Complex UV Layout in Maya
Over the last couple of years UV layout in Maya has changed for the better. In this course we're going to be taking a look at some of those changes as we UV map an entire character
# 1 01-04-2007 , 08:43 AM
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Drawing in maya

I remember seeing someone draw poses and sketching stuff in maya once. but i cant remember what the tool, mel or pulgin was. i would like to know to draw out my poses out before i randomly make posses.

any of you know whaa im talking about and if so where can i find it?

# 2 01-04-2007 , 09:14 AM
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iirc jason scheiffler had a utility for that.
there was another that was for windows, and worked on desktops not maya specific. but its really handy.

# 3 01-04-2007 , 09:55 AM
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their is always the paint-effects window, you can draw on a canvas in that.


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# 4 01-04-2007 , 08:36 PM
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Why would you want to draw in Maya? ThatÕs like making a website in PS!

The only thing I can help you with is to go to the Paint Effects canvas. IÕve used it before to make a grass texture, but thatÕs about it.

user added image

# 5 02-04-2007 , 02:35 AM
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umm, jr.who,
a major part of making a website is in PS, so that point didnt make sense, lol

but yeah, painteffects canvasuser added image


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# 6 02-04-2007 , 02:41 AM
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Originally posted by Joopson
umm, jr.who,
a major part of making a website is in PS, so that point didnt make sense, lol

but yeah, painteffects canvasuser added image

I meant programming. user added image

You canÕt really create a website in PS. user added image

# 7 02-04-2007 , 02:49 AM
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oh, that explains it user added image user added image
HTML isnt a programming, so you are right!
unless you use flash. so TECHNICALLY you are wrong, but why the heck am i continuing this? lol
im sooo bored....


good luck with the painteffects canvas!


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# 8 02-04-2007 , 10:36 AM
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umm. u use PS to make a website have a nice design. id rather make a cool website that works then a crapy looking website that works just the same. coding is not king this stuff is not meant to be technical but made to be used as a tool

animation is an art. and i find it better if i draw out pose's, such as in traditional animation, beacuse i get a more fluid exaggerated pose that i personally can not do in maya by just moving the controls all over the place

its just a personal thing i need, and am used to doing more of. traditional animation is intuitive and thats why most cg animation isnt great, but i want that traditional look in my cg, that makes great animation. great examples are the Pixar movies which were made by guys with traditional backgrounds. theres reasons why mo cap looks like robots on sleeping pills. u need that speacial touch from an artist. the aim is not tv animation but cinematic animation.

well i found the grease pencil. ill see how well it works later

# 9 02-04-2007 , 03:27 PM
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2d animation staples like exaggeration and anticipation of motion can be achieved in 3d 'by just moving controls all over the place'. you just have to be familiar with the way things work. one of the best ways to get slight overmovements is by tweaking your animation curves in the graph editor... by moving tangents to change the way something eases-in or eases-out (or oversteps its keyframe value), you'd be surprised how easy it is to not only create slight (or even dramatic) overcompensated moves, but also to create them fluidly.


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# 10 02-04-2007 , 05:32 PM
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*sighs*

Guys,

Believe it or not, you canÕt entirely create a website in PS! Where do you put the HTML? user added image

# 11 02-04-2007 , 09:12 PM
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Hasn't motion capture kinda obsoleted moving controls around and drawing poses in animation for characters?

# 12 02-04-2007 , 10:06 PM
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Originally posted by The Architect
Hasn't motion capture kinda obsoleted moving controls around and drawing poses in animation for characters?

Nope, not really, as its very expensive to capture and set up, get equipment for etc etc etc, where as animation only requires one person, with one wage, one software (in an ideal world) where as mo cap requires a lot of equipment, people, actors, etc etc.


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# 13 02-04-2007 , 11:25 PM
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not only that, but after you import mocap input, you still have to clean it up... the computer records data with a certain margin of error... so even though it's recording real movement, you're still gonna find keys that are way off, and they need to be fixed.

besides, when you're dealing with cartoon characters you don't want realistic motion all the time. you want the extreme poses to remind you that it is in fact a cartoon. when you're trying to render photorealistic stuff and lifelike human characters, that's when you want biorealistic movement.


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# 14 02-04-2007 , 11:49 PM
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Very ture neo, I didnt want to go into the clean up stage and add that on!


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# 15 07-04-2007 , 02:17 PM
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Originally posted by The Architect
Hasn't motion capture kinda obsoleted moving controls around and drawing poses in animation for characters?

It looks terribly shit to be honest lol, neo has hit it on the head. Alot of character work, even in feature film involves things that stunt men cannot do or creatures taht do not exist.

and even in things like king kong where they use elaborate motion capture rigs animators often just end up deleting the cap data anyway.

Inbetb6 as far as an approach for quick posing in maya, i just shove a cel or assitate over the mointor and draw on it user added image rubs off too.


Last edited by LauriePriest; 07-04-2007 at 02:20 PM.
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