animation in Maya, showing how changing frame rates from 24 to 90 shifts keyframes in graph editor, and finalize by parenting the bone system to the body.

Turn a single 2d image into a 3d frog character by modeling Froggy Bottoms, exploring profile views and side geometry to overcome the 2d-to-3d challenge in Maya.

Create a new scene in Maya, import an image plane as front-view reference, and use the Froggie image to guide modeling the body, eyes, and face.

Begin with a low-poly body, then refine by adding subdivisions to create a smooth shape; duplicate, move, and scale parts like left_eye and right_eye, using x-ray shading to check anatomy.

Begin modeling the back legs in maya by extruding and moving polygons, scaling points, adjusting edge loops, and mirroring the completed leg for the front leg.

Create a front leg by extruding along a curve, using the three-point arc tool and curve settings to control subdivisions, then adjust topology for clean, non-intersecting geometry.

Move and rotate points to clean topology in Maya, creating straight edge flows, rectangular polygons, and better extrusion control for toes; switch between world and component modes to finish efficiently.

In Maya, mirror the frog by duplicating across the center line, scale toward the center in front view, combine meshes, weld vertices, and prepare for texturing.

Explore hands-on 3D modeling in Maya by tweaking a frog model, using symmetry, extruding geometry, and refining edges and topology with edge loops.

Clean up and organize your Maya scene by deleting history and unused geometry, parent objects, and renaming the model Froggy Bottoms, preparing for texturing and versioned saves.

Apply a texture file to the character’s material in Maya, using a resource texture to preview a nuclear fallout frog and prepare for the next lesson on the movie editor.

Learn practical UV mapping and texture placement in Maya, including adjusting UVs, flipping, and sewing edge cuts to place a smile texture correctly on a character.

Select the eye uv shells and apply a custom projection, then adjust the back eyes with cuts, scale and move to fix texture placement, learning basic uv editing in Maya.

Finish uv mapping on the frog by selecting the body, making cuts to unfold, paint the chest white and arms green, then explore edge loops, projection, and prep for rigging.

Work with a Lambert material by switching its color texture to an image sequence, importing frog texture frames: eyeblink and death, and preview the animated states before saving for rigging.

Rig a creature in Maya by building a joint skeleton from hip to knee to ankle, add toe bones, and separate geometry from joints with clear naming.

Add toe joints in a simple Maya rig, name them index, middle, and ring toe, use x-ray shading for visibility, and parent them under the foot to test alignment.

Learn to create arm and finger joints in Maya, adjust joint display size and display animation, and align shoulder, elbow, and wrist for a usable rig.

Master finger joints in Maya by adjusting joints in the viewport, duplicating segments for speed, and naming them for clarity.

Organize your Maya rig by naming joints from shoulder to fingers, master parenting with middle mouse drag to the wrist, fix misparentings, and prepare to mirror the body.

Build a body and head joint rig in Maya by adding a base body joint, a head joint, parenting all joints to the body, then mirror to shoulder and hip.

Mirror your joints with skeleton mirror joints and replace underscore r with underscore l to rename them. Bind the skin, test joint movement, and note that weight painting follows.

Paint weights in Maya by painting on vertices and adjusting brush size, shaping influence across head, neck, knees, ankles, toes, and fingers, using dark areas to mark non-influenced regions.

Create a texture controls driver and driven keys to cycle the frog's textures—smile, blink, and die—so the texture animation plays while preparing the body animation.

Parent the frog's joint structure, set keyframes at frame 1 and 40 for a hop, refine with the graph editor and auto keyframe, focusing on frame 20 for the pose.

Learn how to create secondary animation in Maya by setting keyframes on joints and toes, rotating them for an organic look, and avoiding uniform mapping for a game character.

Export the frog model in Maya using export selection and sbx export, adjust smoothing groups and smooth mesh, embed media, and name asset; delete history before exporting to avoid errors.

Create and animate large chunks of geometry in Maya, including mouth movements, use a camera sequencer to capture scenes, render multiple image sequences, and assemble them into a final sequence.

Import image planes to set up reference images in Maya, using image resources to begin modeling the body.

Block the body from a poly cube, extrude and scale to form the body and neck, preserving the simplest base shape. Align shoulder points to set up future arm modeling.

Learn to model arms and hands in Maya using a T pose, extruding and matching points in world space, keeping straight, low-poly geometry, and shaping fingers and a glove.

