Maya for 3D Printing - Rapid Prototyping
In this course we're going to look at something a little different, creating technically accurate 3D printed parts.
# 16 26-03-2011 , 09:21 PM
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Join Date: Oct 2010
Posts: 233
hello - sorry for disappearing mid-discussion. I think I understand nodes a little more now: I've been learning Nuke; with viewer, merge & key nodes among others (tho Nuke's seem to make a little more sense...)
I guess where I was heading with this thread was to pose the question 'are any nodes universal?' i.e. if I were to drop a volume fog onto a cube or a light, would it create a smoky cube and a smoky light? or an intensity node that say, dropped onto the flow node of a fluid, would adjust the flow rate; or that same intensity node on the brightness of a light acting acting accordingly?

I know these are far-fetched scenarios, but I'm curious as to whether this principle does actually play out anywhere in the wacky world that is Maya?


ps. hope nobody minds the bump :S

# 17 26-03-2011 , 11:12 PM
EduSciVis-er
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: Toronto
Posts: 3,374
Hmm... sorta. You can get some pretty interesting effects by connecting nodes in new ways. Now it sounds like you're confusing nodes and attributes a bit. Intensity is an attribute of a light's shape node, so it's integral to lights, however, you could connect nodes via Intensity and get some interesting intensities or such. It really depends on the nodes and attributes, but theoretically I think you could plug some fog into a certain light attribute and get something.

Bottom line is yes, by all means use nodes beyond what they were intended to do originally. I'm working through the Special Effects Handbook by Eric Keller and he does that a fair bit, using an ambient occlusion node to generate different effects etc.

# 18 26-03-2011 , 11:22 PM
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Join Date: Oct 2010
Posts: 233
ok, so there is a little bit of alchemy going on there ;]

i'll keep plugging (no pun intended) away at Maya, and I'll remember to take a look at mr. Keller's work when I'm ready for the next dimension! thanks

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