Button to Do the Same Move Again in Maya

8 Ultra useful Maya tips for beginners in Under 4 minutes!

At first glance Autodesk's Maya can be extremely daunting, the countless options and massive user interface.  Today I'm going to show y'all 8 workflow tips to aid overcome some necessary nuts that will help yous get started as a 3d modeller or animator.  All y'all need is 4 minutes of your time!

Easily choice and choose which tips are most helpful for y'all with the easy to watch tutorial video I've created.  If you need more explanation read beneath for a written breakdown which goes into more detail, plus a few bonus tips!  Yous prepare? Let'south exercise this.

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Table of contents

click any content below to jump to that tip

TIP 01:  Focus the camera on one surface area  | Video timecode: 0.05
Finding information technology difficult to rotate the camera around a small area and stay on it?

TIP 02:  Snapping similar a pro| Video timecode: 0.22
Learning to align one object to another or move a unmarried vertex to another edge is essential

TIP 03:  Move multiple keyframes| Video timecode: 0.54
Learn here to move multiple keyframes quickly and by an exact amount

TIP 04:  Motion the pin betoken| Video timecode: 1.xv
Acquire here to motility multiple keyframes quickly and past an verbal corporeality

TIP 05:  Soft pick| Video timecode: one.36
Learn to movement a option of vertices with a soft fall off to get smooth results

TIP 06:  Duplicate special| Video timecode: i.53
This is a fun and very useful tool.  Unlike normal duplicate it allows you to add an incremental transform to each duplicate, y'all tin can add together, a move in any direction, rotation and or scale

TIP 07:  Texture to polys| Video timecode: 2.24
Catechumen a solid texture to actual polygon geometry quickly

TIP 08:  Combine two objects & Bridging| Video timecode: 2.58
A 3d modelling necessity to combine objects here we take i further and create archways with the bridge tool

TIP 01: Focus the camera on a modest surface area

Sometimes when moving the photographic camera around a model it can jump around or the movement be too large, you just want to pinpoint the photographic camera on a sure surface area and have the view rotate around this.

This is uncomplicated by using the "F" fundamental.  Attempt selecting any object in your scene, so press the "F" key, the camera volition zoom directly into that object.  Permit's take this further like in the video.

1. Right click your model and choose "vertices" or "faces" and so select a single or few vertices or faces
2. hit the "F" key

.. Voila!  The photographic camera jumps to that signal and at present when you lot dolly the camera effectually if stays focused on that area.

Back to the video

Right mouse push button click your model to bring up the options

TIP 02: Snapping similar a pro

Learning the dissimilar snapping modes is primal to working in 3d.  Snapping is the procedure of aligning the position of an object or objects vertex to another location.

The controls are:

Snap to Grid:

Snap to Curves & Edges:

Snap to Vertex:

Snap to grid

Filigree snapping. - The grid in Maya is the airplane on the flooring, it's divided into units. Each unit equals ane unit of measurement which can be gear up as millimetres, centimetres or metres which are set in your preferences.  Snapping to the grid is very useful for modelling.

To snap an object to whatever point on the grid

1. Select your object
2. Actuate the move tool or utilise the quick key "West"
3. Hold the "X" key then Heart mouse push button click any point on the grid and your object volition leap to it "Snapping"

Now lets snap a single vertex of your geometry to the grid.

1. Right middle mouse button on your geometry > so select vertices option (TIP - right clicking on your object is the quick fashion of choosing whether you desire to edit Vertices, Edges or Polygon faces)
2. Activate the move tool or use the quick primal "W"
3. Middle mouse button click whatsoever signal on the filigree and that single vertex will snap to the filigree

Right mouse button click your model to bring upwards the options

Snap to Curve / Edges

Edge or Curve snapping –  align / snap any object or vertex to whatsoever curve or whatever geometry edge

1. Right middle mouse push button on your geometry > then select vertices option
2. Select a vertex you want to motility
3. Hold the "C" fundamental then eye mouse button click on whatsoever edge.  You can click and hold then motility around to your leisure whilst being constrained to that border.

Snap to Vertex

Vert snapping –  align / snap any object or vertex to a curve or any geometry edge

1. Right centre mouse button on your geometry > and then select vertices pick
2. Select a vertex you lot desire to move
3. Agree the "Five" central so middle mouse push button click on any other vertex.  This vertex you lot are snapping to can be on the aforementioned geometry or a completely dissimilar object

TIP 03: Movement multiple Keyframes with ease

Moving multiple keyframes in the fourth dimension slider can get very catchy,  let me show you a quick tip to motion keys easily and quickly and by an verbal amount.

1. Navigate to> Windows >Blitheness editors >Graph editor
2. Select the animated geometry or command curves that comprise the animation you lot would like to modify timings.  You will see all the blitheness curves appear in the Curve Editor (TIP – the bend editor is where you can really edit the timings and smoothness of whatsoever animation)
3. Select all the keyframes or just a section of keyframes

The side by side pace involves typing a very brusk bit of mel script.   Mel is the programming language that Maya runs on.  There is a mel command for everything even when you but motility or rotate an object, that is converted to a mel command.

4)  The final step is to merely blazon  "+=numberofkeyframes" so for example+=50 would motility all the keys 50 frames forward, +=203 would motion them 203 frames.

You type this is the second input box next to the word "Stats"

As yous progress you will find mel can assistance speed upwards and automate complex processes, but don't worry y'all tin can unremarkably simply notice plenty of already written mel scripts you simply copy and paste

This also works the other style using the minus instead of plus symbol.
So  -=50  would move the keyframes backwards in time by 50 frames

This technique is so quick and useful, once yous start using it y'all will rely on it daily!
An example would be you may desire to delay only one arm of a character by 8 frames, select the arm controls so  type +=8 and your done!  And it'southward much easier to visualise.