Block out a foot by subdividing, inserting edge loops, extruding and scaling to form the shape, mirroring half the leg, and refining proportions.

Model the head and ears in Maya using subdivided shaping. Extrude the mouth, adjust the cheeks and neck, then split the mesh for symmetry and future reattachment.

Learn to mirror a 3d body in Maya by selecting poly objects, deleting history, resetting transforms, duplicating with negative scale, and welding for clean, symmetrical results.

Refine the face topology in Maya by aligning image planes, centering the symmetry axis, and adding nose and mouth detail through edge loops and extrusions.

Explore Maya basics for eyes and teeth by creating an eye socket and cavity, maintaining symmetry, sculpting eyelids and oval eyeballs, then adding and positioning teeth as separate objects.

troubleshoot Maya interface issues after hardware upgrades by adjusting Windows scaling and display, and resolve file loading problems by setting file projects to OS native.

Fix topology and edge flow in Maya by converting to quads, cleaning up overlapping edges, and adjusting edges with soft selection to create a smoother, rounder face.

Refine ear and eyelid modeling in Maya by adding geometry, extruding and thickening polygons, and merging edges with bridges while applying topology and edge-flow concepts and creating tris.

Enable autosave in Maya and set the interval to five minutes to prevent losing work when the program shuts down, as we move toward texturing after one more mesh tweak.

Apply final modeling tweaks to big chunks, refining eye shapes and adjusting scale and position. Inspect the wireframe, plan topology, and prepare for texturing by adding detail with edge loops.

Texturing in Maya: assign a Lambert material, apply a texture file, clean history, and use the UV Editor to cut and project textures on ears and front face, noting symmetry.

Sew and clean hand geometry, cut and split shells for fingers, and create planer projections for UVs. Adjust scale, rotation, and positions to match the reference.

Texture the teeth and eyes using planer projection, isolate eye geometry, cut and resize shells, place the iris, and preview the textured result before rigging and animation.

Master repairing broken textures in Maya by unfolding shells, scaling and rotating parts, and repositioning them with point mode, then delete history before saving to prevent recurring texture glitches.

Export the character from Maya with file export all, enable SBX, embed media, and smoothing groups before importing into Mixamo, anticipating possible breakages.

rig a simple joint skeleton for the feet, body, neck, and head, plus the arm with shoulder, elbow, wrist, and fingers, then parent and place them.

Mirror the left-side joints to the right on the YZ plane in Maya, then add ear and jaw joints, name and parent them, and prepare for skinning.

Master the Maya skinning workflow by selecting a rig, applying skin binds, viewing joints with x-ray shading, and animating with keyframes to a beat, including weight painting.

Master skin weight painting in Maya by unbinding and binding skin, then paint joint influences across the body and ears, using brush size and symmetry for smoother animation.

Mirror skin weights in Maya using the YZ orientation and the correct X-direction (negative X vs positive X), with closest point on surface and normalization, saving time on symmetrical arms.

Create an AI eye-control rig with a main controller and left/right eye controllers, constrain with an aim constraint, unbind skin, and freeze transforms for precise movement.

Fix and refine a Maya rig by correcting jaw rotation and reattaching teeth and eyes to the rig. Adjust eye area geometry to prevent bleed-through.

Master blend shapes in Maya to open the mouth by duplicating and adjusting the mesh. Use the modeling toolkit and shape editor to create and refine shapes with a slider.

Create an eyeblink in Maya using blend shapes by duplicating the mesh, renaming parts, deleting joints, and refining the blink with controls for testing.

Create blend shapes in maya to exaggerate a big belly, demonstrating iterative height adjustments and practical techniques for 3D modeling and animation that engage learners and showcase character deformation.

Learn how to import audio into Maya for animation, using wave or 16-bit A.I.S files, extend the timeline to 720 frames at 24 fps, and preview in real time.

Create and arrange multiple cameras in Maya using the camera sequencer, then animate flybys, dolly shots, and sky cam angles to switch between shots.

Explore maya’s camera sequencer to assemble a shot-based sequence like a video editor: add, rename, shorten, split, and time shots to the music for a dynamic sequence.

In this Maya lecture, animate the foot to the beat by setting keyframes, fix rigging and weight painting, and adjust animation curves for a robotic motion.

Animate the ears in Maya by keyframing beats, exploring back-and-forth and side-to-side movements, and mixing ear cam and foot cam shots via the camera sequencer.

