Maya 2020 fundamentals - modelling the real world
Get halfway through a model and find it's an unworkable mess? Can't add edge loops where you need them? Can't subdivide a mesh properly? If any of this sounds familiar check this course out.
# 91 16-12-2011 , 12:05 AM
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Yea for the particle stuff I suggest you concentrate on something else and take things slowly. If it was me I would emit a pmatterwave on a freeze node within TP and then have the emitter produce different scale and rotation values of sprites. Honestly the best way for me to do it is like I said before with Particular in AE. Problem is that C4D is the only app that talks directly with AE and can roundtrip. It is a beautiful thing...

So this is my project to tackle at the moment. should be able to have the whole thing modeled in a few hours. A little FA-18 that I can add to the collection. I love how people complain about C4D modeling and how it sucks. How so? It has all of the tools of the other packages. I think it is just that most suck at C4D instead...

Then there has to be another way to make dust if not with particles. Because I'm pretty sure at least the "What do I build comets out of?" question seems to have been answered by particles, as I managed to emit a comet tail, just needs some fixes.

Alternatively, I could just make cloud textures and play with transparency and make a space dust effect in the distance. But particles seem to be pretty fun, as they make clouds and I can control the particle size, just cannot freeze them (yet).

I was also thinking of working on yet another project (I bet some people here are like "Oh no!!!" after reading this). I want to re-build that flying saucer I made on 3ds max, only that I'll have to figure out a way to add a lot of gadgets in it (such as ability to turn into some kind of crab machine, take out laser guns, fire abduction beam and have 16 mobile cameras on top). Easier said than done though.

# 92 16-12-2011 , 05:46 AM
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So I fell asleep and then watched Sportscenter to get the scoop on the Bears WR who got busted and the Chris Paul trade to the Clippers. Not exactly what I would call productive. Well, got the hydraulics and wheels put in. Modeled a missile and will get on this tomorrow...

Kinda disappointed in myself for not finishing this tonight...

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Last edited by Chavfister; 16-12-2011 at 10:07 PM.
# 93 17-12-2011 , 12:03 AM
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Gotta sort out that wing connection. Hmmmm, lemme think about that....

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# 94 17-12-2011 , 10:19 AM
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and the nose.....

J

# 95 17-12-2011 , 06:51 PM
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and the nose.....

J

Yea def needs more geo and to have the verts pulled around. The quads are stretched far too much. Thanks for the critique. Just practicing at the moment with all of this stuff. Lots of practice and lots of failure. But progress nonetheless...

best

Collin

# 96 05-01-2012 , 08:47 PM
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So uplifting. Create, create, create. Artistry should be viewed as a skill and not a gift. Practice and persistence is what breeds the insightful and great artist. Never give up and continue to create that volume of work. What is it again, 10,000 hours?

Ira Glass on Storytelling on Vimeo

# 97 05-01-2012 , 09:35 PM
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So uplifting. Create, create, create. Artistry should be viewed as a skill and not a gift. Practice and persistence is what breeds the insightful and great artist. Never give up and continue to create that volume of work. What is it again, 10,000 hours?

[]

But what about the people who just can't figure out what to do such as a friend of mine, who gave up because:
1) He hasn't got many ideas.
2) It bores him to even learn what the tools do.

Also, aren't artists those who like what they are doing? What about those who just start to not like it because of difficulty?

In my case, I'm trying to do all that I need to do in order to make something look good, but there is something that I can barely leap over: time. This causes me to want to find ways around the normal road, which often makes me think it might not be a good idea. Not that I know if it is or not a good idea.
The first thing that I look at when I do something is time. Do I have enough time to render it? If I don't, I seek another way around it to speed up stuff but also keep a somewhat good (but not perfect) aspect of the scene. Is that a bad thing?

# 98 05-01-2012 , 09:43 PM
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To true Chavfister
I dont consider myself a artist but to get better at say modelling you do need to put the hours in and making mistakes can be as important as getting it right first time so long as you learn from it............dave

Edit:SilverFeather if your freind could not get on with maya its not for him thats life




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Last edited by daverave; 05-01-2012 at 09:49 PM.
# 99 05-01-2012 , 10:01 PM
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Both of your examples of your friend constitute a failure in persistence. You can be the most amazing guy at one thing and not be driven through persistence. Without that drive to find inspiration or inspire yourself through experience you will just give up. Giving up and not continuing on is the easy way out. That barrier is what breeds creativity.

There was once a quote by Henry Ford about someone saying that "The customer is always right." To which Henry Ford responded, "If the customer is always right they would still be riding horses." I take that comment to heart. That I must push myself to see things differently. Not live in the same place, go to work in the same way year by year. Be homeless, but open to experiences. Just live life and not try to control it...

I suggest you read the documentation that comes with maya and investigate the mental ray site that Jay has posted in a previous thread.

You mention the idea of "cheating" in your scenes. Different paths. There is no one right way in 3D. But you must make yourself aware of the many ways to do things. Just keep at it and you will eventually know your way around and how to construct and execute things on the fly. Every app is the same nowadays. That is how I am able to comment on here about certain things. The relatability of the knowledge I hold within C4D helps. Don't give up. I am 27 and figure I have another 50 years to figure this shit out. Who knows what I will be capable of by then. But chipping away for 50 years will procure something of value...


Last edited by Chavfister; 05-01-2012 at 10:45 PM.
# 100 05-01-2012 , 10:43 PM
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Both of your examples of your friend constitute a failure in persistence. You can be the most amazing guy at one thing and not be driven through persistence. Without that drive to find inspiration or inspire yourself through experience you will just give up. Giving up and not continuing on is the easy way out. That barrier is what breeds creativity.

