Lesson one - 1/3

Lesson phase one: Maya 3D basics

For the first lesson Maya 3D was introduced to the class. A tutorial on the basics of Maya 3D and construction of a simple object/scene was created afterwards. It is imperative in the lesson that the short cuts are memorized, for in the profession chances of employment are decreased due to lack of professionalism in knowing how to navigate software.

W Key: Move tool

R Key: Scale tool

E Key: Rotation tool

Red – X axis

Green – Y axis

Blue – Z axis

Yellow – Axis you have selected

To freely navigate around the perspective and object, hold Alt + Left mouse button

To pan across the object, hold Alt + Scroll button

To zoom in and out of object/perspective, hold Alt + Right mouse button

To switch between Object mode and Component mode, press F8

The small red pinpoints on the corners of the shape are Vertex points. Clicking on these will allow the user to manipulate the small area of shape, using W, E and R.

To select and manipulate other areas such as the edge or face of the shape, hover over the shape holding the right mouse click button, a menu will appear, from there the are of the shape may be selected.

For example, the Face menu will allow you to move and select any of the shapes face sides, rather than all corners.

Pressing the Space bar key will allow user to look at the object from all viewpoints, to maximize into one particular viewpoint, just hover the cursor over the area and press the Space bar key again.

After learning the basics of Maya 3D, the user should be capable of creating basic shapes. In the next post the process of creating a table and chairs will be shown.