Learn to adjust Maya animation by moving keyframes in the graph editor, aligning start frames, and using middle mouse drag to slide keys for smooth choreography and quicker value edits.

Learn to copy and paste keyframes in Maya, using linear tangents and duplication to copy animation across frames to the beat, speeding up animation for an animated short.

Animate Janice's belly to the beat using Maya's shape editor, setting keyframes with auto keying. Use the graph editor to view and tweak animation data and test playback.

In Maya, rotate the body to turn the character and keyframe feet to the beat. Parent the eye controller to the rig, adjust timing, and clean keyframes for smooth motion.

Fix eye and teeth popping by parenting the eye controller to the rig, unbinding skin, resetting weights on the eyes, and adjusting animation curves in the graph editor.

Animate the mouth to the beat using keyframes and the graph editor, syncing lip movements to audio while troubleshooting copy-paste and timeline issues.

Create a closing mouth blend shape in Maya to improve lip-sync by forming an M-shaped lip contact, duplicating shapes, and aligning teeth with the mouth pose.

Refine lip sync by adjusting close-mouthed frames in the graph editor and animation graph editor, copy keyframes, paste blend shapes, then preview the animation to improve subtle mouth movements.

Animate secondary movement in Maya by keyframing ears, mouth, and arms, adjust blend shapes, export sections, and refine rigs for the final Chungus animation.

Animate the final blend shapes for the belly and the blinks, then sequence camera shots in the camera sequencer and export a render to share on YouTube.

Learn how to render image sequences in Maya using the camera sequencer and my hardware render, then import them into a compositor like After Effects to assemble a movie.

Render multiple camera passes in Maya, manage image sequences like mouth cam, right shot, and full body, then import into After Effects to cut and assemble a final composite.

Import image planes in Maya and align reference images to achieve accurate humanoid proportions, using Shrek as a perfectly aligned example to guide leg modeling.

Block out the Shrek leg by starting with a poly cube, adding subdivisions, and precisely placing points while extruding and shading in x-ray view to achieve a realistic result.

Block out the body and limbs, model clothing separately, and plan proportions using an edge loop and subdivision to build a clothed character in Maya.

Model the arm by adjusting scale in orthographic view, subdividing to round forms, and aligning elbow and wrist lines to a natural pose while planning the hand next.

Model the hand in Maya by extruding five fingers, using the multicar tool for subdivision, and maintaining quad topology while smoothing with insert loops, bevels, and perspective view.

Learn to create symmetry in Maya by duplicating geometry, scaling along the X axis, and aligning points to the center line, then enable symmetry to refine the geometry.

Model the head by using image planes, orthographic side views, and symmetrical extrusions on polygons, refining edges and vertices with subdivisions to build the base shape and neck.

Model Shrek's ears by extruding a polygon in the orthographic side view, then scale, move, and refine with soft selection and perspective checks to achieve correct base and lobes.

Identify and fix geometry anomalies in Maya by deleting extra polygons, repairing gaps, and bridging edges to restore clean mesh.

Add eye and nose detail in Maya by inserting edge loops, extruding polys, and using symmetry and orthographic views to refine facial geometry.

Fix geometry by adjusting points and snapping edges to restore symmetry and connectivity around the nose, nostrils, and mouth, while switching between perspective and subdivided views to verify everything.

Model a mouth and eyeballs in Maya using edge loops, symmetry, and the multicar tool, while avoiding triangles and deleting history to shape a basic facial structure.

Model Chirac's clothing using a poly cylinder, adjust subdivisions, extrude edges to belt and torso, and use symmetry and the quadri tool to refine edge flow.

Finish the Shrek shirt by refining topology, extruding edges, inserting edge loop and bridging geometry, using symmetry when helpful to shape creases and sleeves.

Extrude the sleeves and belt edges, move points in perspective to shape the shirt, and decide on a separate cloak and leather strap while weighing texture versus modeling detail.

Learn to model a jacket and shirt in Maya by attaching and detaching mesh, centering pivots, applying symmetry, adding edge loops, extruding thickness, and organizing layers.

Use the crease tool in Maya to create sharp edges on the clothes, shoes, and other details, then adjust the face toward a Shrek-like look for textures.

Refine Shrek’s face in Maya with final modeling tweaks: adjust vertices with soft selection and symmetry, add detail via edge loops, and extrude lips for efficient texturing and game-ready performance.

