Archive

In this course, we will cover the tools and techniques for setting up character rigs in 3ds Max.

Step by step, we'll construct a control rig that is robust and animator-friendly. We'll learn everything from proper bone placement and techniques for troubleshooting, to learning fun ways we can preserve volume as our mesh deforms and how to make our controls efficient and easy to comprehend. We'll also learn how to create customized quad menus and toolbars that will help speed up our workflow, so we can focus primarily on building our control rigs with the best practices.

In this course, we will guide you through the 12 Principles of Animation in 3ds Max.

Why does my character's motion look so unnatural and unappealing? How can my animations captivate an audience? What is missing in my character's movement that will enable it to be more convincing and entertaining? These are a few questions that will be answered throughout this training, all with the help of the 12 fundamental rules of animation. Principle by principle, we'l venture through understanding the meaning behind each question asked above, as well as how each can and should be implemented for success. By the end of this course, you will have the knowledge you need to create magnetic, natural, and memorable character performances.

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In this series of lessons we'll learn how to turn a 2d image into a 3d scene using camera projection in Maya. By using a reference photo inside Maya, we'll be able to create realistic scenes quickly and easily.

We'll begin this project by learning about the theories behind camera projection what makes a good image to project. We'll then set-up our camera in Maya for match moving and look at a technique to get our camera in the correct position. Once we've set our camera, we'll create the projection shader. We'll then model the rest of our building and animate a new camera. We'll then look at various techniques of completing our scene and adding a sky dome. We'll finish by taking the extra step of adding reflective geometry for increased realism.

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In this series of lessons we'll learn how to composite a text title into background footage. This is a common task for show openers or to add extra information into your shot.

We'll begin this project by importing our background plate and creating the text we'll integrate. Then we'll track the background plate and attach our text to the track. We'll then learn how to texture our text and how to combine various tools to make our text look more three dimensional. We'll then learn how to take elements from our background and layer them into our text to create the illusion that the text is in the scene. We'll finish by doing some quick color correction and render out our finished shot!

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The UV Master is a Pixologic-developed plug-in, which allows us to effortlessly create unwrapped UVs for our characters within ZBrush. By using this plug-in, the entire UV layout process can be accomplished in a matter of minutes, allowing us to dedicate more time to the sculpting and texturing of our characters in ZBrush. During this course, we will teach you everything you need to start using the UV Master, including the use of control painting to define UV seams, using density maps to control UV spacing, saving and loading control maps, and several other innovative features. Along the way, we will also make you aware of some common issues and complications that you may run into when using the UV Master, as well as how you can usually work around them.

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In this series of lessons we' learn how to use Nukes 3D compositing system. Using this 3D system, we can do many things that would be difficult or time-consuming in a pure 2D workflow, such as creating parallax and making sure thigns line up in 3D space.

We'll begin this project by dropping in some basic geometry and learning how to move around the 3D interface. We'll then learn the basic components of a 3D system which is comprised of your geometry, a scene, a camera, and a scanline render to convert all of that back into 2d image data. We'll then learn how to bring in external geometry and how to use shaders, materials and lights to gain more control over our 3d geometry. We'll also learn some various tips on using 2D nodes with 3D nodes.

In this series of lessons we'll learn how to use the Filter daemon to separate our particles into multiple emitters that we can then individually control with exclusive links. This gives us an incredible amount of control that would have to script in otherwise.

We'll begin this project by setting up our initial objects, emitters and daemons. Once we have everything ready to go, we'll introduce our filter daemon and examine exactly how it works, and how we can use it to move particles into different emitters. Once we have the filter daemon working, we can use exclusive links to affect our emitters in various ways. We'll then look at various attributes and ways of changing particle values to show the vast range of different methods we can use to filter particles. We'll then combine our knowledge along with a few more daemons to create an int ... Read more »

Digital Tutors - Curve-based Facial Rigging in Maya 2011
English | VP6F 782x646 | MP3 96 kbps | 2.03 GB
Genre: eLearning

In this series of lessons, we will explore some of the core rendering tools and features of Maya that every rendering artist needs to be familiar with.

This course is designed for users who are just getting started with rendering in Maya, so we will not be focusing heavily on using lights, materials or recipes to give your render a specific look. Instead, our focus will be on helping you build a strong foundational knowledge of rendering in Maya by talking about many of the key tools, features and concepts that every rendering artist in Maya really needs to be familiar with. We will also learn how to resolve some rendering-related issues that you may encounter, and we will focus very heavily on helping you develop good habits and strong workflow practices that will be extremely beneficial to you as an emerging render artist.

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