Kelly L. Murdock Autodesk Maya 2016 ® ® BASICS GUIDE SDC P U B L I C AT I O N S Better Textbooks. Lower Prices. www.SDCpublications.
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Chapter 1 Learning the Maya Interface IN THIS CHAPTER 1.1 Work with menus. 1.2 Use the Status Line buttons. 1.3 Access the Shelf. 1.4 Explore the Channel Box and Layer Editor. 1.5 Identify the animation controls, the Command Line, and the Help Line. 1.6 Use the Toolbox and Quick Layout buttons. 1.7 Discover the Secret menus. Maya is a program, created by Autodesk, used to model, animate, and render 3D scenes.
Chapter 1: Learning the Maya Interface One of the quickest ways to access advanced-user commands is with the Secret menus. These context-specific pop-up menus appear when you right-click in the interface. Another quick way to access commands is with keyboard shortcuts, known as hotkeys. Maya gives users the option to customize the interface. Using the customization features, you can create a custom set of command icons, define keyboard shortcuts, and even alter menus.
Autodesk Maya 2016 Basics Guide FIGURE 1-2 Hotkeys and option dialog boxes are displayed in the menus Accessing Option Dialog Boxes Several menus also include a small box icon to the right of the menu, also shown in Figure 1-2. These box icons will open an Options dialog box for the selected command. These Options dialog boxes, such as the Group Options dialog box shown in Figure 1-3, include parameters that you can change.
Chapter 1: Learning the Maya Interface Using Tear-Off Menus At the very top of most menus is a double line called the tear-off menu. Clicking on this line makes the menu a tear-off menu and displays it as a separate panel, like the one shown in Figure 1-4, that you can move about by dragging on its title bar. Tear-off menus are convenient because they make the menu commands accessible with one click, but you need the space to leave the tear-off menu open without covering something else.
Autodesk Maya 2016 Basics Guide FIGURE 1-5 Tool Settings Lesson 1.1-Tutorial 1: Use a Menu Command to Create a Polygon Sphere 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Click on the Create menu, and then select the Polygon Primitives submenu and click on the Options icon to the right of the Sphere menu to open the options dialog box, as shown in Figure 1‐3. In the Polygon Sphere Options dialog box, click the Apply button. A single sphere objects will appear at the origin in the Workspace.
Chapter 1: Learning the Maya Interface FIGURE 1-6 A simple crystal ball created with sphere and cone objects Lesson 1.2: Use the Status Line Buttons Directly below the menus are a long row of buttons that are collectively known as the Status Line. These buttons are constant and cannot be changed, but you can hide them. The buttons are divided into groups that are separated by a dividing bar.
Autodesk Maya 2016 Basics Guide FIGURE 1-7 Status Line groups Using Pop-up Help When you first begin to use the Status Line buttons, it can be tricky to know which button does what, but you can view the button’s title as a Pop-up Help by holding the mouse cursor over the top of the button, as shown in Figure 1-8. Pop-up Help is available for all buttons in the entire interface.
Chapter 1: Learning the Maya Interface FIGURE 1-9 Cursor indicating a right-click pop-up menu Expanding and Collapsing Icon Button Groups Each button group in the Status Line is divided by a vertical line with a small rectangle through its center. This divider is called the Show/Hide Bar, and if you click on it, and then all buttons included in that section will be hidden. Click again to make the buttons reappear. Figure 1-10 shows several collapsed and expanded button sets.
Autodesk Maya 2016 Basics Guide Opening Editors At the right side of the Status Line are four Sidebar buttons, shown in Figure 1-12, that don’t belong to a button group and that are always visible. These Sidebar buttons are used to show and hide one of the sidebar panels that appear to the right of the view panel including the Attribute Editor, Tool Settings, and Channel Box/Layer Editor.
Chapter 1: Learning the Maya Interface 3. 4. Locate the directory where the Skateboard.mb file is located. Click on the Skateboard.mb file name and click the Open button. The saved file is then loaded into Maya, as shown in Figure 1‐14. Note Before Maya opens a file, it gives you a chance to save the current file. FIGURE 1-14 Opened skateboard file Lesson 1.2-Tutorial 2: Save a File 1. 2. 3.
Autodesk Maya 2016 Basics Guide Lesson 1.2-Tutorial 3: Maximize the Workspace Interface 1. 2. 3. Right click on the dotted double line on the left end of the Status Line and select Status Line. The Status Line becomes hidden. Right click dashed double lines for the Shelf, the Channel Box, and the Toolbox and select the other options on the other interfaces. Right click on the dashed double lines for the controls at the bottom of the interface and select each.
Chapter 1: Learning the Maya Interface FIGURE 1-16 The Shelf Using the Shelf Menu At the left end of the Shelf are two menu icons. The top one looks like a mini-tab and you can use it to select a Shelf tab from a menu. The bottom menu icon is an arrow. You can use it to hide all of the Shelf tabs, open the Shelf Editor, create and delete shelves, load a custom shelf, and save all shelves. You can save some interface space by hiding the Shelf tabs.
