Category: Maya

week 5: For this week we used the Quad draw tool to draw polygons over an already existing face we got from Nick, We combined this tool with the live-action surface option. For this class, we focussed on the orbital structure around the eyes and the mouth and how to connect the different faces we created to each other. The images above show this technique we learned during the class, the blue polygons are the ones I created using these tools. The end product of the use of the quad draw tool is also shown in the images above. You see a little difference from the head we used to draw on. I completed the whole blue polygons on one side of the face and then mirrored them over the X-as to get a symmetrical face.

Week 6: We continued working on the face we modeled the week before, we pulled and smoothed parts of the face so I could make it look more like the way I wanted it to look. After this we got introduced to the shape editor tool, this tool helped us create different expressions for our modeled face so it would be able to for example frown or look happy. If you look you can see we used this tool to open the eyes of our face. A thing we also added this week is the eyes, since we are opening the eyelids with the blend shapes we needed eyes for in his eye sockets otherwise it would be hull on the inside.

For this term we have to create a hot air balloon festival for our nuke project, this project combines with our Maya course because here we had to create a hot air balloon that would fit in our own made hot air balloon festival. so in our Maya class, we started to work on our hot air balloon. we did this for 2 weeks with the knowledge we got from the other things we already created. Below you see the different parts of the hot air balloon created during the classes.

For the balloon and the ropes, we used the spline tool that we learned during the class we made the wine glasses. for the balloon, it is quite the same process as the wineglass itself. You create the shape that you want and then resolve around this. after you finish this shape you add some detail so you get the right balloon shape for your hot air balloon. For the ropes, it is a little bit more complex, yet you still need the spline tool to create the basic starter’s shape. At the top and the bottom of the rope, I added a loop and a few tubes to get a system that would be holding the balloon to the basket.

For the bottom part of the hot air balloon, we needed a basket that is connected to the balloon, this was quite a simple process with mainly cylinders connecting to some pipes that hold the basket together. and we added a coil with a gas tank for the realism of the hot air balloon, these were both cylinders where I pulled some edges and pushes some edges to create some extra texture. And we used the bend tool to create pipes going from the gas tank to the coil.

For the hot air balloon we created during class I used a lot of basic textures to create the finishing look of the hot air balloon. Looking back on my hot air balloon I feel like it is missing a lot, it looks like a hot air balloon but it is really basic in my opinion. I worked really hard and fast on this balloon to keep track of the classes and be able to use a balloon for our nuke project. But I feel like I could do way better, so this is exactly what I am going to do. with all the knowledge I got I am going to redesign a hot air balloon and start from the beginning to create this balloon. You will see this in a later update on the blog.

In week 3 we also first did a test for wineglasses. We did this so we knew how to work with the spline tool for the hot air balloon.

This week we started by making a new kind of object. We had to create wine glasses and a wine bottle, we did this so we could also figure out how to use the spline tool in Maya, the spline tool is a tool that can be used to create an outline of an object that u want to create. This object will need to be the same on all sides because when you will resolve around the spline tool it will create something like for example a glass.

As an end result, I got these 2 glasses with a wine bottle on a table. We also looked for a background view so that when you would render out the product the light and the shadows would all fall into the correct places. looking back at the glasses that I made I think they came out very good. The texture put over it really gives it a wine glasses feeling to it. Yet again if I look at the shape and the proportions I think I could have paid a little bit more eye to detail to make it more realistic.

We also got introduced to the hot air balloon we have to make. This is a project we had to start to combine with our nuke classes. Everybody has to make their own hot air balloon for their hot air balloon festival in their nuke file. We learned a few things over the last 3 weeks to get a good start on our hot air balloon. for example, the glasses we made had the spline tool in them that we can use for the ropes on our hot air balloon.

This week was for me my first Maya class on sight, the class started with making something from scratch. but this time something have we used more different components. So Nick came up with the idea of doing a lego man for this week’s class. I had a lot of struggles during this class since I just really started with using Maya, I have used Maya once before but I normally used C4D so I was used to the structure of that software. Nick is a very good teacher but sometimes goes quite a bit to fast for me, also because I’m new to Maya. I can imagine if you are used to Maya it would be normal to follow along but for me it went quite fast.

Aside from the class, we learned a few different elements in this class. Doing a lego man makes you work with different shapes, it learns you how to visualise the right shape for a different piece of your model. Also, did we get this extra element where we had to bend the arm so it would fit like a normal lego man character. In this build, we got 5 different components since the legs and the arms only need to be mirrored. As for the other components you have the head, the body, and the part that goes in between the legs.

[Images of my process in Maya]

For the end result you can look at the images just below, I found an image of a lego man’s face that I have also added to my work. Looking back at my work I think I did quite well in keeping track of how to model the different parts and putting them together. But if I look at my lego man now I clearly see that it is very out of proportion compared to a normal lego man. If I would have to do it over again I would redo the scaling on the different parts so it would be more in the right proportions

This week I was still having problems with my visa, Due to this I was not able to fully apply to the course and had 3 days of delay. For this, I had to later refollow this class and do the assignment everybody did. For this weeks class we started a few basics of the Maya class. To start we had to make a cyber truck.

As shown below I did a simple Tesla truck to recreate the class we did during this week. I worked with a simple cube and cylinder and added this together to make my final product.