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About This Course

Introduction to Maya - Modeling Fundamentals Vol 1

This course will look at the fundamentals of modeling in Maya with an emphasis on creating good topology. We'll look at what makes a good model in Maya and why objects are modeled in the way they are. We'll start from a variety of primitive shapes and curves to create several Lego blocks. Starting out simply, we then progress to the more complex bricks. You'll learn how to smooth objects, how to maintain quaded geometry, why edge flow is important, how to cut holes in complex surfaces and how to fully merge different objects together.

Modeling something badly in Maya is not hard. Doing it in a way that the objects you produce are useful for animation, simulation, and rendering is a lot more complicated. There is a lot more to creating a model in Maya than getting something that looks good in the viewport, and in this course we'll try and show you why, and how to avoid the pitfalls.

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Lesson breakdown

Below you can find a breakdown for each individual lesson in this course

  • Lesson Pack 01 0. Intro Video
  • Lesson Pack 01 1. Maya A basic overview
  • Lesson Pack 01 2. Smoothing edges and topology basics
  • Lesson Pack 01 3. Using photographic reference, box modeling and merging primitive objects
  • Lesson Pack 02 4. A look at smoothing and the impact of face normals
  • Lesson Pack 02 5. Reusing existing geometry and cutting shapes while maintaining quaded geometry
  • Lesson Pack 02 6. Working on quarter of a model and using cutting guides to speed up modeling
  • Lesson Pack 03 7. Retopologize to optimize edge flow
  • Lesson Pack 03 8. Using curves to create more complex shapes
  • Lesson Pack 03 9. Merging complex objects into one whole piece
  • Lesson Pack 04 10. Creating and looking at the topology of a curved Lego brick, starting from a poly plane
  • Lesson Pack 04 11. Adding primitives to existing bricks while maintaining good topology
  • Lesson Pack 04 12. Creating the wheels for the car
  • Lesson Pack 05 13. Symmetry and scaling
  • Lesson Pack 05 14. Putting it all together and building the car

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