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.
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04-08-2006
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Of all the things to worry about.
How many of you are using 64 bit machines to gain any advantage in that area. Im not for sure. It cool if you are a production house at it hammer and tongs but most guys here arent.
As great as Maya is, this version is just a number with odds and sods in it, I cannot justify the upgrade yet.
Jay
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EDIT: At the same time I should say it's good that software developers are on the edge and supporting new technology. It only means that by the time the technology itself is mature enough, the software will be up to the par as well...
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04-08-2006
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I agree...
_Jay
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05-08-2006
, 12:42 PM
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The reason that vector render is not in maya i heared was because it's licensed from erain and they don't have 64 bit code or something like that
I suppose when Vista will be out every developer will have to go 64 bit way.. only thing im still missing is a proper firewall but its not really a major issue i just use windows firewall and a router. And a good virus scanner
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14-08-2006
, 10:45 AM
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- now it´s a mesh).first thing which came to my mind is the programmers effort of making maya a maxish program. not from the interface or funtionality (alltho some max operations have been integrated) - how can I say? yet it is very intuitive -
the worst and most horrible thing I noticed while trying to get used to 3dsmax is the selection thing. it is definitely impossible to model or do anything freehand like in maya. whenever trying to select an object in max - 9 out of 10 times you select something completely different and in the same second - move it away [undo]. this is so boring. (use the selection floater, which is a outliner kind of thing). BUT, unlike in maya where you can switch very fast between objects or obj´s component levels, in max even for people who work with 3ds for over 10 years now they have the same problem like I after 1 month have. 9 out of 10 times they screw up their objects [undo]. long words, short meaning: something with maya selecting things has changed. I can´t pinpoint it by now, but I had problems with converting from component level to object. also sometimes I picked objects behind the object I wanted to select. that is so not cool and makes me believe that the one big error of max (which every maxUser lives with ever since) - the stupid behavior of selection is not going to be fixed on max-side. instead of I fear, its being transfered to maya, which would be absolutely not cool.
next thing is the said memory boost. shortly I had to transfer a geometry containig of 400k polys to max. moving that geo in maya7 no prob. moving in max with 1 frame per 2 seconds. everybody knows, max has an old and weak core for handling high number of polys. maya8 now is computing those 400k slower than maya7 - so, where is the improvement of here?
the told fix or enhencement of fbx-exporter.. there are some more options now, but - max used to need 5-10 minutes to import that heavy geometry exported from maya7. exported from maya8 max crashes after 5 seconds. 10 times after another.
there is one thing I really wish to see. getting the best things out of both programs. but right now I feel like there´s a masterplan to integrate some serious bugs from 3ds into maya. max has so much cool functionality which is overridden by a stupid interface. maya has the best interface ever, but could sure use quite something borrowed from autodesk´s 3dsmax. I hope there is no plan to screw all up and have MAX9 or 10 in the end but no maya. 3dsMaya would be cool.
everything starts and ends in the right place at the right time.
Last edited by Falott; 14-08-2006 at 10:48 AM.
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18-08-2006
, 05:06 AM
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lol ya 3ds maya... but seems improbably. i really hope though they're not going to sabotage maya else i'd send them a number of complaints...Originally posted by Falott
I´m working with maya8 for some very few days now. there haven´t been much substantial changes really since version 7 as mentioned. the whole menu has been mingled and same + some added operations are to be found in renamed menus now. (polygons are gone
first thing which came to my mind is the programmers effort of making maya a maxish program. not from the interface or funtionality (alltho some max operations have been integrated) - how can I say? yet it is very intuitive -
the worst and most horrible thing I noticed while trying to get used to 3dsmax is the selection thing. it is definitely impossible to model or do anything freehand like in maya. whenever trying to select an object in max - 9 out of 10 times you select something completely different and in the same second - move it away [undo]. this is so boring. (use the selection floater, which is a outliner kind of thing). BUT, unlike in maya where you can switch very fast between objects or obj´s component levels, in max even for people who work with 3ds for over 10 years now they have the same problem like I after 1 month have. 9 out of 10 times they screw up their objects [undo]. long words, short meaning: something with maya selecting things has changed. I can´t pinpoint it by now, but I had problems with converting from component level to object. also sometimes I picked objects behind the object I wanted to select. that is so not cool and makes me believe that the one big error of max (which every maxUser lives with ever since) - the stupid behavior of selection is not going to be fixed on max-side. instead of I fear, its being transfered to maya, which would be absolutely not cool.
next thing is the said memory boost. shortly I had to transfer a geometry containig of 400k polys to max. moving that geo in maya7 no prob. moving in max with 1 frame per 2 seconds. everybody knows, max has an old and weak core for handling high number of polys. maya8 now is computing those 400k slower than maya7 - so, where is the improvement of here?
the told fix or enhencement of fbx-exporter.. there are some more options now, but - max used to need 5-10 minutes to import that heavy geometry exported from maya7. exported from maya8 max crashes after 5 seconds. 10 times after another.
there is one thing I really wish to see. getting the best things out of both programs. but right now I feel like there´s a masterplan to integrate some serious bugs from 3ds into maya. max has so much cool functionality which is overridden by a stupid interface. maya has the best interface ever, but could sure use quite something borrowed from autodesk´s 3dsmax. I hope there is no plan to screw all up and have MAX9 or 10 in the end but no maya. 3dsMaya would be cool.