Explore opening Shrek's mouth in Maya, modeling teeth and tongue, creating blend shapes, and adding geometry to achieve a believable talking character.

Model a Shrek tongue in Maya by starting with a cube, applying subdivision, extruding, and scaling to fit the teeth and gums, then name it.

Explore a Maya workflow to model Shrek teeth by creating a three-point circular arc, extruding a cube along the arc, and refining with offset, beveling, and hardening edges.

Rotate and place teeth, adjust the lip, and add nostrils to Shrek while fixing duplicated geometry and ensuring clothing fits; practice precise point moves and symmetry in Maya before texturing.

Shrink the arms and adjust the sleeve to fit the shirt, using image plane and shading x-ray in the viewport to verify edge loops, then prep the model for texturing.

Texture a shirt in maya using lambert materials and a texture network, then refine colors with the texture editor, including optional modules on rendering and texture building.

Learn to texture a belt in Maya by using cylindrical projection on the front and back belts, adjusting UVs with careful vertex manipulation, shell creation, and symmetry considerations.

Texture the shoulder pads in Maya by applying a single material, adjust UVs with cylindrical projection, and move vertices to reduce stretching while watching for distortion.

Adjust the shoulders' textures using planar projection, scale, and move UV points to reduce stretching. Tweak back UVs and vertex positions, then assess tolerances to improve texture mapping.

Apply cylindrical texture projection to the shirt's bottom, tweak UV scale to reduce distortion, and split into front and back shells to minimize seams.

Texture the top of the shirt using a planar projection along the z-axis to align the front, then apply the same to back while carefully selecting faces to minimize distortion.

Select and adjust UVs to fix texture stretching, moving parts to minimize distortion. Extend the jacket to cover seams and prepare sleeves for the arm-to-body attachment.

Edit the jacket mesh in Maya using the UV toolkit and object mode, enable symmetry along the X-axis, and extend geometry to move the clothing while applying a green color.

Practice attention to detail in Maya by tracking texture seams, fixing bleeding textures, and refining UV mapping while preserving texture accuracy and workflow sequence.

Apply cylindrical projection in Maya to map a shirt, turning off symmetry and aligning the cylinder with the arm to minimize distortion and ensure uniform texture placement.

Relink the jacket texture in Maya by selecting the object, opening HyperShade, and assigning the material to the selection, then prepare to texture the Shrek model.

Apply a texture map to Shrek's body using a new Lambert material, name it Shrek skin, and assign the texture file.

Texturing Shrek's boots in Maya by cutting UV shells, splitting the boot in half, testing planar projections, adjusting axes, and refining to reduce stretching.

Apply planer projection to texture Shrek's boots, using x and z axis views on the front and back. Place and scale the texture on the boot for a cleaner result.

Practice rapid edge loop cuts and shell operations on Shrek's boots, then apply planar projections on both sides along the x-axis, flip and adjust to refine the texture map.

Texture Shrek's legs quickly by applying a cylindrical projection to the selected polygons. Notice natural stretching at the shirt seam, keep it simple, and move on to hands next.

Texture Shrek's hand by cutting, sewing edge loops, and applying planer projection to map a texture. Experiment with world versus component axes, and consider painting textures in Photoshop if needed.

Advance your texturing of Shrek's hand in Maya through cutting, projecting, rotating, and scaling parts, and export the mesh to Photoshop or Substance for painting textures.

Fix a broken geometry by merging vertices, connecting lines to restore topology, then move and scale points in subdivided mode to smooth the mesh for texturing.

Finish texturing Shrek's face by minimizing seams and stretching, using z-axis apply and cylindrical and x-axis projections to align edges, flip, and match head textures.

Finish texturing Shrek's ears in Maya by applying cylindrical projection, matching color tones, and refining shell placements, then explore unfolding, folding, and final tweaks in Photoshop.

Texture the eyes by creating planes to form circles, placing and scaling two eyes with equal size, and adjusting shells with offsets for GI to sharpen the expression.

Adjust Shrek's face uv maps in Maya to align textures and shadows, use symmetry to edit both sides, and prepare an export for Photoshop texture painting.

Texture teeth and tongue in Maya using cylindrical projection and symmetry to reduce stretching. Assign shark skin material to teeth and explore per-tooth texture maps to avoid gray, stretched textures.