Yous can see the project I used this on from the video hither:  http://fullrotation.com/portfolio/pip-the-squirrel-3d-animated-series/

TIP 04: Move the pin point

1. Select the object
2. Printing the "Insert" central and you volition run into the gismo change modes
3. Either snap the gismo to the the objects ede, some other vert, or just just motility it further away
4. Printing the "Insert" fundamental once again
5. Select rotation mode or hit the quick key "R"  now you can rotate using your new pivot point

Back to the video

TIP 05: Soft choice

If yous were to select a few vertices so move them it would not be smooth, in that location would be no "fall off" to your pick. Using a mode called "Soft Selection" allows this and command the exact amount of fall off y'all require.

1. Select a unmarried or bunch of vertices on your model. (remember from before y'all can simply right click and get into the quick marker menu to select vertices mode quickly)
2. Printing the "B" key to enter Soft Choice fashion.  You lot will come across the selection alter where yellow is the strongest and it falls off to Blood-red which is the weakest, showing you lot how information technology well alloy and smooth out the selection.
3. To edit exactly how much "Fall Off" you want simply printing and this fourth dimension HOLD the "B" key, then yous tin can click the centre mouse button and gently drag right ti increment the selection or left to decrease how much is selected.
4. Now hit the W key for movement if yous not already in move style and move the vertices out to see information technology.

This is nifty for making quick hills in terrain, organic modelling, similar pulling the cheeks or nose out further on a character etc.

Dorsum to the video

TIP 06: Duplicate special

Duplicate special is a fun and very useful tool.  Unlike normal duplicate it allows you to add an incremental transform to each duplicate, you lot can add, a motion in any direction, rotation and or calibration.

1. To really meet its power move the pin signal of your object away.  In the video I move the object to the left so snap the pivot point (As per tip 02) back to the center filigree using theX key
2. Select the object and then navigate to the carteEdit > Duplicate special so hit the trivial box to the right, this little box opens up the options, this applies to ALL menu items
3. Ok this is where we have some fun.  The outset column is the X plane, the second the Y and third the Z.  Try changing the Y rotation to fifteen degrees and slide the number of copies up to approx 25 then hitUtilize

Instantly you will come across it makes a ring of your object

Dorsum to the video

Instantly you will meet it makes a ring of your object

1. Undo that past hit "Command Z" on the keyboard.  Now go back into the Duplicate special menu again and this time add a little height eg0.5 to the translateY
2. Change the number of copies to much more like 70 or 80 and strikingAPPLY

Instantly you will see information technology makes a ring of your object

BONUS TIP !

Instead of changing the number of copies you can just do it with 1, then after hitting Use just repeatedly hit the "D" fundamental and it will just keep repeating with the increments added.

You can use this to create a filigree of objects, make many duplicates evenly spread out, spiral staircases, fences, just play with it!

TIP 07: Texture to polys

This is a useful feature not widely know, information technology allows you to apply an image texture to a plane then just convert that texture to bodily geometry polygons, it can save on modelling circuitous shapes.

To get started:

1. Open the hypershade,Windows > Rendering editors > Hypershade, this is where all materials are fabricated and edited, and create a new lambert or blinn material.
2. If you lot don't already know how to employ a texture to a material simply select your texture file (jpeg, png etc)  in windows explorer and elevate and drop it onto to your textile in the hypershade
3. Centre mouse push elevate the material onto your geometry

1) Select your polygon plane, the navigate to:Alter >  Catechumen > Texture to polygons click the options box

2) You can choose here to change the colour of the new material that gets created, yous volition encounter it added to the hypershape with the name of your texture file.

3) It'southward now been converted to geometry simply its flat, a quick manner of selecting the correct poly faces is in the hypershade Correct mouse push button click the new material you will meet and choose "Select objects with cloth"  This is a actually useful tip for selecting faces with a sure material instead of i past i

four)  Hitting the extrude push button in the polygons shelf, or a longer way, navigate toEdit mesh > Extrude

5)  This extrude happens but remains in the same place, simply use the motility tool to movement the faces upwardly by dragging the blue axis , and that's it!

Now y'all have a full polygon model of your texture

TIP 08: Combine ii objects & Bridging

Very often when modelling you will need to combine two pieces of split geometry.  Whether yous're joining a head to a body or a leg to a table tiptop it'south essential.   Here are the basics plus a groovy fashion of bridging to form perfect arches.

one)  Select both objects and under the "Polygons Menu prepare" navigate to:Mesh > Combine
This will now combine the objects so they are equally one.

two) Right mouse button click and cull "Faces" mode

4) Right mouse button click once again this time enter "Edges" fashion

iv) Right mouse push click again this fourth dimension enter "Edges" fashion

5) Double click one edge and it will automatically select the whole ring of edges.
To select the other sides edges do the same holding down "Shift" to add to the choice

6)  Navigate toEdit Mesh > Span

7)  Modify the "Bend Type" selection to: "Blend"  ( Don't worry if you don't get this pop upwardly y'all tin can make the same changes on the correct in the attribute editor) information technology simply ways you are not choosing to show the HUD in the show submenu

eight)  You volition run across its flat, that'due south because we haven't set any divisions.  You lot can click and gear up this manually but the more intuitive interactive way in Maya is toCenter mouse push click and drag in the divisions window to the right to increase.   Now yous volition see a perfect entrance existence formed

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Source: https://fullrotation.com/maya-tips-for-beginners/

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