The Workspace

Layouts

1. Change your view layouts
   • – STAGE || Panels > Layouts > (Single Pane, Two Panes, etc)

View Panels

1. Change the content of your view panel
   • – STAGE || Panels > (Orthographic, Perspective)
   • 

View Tools

1. Tumble view in Perspective View
   • – Tumble in perspective: ALT + LMB CLICK DRAG
   • – You can tumble in an orthographic tool by unlocking the tumble tool which is locked by default.
     • STAGE || View > Camera Tools > Tumble Tool □
     • To reset the view go to STAGE || View > Default view

View Cube

1. Turn the cube on
   • – MAIN || Settings/Preferences > Preferences
     • Categories > View Cube > Show the Cube [checked]
     • Once you have this checked you can hide and show the cube by STAGE || Show > Manipulators
     • 

 

Other Panel Types

1. Change the stage’s content.
   • – go to STAGE || Panels > Panels
   • 

Saved Layouts. Save your stage layouts

1. Add a new layout of your own.
   • – STAGE || Panel > Saved Layouts > Edit Layouts
   • (a pop-up window will appear)
2. Add a new layout to the list
   • – Panels pop-up window || Layouts (tab) > New Layout
   • – Select and edit the layouts name
   • – [ENTER]
3. Edit the configuration of your saved layout
   • – Panels pop-up window || Layouts (tab) > Edit Layouts
   • – Use the Configurations tab / Contents tab to edit your layout

 

Object Display Options.

Choose the display you want for your geometry thru STAGE || Display > Choose One

1. Change your panel display
   • – Click on a panel to make it active
   • – Press:
     • Wireframe : 4
     • Smooth shaded : 5

Texturing and lighting

1. Hardware texturing
   • Allows you to see textures and lighting in a scene.
   • – Build a shader that uses textures. Apply it to an object.
   • – Turn on Hardware Texturing : 6
2. Display different textures
   • – Select the material that is assigned to your object
   • – Attribute Editor || Hardware texturing > Textured Channel > Choose your channel
   • – Also adjust Texture resolution
3. Hardware Lighting to light your scene
   • – Add a light to your scene
   • – STAGE || Lighting > Choose one
   • – Turn on All Lighting and texturing: 7
   • 

High Quality Rendering

When High Quality Rendering is on, lets you see a good representation of your scene without rendering it.

1. Turn on High Quality Rendering
   • STAGE || Renderer > High Quality Rendering [checked]

Display Smoothness

1. Change NURBS smoothness
   • – MAIN || Display > NURBS > Rough/Smooth/Med
   • OR…
   • Rough: 1
   • Medium: 2
   • Fine: 3

   Note: To speed up camera movement for a heavy NURBS scene go to
   – WINDOWS || Settings/Preferences > Preferences
   – In the pop-up: Display > Fast Interaction [click]
   
   

 

Smooth Mesh Preview for polygons

1. Change polygons smoothness with hotkeys
   • – Polygonal Display: 1
   • – Polygon cage and smooth preview: 2
   • – Smooth Preview only: 3

Show Menu

1. List item you can hide to make modifying easier.
   

UI Preferences

1. Reduce the UI to only view panels and menus
   • – MAIN || Display > UI Elements > Hide all UI Elements
2. Return to a full UI
   • – MAIN || Display > UI Elements > Show all UI Elements

Menus

1. Tear off a menu.
   • – Open a desired menu, then select the double line at the top.
   • (this opens a new window)
     

 Menu Sets

• There are five menu sets in  Maya

1. Choose one of the 5 menu sets in the upper left corner.
   • 
2. Choose a menu using hotkeys.
   • Help: F1
   • Animation: F2
   • Polygons: F3
   • Surfaces: F4
   • Dynamics: F5
   • Rendering: F6

Shelves

Another way of accessing tools and actions is by creating shelves

1. Add a menu shelf. Create a shelf.
   • – Press CTRL + SHFT + (select item)
   • Item will appear on the active shelf.
2. Edit the shelf contents and tabs
   • – MAIN || Window > Settings/Preferences > Shelf Editor
   • OR…
   • – Select shelf Editor from the arrow left of the shelf
   • 
3. Remove a menu item from the shelf. Remove tool from shelf.
   • – MMB + DRAG the icon to the trash icon
   • 

Status Line

• Status line provides feedback on settings that effect the way the tools behave.
• INFO DISPLAYED
  • – Current Menu Set
  • – Icons that allow you to create a new scene, open a scene, or save a scene
  • – The selection mode and selectable items
  • – The snap modes
  • – display history of selected items (visible by pressing the input and output buttons)
  • – Construction history flag

1. Collapse part of the shelf buttons.
   • – Press small handle bar next to the button set.
   • 

Hotbox

1. Access the hotbox
   • – Press and hold the spacebar

Hotbox marking menus

1. Access the center marking menu
   • – Press SPACEBAR.
   • – CLICK + DRAG in the center area
   • 
2. Access the edge marking menus in the Hotbox
   • – Press SPACEBAR
   • – CLICK + DRAG in the north, south, east, west quadrants.
   • 

Customizing the HotBox

1. Customize the hotbox
   • – Use the Hotbox Controls
   • Or..
   • – Choose an option from the Hotbox Styles
   • – To get back your hotbox to the way it first appeared,
   • SPACEBAR > Hotbox Controls > Show All
   • 

Tool Manipulators

On the left of your screen are the select and transform tools.

1. QWERTY
   • Last tool used: Y
   • 

Universal Manipulator

Let’s you transform geometry in translation, rotation, or scaling.

1. Using the universal manipulator tool
   • – MAIN || Modify > Transformation Tools > Universal Manipulator
   • Or..
   • – Click on the icon
   • 
   • – Click on any of the manipulators and a numeric value will pop-up.
   • 

Soft Modification Tool

Let’s you push and pull geometry as a sculptor.