~
The Computer Is A Moron~
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20-08-2006
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23-08-2006
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I had a look at the movies, and indeed: this is really mindblowing.Maya 8, hhmmm!! waste of time, not alot really to be had there to want to make me upgrade.
But Zbrush 2.5, that makes up for it!! Check out the movies here and watch and wonder why Autodesk bothered with their effort...
https://www.pixolator.com/zbc/showth...2471#post292471
Plus us dudes who bought Zbrush 2.0 get a free upgrade, I do believe thats 2 FREE upgrades in 3 months for me Mwhahahahahaha
As I'm just peeking around the corner of the 3D world, played a bit in PLE and now having Maya8 at work, I wondered if I should invest my time eighther in Maya (and in a couple of months into Zbrush) or directly into Zbrush?
As I understand it its a 2,5 and 3d modeler with WAY more capabilities in modeling; the personalisator brush that sculps your mesh; the layer functions; the mesh extractor; the painting onto polygons in full 3d etc etc.
Or is Maya and 3D SMax always going to be used in combination with a program like Zbrush? Is that because otherwise the whole Maya community has to learn a different modelling program?
The more I get into the world of 3d; the more options there are to be had; choices to be made. The reason for our company bying Maya8 (as a production company with a small post-production cell) was because of the incredibly good reputation it has in the post-production community.
But when I see the guys in those Zbrush movies; the speed, ease and flexability they are working with that program......OMFG!!!!
So, Jay can you direct me a bit in that?
Thx
Marc
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Always up for a chat !
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23-08-2006
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With maya for rigging, animation, dynamics, and Z brush for adding textures and detailing for models, and the subsequent maps that can be produced.
If you have a look on the zbrush forums in the tutorials section you can see how the maya/Zbrush pipeline works and the benifits of using both together.
Hope this makes some sense
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26-08-2006
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. You could, for instance, model a nice low res model of, say, a cow or something (I dunno!), then model the high res version. You could then quickly UV the low res, then transfer the UV's to the high res for a quick start to doing some real nice UV's for the high res. Or, you could model say one version of a character or animal and UV it, then you may be required to create different versions of the character from the initial one. Now you need not be restricted by keeping point order and what not, as you can easily transfer the same UV's between the different characters. I personally think that this is really useful (although this is really the only worthwhile update!!)
cut_the_crab - I would personally recommend investing time in Maya alongside Zbrush, Zbrush is not a 3D modelling program (it is effectively a canvas, it uses depth information, you are never really viewing a 3D object - I think anyway, I'm still learning). From personal experience in the industry (I'm actually beginning my journey into Z now and I'm learning from some amazing people) Z is used to help aid the modelling process only, with the majority of the work still being done in Maya. I've quite often seen the maps produced in Z still having to go through a rigorous photoshop process to make them 100%.
LisaG
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26-08-2006
, 05:52 PM
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How are you? its been a while...
Yeah, LOL I actually saw that feature with the transfer options, after my previous comment (turns away blushing) You are spot on, great feature, its probably the best one yet in the new version. But again I cant justify the upgrade as yet, theres not enough to warrant that expenditure, which is unfortunate, perhaps V8.5 may be better. But from my reading, the gamer dudes will benefit from this version as its aimed a bit more at them, this time...
Cut _The _Krab.
As Lisa says, invest the time in Maya primarily, its the beast of software between itself and Z. But saying that, Z brush holds its own, hands down. Im becoming more comfy with each time I use it which goes without saying really. It was a little odd adjusting to it at first because of its work flow, using edit to make the 'tool'(object) 3d etc and remembering not to flatten things to the 2d canvas every 2mins, which was a bit of a bugger.
In essence (in Pixologics words) 'Z compliments the other 3d software' and this is true and as I said it does hold its own, hands down, with its modelling and rendering capabilities, its only a matter of time before they add animation to the work flow then 'it could' end up being the primary software for alot of companies (but Im thinking out loud here).
The thing that strikes me the most and I still question it, is why can Z handle an Oil tanker full of polys and the big apps cant? I know they use Pixols and not Pixels but surely this is a way forward for any software...
Jay
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27-08-2006
, 01:34 PM
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Also, from what I can gather, I dont think that ZB brush uses the graphics card to render the viewport so your running through your PC's processor RAM etc on the fly with software rendering, which would be able to cope with more calculations and display information.
I gleamed the info from various websites when looking into that question myself a couple of months ago.
Dunno if it helps at all.
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27-08-2006
, 04:49 PM
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Thanks. I dig the overall working of it, but again if its handling that sort info anyway, surely there will be a way forward for other software to do the same and introduce animation into the mix too. And keep it moving smoothly. Like an animator with a proxy model, it drives the final output, the hi res.
Afterall its a 2d image thats output at the end of the day on tv or movie theatre its not physical...
Hope Im making sense.
Jay
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