Autodesk Maya 2016 Basics Guide Adding Layouts and Scripts to a Shelf You can add custom layouts to a shelf. Just pick the shelf you want to hold the custom layout and then choose Panels, Panel Editor from the Panel menu. In the Layouts tab, shown in Figure 1-18, select the custom layout that you want to add to the current shelf and click the Add To Shelf button. You can drag scripts from the Script Editor with the middle mouse button and drop them into a shelf.
Chapter 1: Learning the Maya Interface FIGURE 1-19 Shelf Editor Lesson 1.3-Tutorial 1: Create a New Shelf 1. 2. Click on the Shelf menu and select New Shelf. The Create New Shelf dialog box appears. Type the name MyShelf for the new shelf and click OK. A new tab with the typed name appears at the right end of the Shelf. Lesson 1.3-Tutorial 2: Populate a New Shelf 1. 2. 3. 4. Select the MyShelf tab to make it active. Hold down the Shift and Ctrl/Command keys and select Create, NURBS Primitives, Sphere.
Autodesk Maya 2016 Basics Guide 5. 6. 7. Select the Layout tab and choose the Four View option. Then, click the Add to Shelf button and then the Close button. When the Four View option is selected, the view window changes to show four separate views. After clicking the Add to Shelf button, a new icon appears in the current shelf. Locate the Move tool in the Toolbox and drag the icon with the middle mouse button to the new shelf.
Chapter 1: Learning the Maya Interface FIGURE 1-21 The Channel Box Selecting Attributes You can select a single attribute by clicking on its title. When selected, the attribute title will be highlighted. Holding down the Ctrl/Command key while clicking on several attributes will allow you to select multiple attributes at once; you can also drag the mouse over several attributes to select them.
Autodesk Maya 2016 Basics Guide Tip You can also enter += and a number to add that amount to the current value. For example, typing +=2 in an attribute field for a Radius value of 5.0 changes it to 7.0. You can also use -=, *= and /= to subtract, multiply and divide relative values. FIGURE 1-22 Channel Box settings Locking Attributes Locked attributes cannot be changed. You can lock an attribute by selecting it and choosing the Lock Selected menu command from the Channels menu.
Chapter 1: Learning the Maya Interface FIGURE 1-24 Layer Editor Adding Objects to a Layer You can add selected objects to a layer by right clicking on that layer and selecting Add Selected Objects from the pop-up menu. You can also use the Layers menu to select all objects in a layer and to remove objects from a layer. Objects assume the layer color when unselected. Hiding All Layer Objects You can hide Layer objects by clicking the first column in the Layer Editor.
Autodesk Maya 2016 Basics Guide FIGURE 1-25 Edit Layer dialog box Lesson 1.4-Tutorial 1: Change Channel Box Attributes 1. 2. 3. 4. Select File, Open Scene. Locate and open the Rocket.mb file. This file includes a simple rocket centered about the grid origin. All attributes for the rocket object are displayed in the Channel Box. Enter a 5 in the Translate X attribute and press the Enter key. The rocket object is moved five units along the X‐axis.
Chapter 1: Learning the Maya Interface FIGURE 1-26 Translated rocket Lesson 1.4-Tutorial 2: Create and Rename a New Layer 1. 2. 3. Click the Create a new layer button in the Layer Editor. A new layer appears in the Layer Editor. Double‐click on the layer to open the Edit Layer dialog box. Type in a name for the new layer and click the Save button. Lesson 1.4-Tutorial 3: Add Objects to a New Layer 1. 2. 3. 4. Select Create, Polygon Primitives, Sphere to create a sphere object.
Autodesk Maya 2016 Basics Guide Selecting an Animation Frame All current animation frames are displayed on the Time Slider at the bottom of the interface, as shown in Figure 1-27. You move between the different frames by dragging the black time marker or by entering the frame number in the field to the right of the Time Slider. FIGURE 1-27 Time Slider Setting an Animation Range Below the Time Slider is the Range Slider, as shown in Figure 1-28.
Chapter 1: Learning the Maya Interface Accessing the Animation Preferences Beneath the Go to End button is a button, shown in Figure 1-30, that will open the Preferences dialog box, as shown in Figure 1-31. This dialog box includes all of the preferences for Maya, but when it is opened using this button the Timeline category is selected, allowing you to change the animation preferences.
Autodesk Maya 2016 Basics Guide Tip All commands that are entered into the Command Line are saved in a buffer. Using the Up and Down Arrow keys, you can scroll back and forth through the existing commands. Pressing the Enter key executes the listed command. FIGURE 1-32 Script Editor button Viewing the Help Line At the very bottom of the interface is the Help Line, as shown in Figure 1-33. Within this line, Maya lists instructions that it expects to happen next based on the selected tool or mode.