• -MAIN || Window > Settings/Preferences > Preferences > Settings > Selection > Click Drag Select, you can simply select the Soft Modification Tool, and click-drag on the object to modify it.

Transform Manipulators

• – There are three manipulators. Scale | Rotate | Move
• – Each axis corresponds to a color RGB that corresponds to XYZ
• 

1. Use a transform manipulator in a view plane
   • – CLICK + DRAG on the center of the manipulator to move on all axes
2. Constrain a manipulator along one axis
   • – CLICK + DRAG on one of the manipulator handles
3. Constrain along 2 axes
   • – CTRL + CLICK + DRAG on axis aligned with desired plane of motion

Using Mouse Buttons

• Select Objects: LMB
• Select multiple objects: CLICK + DRAG a marquee box
• Add objects to selection: CTRL + SHIFT, then click on object
• Manipulate objects directly: CLICK + DRAG on a manipulator handle
• Manipulate objects indirectly: Activate a manipulator handle. MMB + DRAG

 

Shift Gesture

1. Change axis focus using hotkeys.
   • – Move Tool: w
   • – Rotate: e
   • – Scale: r
2. Change axis focus using SHIFT key
   • Hold SHIFT key then MMB + DRAG in the direction of the desired axis

Set Pivot

1. Change your pivot location
   • – Select a manipulator
   • – Press [INSERT KEY].
   • – Manipulator will change and click and drag it to your desired location.
   • – Press [INSERT KEY] to return to normal
   • Or…
   • – HOLD “D” and click drag the pivot manipulator to a new location

Channel Box

• – Gives you access to the objects transform node and input nodes.
• – If you have multiple nodes selected then your changes will be affected to every node.
• – Modify what channels are displayed in the Channel Box
  • MAIN || Window > General Editors > Channel Control
  • 

Channel Box and  Manipulators

1. Default manipulator settings in Channel Box
   • – Select a channel, then MMB + CLICK DRAG in open stage or CLICK + DRAG on the manipulator
2. No- Manipulator Setting
   •  
3. No Visual manipulator Setting
   • 
     
     • – Speed of movement
     • 
     • – Rate of movement
     • 

Attribute Editor

• Used for all nodes (i.e. shaders, textures, surfaces, lattices, Render settings, etc.)

1. Open the Attribute Editor window
   • – Select a object
   • – MAIN || Window > Attribute Editor
   • Or..
   • – MAIN || Display > UI Elements > Attribute Editor
   • Or..
   • – Toggle between Channel/Attribute editor: CTRL + a

Numeric Input

• Add specific values to your transformations
• 

1. Enter absolute values
   • – Enter values and press enter. Object will be modified based on 0,0 coordinates
2. Enter relative values
   • – Choose relative transform from the drop down
   • – Enter values and press Return. Objects will be modified based on it’s current location.

Selection Modes

• 3 types of selection modes. Hierarchy | Object | Component
• 

Object Mode

• – Let’s you perform selections based on object type.
• – You can access more detailed options that are listed when you RMB over the icons
• 
  
• – Maya gives priority to different object types when selecting. i.e. joints are selected before surfaces
  • You can change the priority by MAIN || Window > Settings/Preferences
  • Pop-Up Window || Selection > Pick Chooser
  • 

Component Mode

• Allows access various components such as control vertices, isoparms, etc
• 
• – TOGGLE COMPONENT MODE / OBJECT MODE: F8

RMB Select

• Another way to access components is b RMB over the object that brings up a menu.
• 

Combine Select Modes

• Select CVs that are not visible. MAIN || Display > NURBS > CVs

Tools and Actions

• Y: represents the last tool used from the QWERTY shortcuts

1. As tool option
   • – Pick a menu item and go to options
   • – Under Edit menu, select As Tool
2. Return to the last tool used
   • – Press the y key

Actions

• Actions follow a selection-action paradigm. For instance loft. When you choose loft, you must select to components for the action to take place

1. Find out selection requirements of an action
   • – Move cursor over a menu item
   •  ex:
   • – Notice what appears in the Status line
   • 
   • – Loft requires curves, isoparms or curves
2. Complete the action
   • – when the popup window appears, click APPLY to initiate the action

2D Fillet as an action. A good example of a typical action

• – As with actions, you need to understand what the tool needs to be executed.

1. Draw two curves
   • – Select MAIN || Create > CV Curve Tool
   • – Place several points for one curve
   • – Press [ENTER] to complete
   •  Press y key to return to the curve tool
   • – Draw a second curve that crosses the first
   • – Press [ENTER] to complete
2. Find out 2D fillet requirements
   • – Move cursor over SURFACES || Edit curves > Curve Fillet
   • – Notice the help line says “Select curve parameter points”
3. Pick the first curve point
   • – Click on the first curve with RMB
   • – Pick Curve Point from the selection marking menu
   • – Click on the curve to place the point on the side you want to keep
4. Pick the second curve point
   • – Click on the second curve point from the selection marking menu
   • – Press SHFT and click on the curve to the place the point on the side of the curve you want to keep.
   • 
5. Fillet the curves
   • – Select SURFACES || Edit Curves > Curve Fillet []
   • 
   • – Turn trim option ON
   • – Click on the [FILLET] button
   • 

2D Fillet as a Tool

1. Draw two curves
2. Change curve fillet to tool
   • – SURFACE || Edit Curves > Curve Fillet []
   • – Curve Fillet Window || Edit > As Tool
     
     • Set Trim to ON
     • Press [FILLET TOOL]
3. Pick the first curve
   • – Click LMB on first curve
4. Pick the second curve
   • – click with the LMB on the second curve