Datasheet

Part I ✦ Getting Started with Maya 4.5

Figure 1-4: The team at Visual Book Maya created this animation of the

Birth of Jesus for the iLumina project.

Painting a Moving Picture in a 3D World

3D is really about painting a picture on a moving wireframe surface. As a result, you

have the freedom to create any image you intend, rather than simply replicating the

real world. While an artist can recreate their own world in a painting, you can push

the limits of the real toward the hyper-believable. In Maya, you create NURBS, poly-

gon, and subdivision surfaces. Then paint color on these surfaces, add lighting,

create key poses over time, and render out the frames. This is an over simplified

example of workflow, but it captures the basic concept. Creating 3D animation is

similar to painting a picture that comes alive.

Computer artwork

The computer, yes, the computer has emerged as an art tool. It’s just like a pencil

or a brush. It renders artistic ideas, enabling artists to create works of art. All of

the traditional rules of visual arts still apply — design, color, timing. As an animator,

you must address these issues, and many more, with the skill of a designer, audio

engineer, actor, and musician, sometimes all at once. Many major studios have now

taken this approach. They also place an emphasis on creating believable design

04 536451 ch01.qxd 4/3/03 9:07 AM Page 32