Chapter 1: Learning the Maya Interface FIGURE 1-34 Animated billiard table 3. 4. Click the Play Forwards button The entire animation sequence will play over and over. Click the Stop button to pause the animation. Lesson 1.5-Tutorial 2: Enter a Command 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Select Create, Polygon Primitives, Sphere to create a sphere object. Click on the view panel away from the sphere to deselect it. In the Command Line, type, select pSphere1; and press the Enter key. The sphere object is selected.
Autodesk Maya 2016 Basics Guide FIGURE 1-35 Toolbox Selecting Objects The first two buttons in the Toolbox are used to select objects in the scene. These are the Select Objects tool and the Lasso tool. The Select Object tool lets you select objects by clicking on objects or by dragging a rectangular border. The Lasso tool lets you drag a freehand outline over the object you want to select.
Chapter 1: Learning the Maya Interface FIGURE 1-36 Universal Manipulator tool Understanding Manipulators Each of the transform manipulators has color-coded components that will let you constrain a transform to a single axis—red is for the X-axis, green is for the Y-axis, and blue is for the Z-axis, as shown in Figure 1-37. The selected manipulator axis will turn yellow and dragging will transform the object along the selected axis.
Autodesk Maya 2016 Basics Guide Switching Layouts Beneath the Toolbox are several buttons, as shown in Figure 1-38, that allow you to quickly change the layout of the Maya interface. The default layout options include Single Perspective View, Four View, Perspective/Outliner, Perspective/Graph Editor, Hypershade/Perspective, and Perspective/Hypergraph/Graph. The arrow button underneath these layout buttons presents a pop-up menu of additional layout options.
Chapter 1: Learning the Maya Interface FIGURE 1-39 Panels dialog box Lesson 1.6-Tutorial 1: Select an Object 1. 2. 3. Open the Five spheres.mb file. This file includes five sphere objects. Click on the Select tool and click on the center sphere. The sphere in the scene turns light green and its attributes appear in the Channel Box. Hold down the Shift key and click on the other spheres in the scene.
Autodesk Maya 2016 Basics Guide FIGURE 1-40 Selected objects Lesson 1.6-Tutorial 2: Transform an Object 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Open the Five spheres.mb file again. Click on the Select tool and click on the center sphere. Click the Move tool in the Toolbox and drag the green (Y‐axis) upward. The sphere moves upward in the scene. Click the Scale tool in the Toolbox and drag the red (X‐axis) to the right. The sphere is elongated along the X‐axis, as shown in Figure 1‐41.
Chapter 1: Learning the Maya Interface FIGURE 1-41 Transformed objects Lesson 1.6-Tutorial 3: Change the Interface Layout 1. 2. Click on the Show/Hide Channel Box button at the right end of the Status Line. Click on the Four Views button in the Quick Layout buttons. The layout is changed to show four views, as shown in Figure 1‐42.
Autodesk Maya 2016 Basics Guide FIGURE 1-42 Four views Lesson 1.7: Discover the Secret Menus Once you get used to the menu commands, you can learn to work faster using the hidden menus. These menus will pop-up different commands when you right-click on objects in the scene. Accessing the Marking Menus For quick access to many common commands, you can open a marking menu by right-clicking in the view panel and holding the mouse button down until the menu appears.
Chapter 1: Learning the Maya Interface FIGURE 1-43 Marking menu Customizing Marking Menus You can alter the contents of a marking menu, assign a hotkey to a marking menu, or add a marking menu to the Hotbox using the Marking Menu Settings dialog box, shown in Figure 1-44. You access this dialog box using the Window, Settings/Preferences, Marking Menus menu command.
Autodesk Maya 2016 Basics Guide Using the Hotbox The Hotbox, shown in Figure 1-45, is a complete set of customizable menus that you can access by pressing and holding the Spacebar. Using the Hotbox Controls option in the Hotbox, you can select which menu commands appear in the Hotbox. FIGURE 1-45 Hotbox Customizing the Hotbox If you select the Hotbox Controls option from the Hotbox, you can select which menu sets to include in the Hotbox. You can also select to Show or Hide all menus. Lesson 1.
Chapter 1: Learning the Maya Interface FIGURE 1-46 The Hotbox Chapter Summary This chapter takes you through a tour of the Maya interface, covering the basic interface elements, including the menus, the Status Line buttons, the Shelf, the Channel Box, the Layer Editor, the Animation Controls, the Command Line, the Help Line, the Toolbox, and the Quick Layout buttons.
Autodesk Maya 2016 Basics Guide * How to switch between the different layouts. * How to use and customize the marking menus and the Hotbox. Key Terms From This Chapter * Menu set. A dynamic set of menu options selected from a drop‐down list at the top left of the interface. * Hotkey. A keyboard shortcut that executes a command when pressed. * Option dialog box. A dialog box with additional options opened using the icon found to the right of specific menu options. * Tear‐off menu.