There was once a quote by Henry Ford about someone saying that "The customer is always right." To which Henry Ford respond, "If the customer is always right they would still be riding horses." I take that comment to heart. That I must push myself to see things differently. Not live in the same place, go to work in the same way year by year. Be homeless, but open to experiences. Just live life and not try to control it...

I suggest you read the documentation that comes with maya and investigate the mental ray site that Jay has posted in a previous thread.

You mention the idea of "cheating" in your scenes. Different paths. There is no one right way in 3D. But you must make yourself aware of the many ways to do things. Just keep at it and you will eventually know your way around and how to construct and execute things on the fly. Every app is the same nowadays. That is how I am able to comment on here about certain things. The relatability of the knowledge I hold within C4D helps. Don't give up. I am 27 and figure I have another 50 years to figure this shit out. Who knows what I will be capable of by then. But chipping away for 50 years will procure something of value...

Hmm, got to search that MR site, could explain more about all those features I've seen in the render options. In case I can't find it, could you tell me in what thread, please?

So it's not cheating? It is a path that can be taken even if it's not done the way others do it? Won't that cause troubles later on?
One thing I've learned on this website was about making models with only quads and not tris and ngons. Before that, I used to model stuff fast but incorrectly and the results were not really good. That was the easy way but was proven to not be good for what I had intended: making a model that will be animated.
(I haven't resumed the work on that character yet, but the space scene I'm working on is also required for that movie project I'm working on, too bad it's only a credits scene).


Last edited by SilverFeather; 05-01-2012 at 10:46 PM.
# 101 06-01-2012 , 12:54 AM
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# 102 06-01-2012 , 01:18 AM
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https://www.mymentalray.com/

Thanks. Now if only I knew what I should be looking for though... I'd go for the FAQ of MR first. But I don't know what else to study after that.
If I'd make a list of things I need to study, it would definitely include "How to fix crashes of MR during rendering and batch rendering". Lol.
(I fixed that but I forgot what exactly I did to cause the crashes in the first place.)


Last edited by SilverFeather; 06-01-2012 at 01:23 AM.
# 103 06-01-2012 , 02:09 AM
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Spot on Chav...so true. As an example Silverfeather...I have 2 sons (of 5 kids LOL)...now the 13 year old is 'smart' and everyone praises him for his achievments...and rightly so. Now the 12 year old is considered a little slow on the uptake. I defend him quite often as I have said to him, stop quitting when it gets hard! thats your problem. As soon as a task gets difficult he bombs....where as the older buy keeps on keeping on...so in a sense he isnt smarter, just tries harder.

NOw take learning how to swim...something MOST Aussies do from birth...our family does. Now boy 2 COULDNT swim..and sat at the edge of the pool for a month...watching both his older AND younger brother terrorising the pool. Now it took me about a week, fighting with him, him crying his eyes out because he was frightened...BUT I didnt let him give up this time...as it is an important part of being an Aussie to be able to swim.

In essence your friend is like my son...they have to learn to just persevere and try to get a hold of it. Like Chav and dave...I think I can model ok, but you will never stop learning and there are, as Chav said, so many different ways to skin the Maya cat.

Good luck mate

bullet


bullet1968

"A Darkness at Sethanon", a book I aspire to model some of the charcters and scenes
# 104 06-01-2012 , 12:10 PM
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Spot on Chav...so true. As an example Silverfeather...I have 2 sons (of 5 kids LOL)...now the 13 year old is 'smart' and everyone praises him for his achievments...and rightly so. Now the 12 year old is considered a little slow on the uptake. I defend him quite often as I have said to him, stop quitting when it gets hard! thats your problem. As soon as a task gets difficult he bombs....where as the older buy keeps on keeping on...so in a sense he isnt smarter, just tries harder.

NOw take learning how to swim...something MOST Aussies do from birth...our family does. Now boy 2 COULDNT swim..and sat at the edge of the pool for a month...watching both his older AND younger brother terrorising the pool. Now it took me about a week, fighting with him, him crying his eyes out because he was frightened...BUT I didnt let him give up this time...as it is an important part of being an Aussie to be able to swim.

In essence your friend is like my son...they have to learn to just persevere and try to get a hold of it. Like Chav and dave...I think I can model ok, but you will never stop learning and there are, as Chav said, so many different ways to skin the Maya cat.

Good luck mate

bullet

Well, I guess it just wasn't his thing. At first he was curious about what stuff does, he likes 3D stuff / movies, but he likes his job better where he is working (which doesn't involve anything with computers).
I kind of find this like me checking out what it is like to be a constructor while I like beautiful houses but then, when I notice it has nothing that I'd like to do, I'd quit and continue on working with 3D. (Ok, except for the designing part involved in construction, but I was referring to actually building a house)

And yes, I understand what you mean with the example above, but his case is more like feeling like he's good at one thing and doesn't really feel like doing something just to achieve something else he admires.

And swimming: I never learned, but I'd try on the 1st occasion. When I was a 5 year old, I sat in the pool and just floated there (with no floating stuff), but my parents never told me about swimming. Now I want to learn to swim but have no pool. :|


Last edited by SilverFeather; 06-01-2012 at 12:16 PM.
# 105 06-01-2012 , 10:54 PM
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Well pity him....thats sad..but his choice.

Dont need a pool, swim in the ocean man...well I wouldnt where I live...too many White Pointer sharks these days.

Im a Surveyor...and getting more heavily involved in 3D for construction...mainly machine control via a robot or GPS...painful stuff and I hate it...but then I love tinkering with 3D. A job doing 3D would e nice but doesnt pay 1/3 of what I get as Surveyor...needs outweigh wants LOL.

Cheers bullet


bullet1968

"A Darkness at Sethanon", a book I aspire to model some of the charcters and scenes
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