Autodesk Maya 2025: A Comprehensive Guide, 16th Edition

Chapter 1: Exploring Maya Interface

Introduction to Autodesk Maya

Starting Autodesk Maya 2025

Autodesk Maya 2025 Screen Components

Menubar

Status Line

Shelf

Tool Box

Time Slider and Range Slider

Command Line

Help Line

Panel Menu

Panel Toolbar

Channel Box / Layer Editor

Attribute Editor

Hotkeys

Hotbox

Outliner

Marking Menus

Pipeline Caching

Alembic Cache

Interoperability Options in Maya

Navigating the Viewports

Hotkeys in Maya

Tips and Tricks in Maya

Workspaces

Self-Evaluation Test

Review Questions

Chapter 2: Polygon Modeling

Introduction

Polygon Primitives

Creating a Sphere

Creating a Cube

Creating a Prism

Creating a Pyramid

Creating a Pipe

Creating a Helix

Creating a Soccer Ball

Creating a Platonic Solid

Creating a Type Tool Mesh

Creating a SVG Mesh

Creating a Disc

Creating a Gear

Creating Super Shapes

Polygon Editing Tools

Editing the Polygon Components

Add Divisions

Bevel

Bridge

Circularize

Collapse

Connect

Detach

Extrude

Smart Extrude

Merge

Average Vertices

Chamfer Vertices

Delete Edge/Vertex

Edit Edge Flow

Duplicate

Editing the Polygon Components Using Mesh Tools

Create Polygon

Insert Edge Loop

Multi-Cut

Offset Edge Loop

Tutorial 1

Tutorial 2

Tutorial 3

Self-Evaluation Test

Review Questions

Exercise 1

Exercise 2

Exercise 3

Chapter 3: NURBS Curves and Surfaces

Introduction

NURBS Primitives

Creating a Sphere

Creating a Cube

Creating a Cylinder

Creating a Cone

Creating a Plane

Creating a Torus

Creating a Circle

Creating a Square

Interactive Creation

Exit on Completion

Working with NURBS Components

Tools for Creating NURBS Curves

CV Curve Tool

EP Curve Tool

Pencil Curve Tool

Arc Tools

Bezier Curve Tool

Tools for Creating Surfaces

Loft Tool

Planar Tool

Revolve Tool

Birail Tool

Extrude Tool

Boundary Tool

Square Tool

Bevel Tool

Bevel Plus Tool

Sweep Mesh Tool

Tutorial 1

Tutorial 2

Tutorial 3

Self-Evaluation Test

Review Questions

Exercise 1

Exercise 2

Exercise 3

Exercise 4

Exercise 5

Chapter 4: NURBS Modeling

Introduction

Working with NURBS Tools

Duplicate NURBS Patch

Project Curve on Surface

Intersect

Trim Tool

Untrim

Attach

Attach Without Moving

Align

Detach

Open/Close

Extend

Insert Isoparms

Offset

Rebuild

Reverse Direction

Sculpt Geometry Tool

Converting Objects

Converting NURBS to Polygons

Converting NURBS to Subdiv

Tutorial 1

Tutorial 2

Self-Evaluation Test

Review Questions

Exercise 1

Exercise 2

Chapter 5: UV Mapping

Introduction

UV Mapping

UV Editor

View Toolbar

UV Toolkit

Pinning

Select By Type

Soft Selection

Transform

Create

Cut and Sew

Unfold

Align and Snap

Arrange and Layout

Tutorial 1

Tutorial 2

Self-Evaluation Test

Review Questions

Exercise 1

Exercise 2

Chapter 6: Shading and Texturing

Introduction

Working in the Hypershade Window

Create Panel

Browser Panel

Browser Panel Toolbar

Work Area

Property Editor

Common Material Properties

Bump/Normal Mapping

Special Effects

Exploring the Shaders

Surface

Standard Surface Shader

Tutorial 1

Tutorial 2

Tutorial 3

Self-Evaluation Test

Review Questions

Exercise 1

Exercise 2

Exercise 3

Chapter 7: Lights and Cameras

Introduction

Types of Lights

Ambient Light

Directional Light

Point Light

Spot Light

Area Light

Volume Light

Glow and Halo Effects

Optical FX Attributes Area

Light Linking

Cameras

Camera

Camera and Aim

Camera, Aim and Up

Stereo Camera

Multi Stereo Rig

Tutorial 1

Tutorial 2

Tutorial 3

Self-Evaluation Test

Review Questions

Exercise 1

Chapter 8: Animation

Introduction

Animation Types

Keyframe Animation

Effects Animation

Nonlinear Animation

Path Animation

Motion Capture Animation

Technical Animation

Animation Controls

Playback Controls

Animation preferences

Commonly Used Terms in Animation

Frame Rate

Range

Setting Keys

Understanding Different Types of Animations

Path Animation

Keyframe Animation

Nonlinear Animation

Key Menu

Working with Keys

Visualize Menu

Blue Pencil

Playback Menu

Playblast

Cached Playback

Select Next Key

Select Previous Key

Audio Menu

Graph Editor

Move Nearest Picked Key Tool

Insert Keys Tool

Lattice Deform Keys

Region Tool: Scale or Move Keys

Retime Tool: Scale and Ripple Keys

Fit Selection in all Panels

Frame Playback Range

Center the View about the Current Time

Auto Tangents (Legacy)

Auto Tangents (Ease)

Auto Tangents (Mix)

Auto Tangents (Custom)

Spline Tangents

Clamped Tangents

Linear Tangents

Flat Tangents

Step Tangents

Plateau Tangents

Buffer Curve Snapshot

Swap Buffer Curves

Break Tangents

Free Tangent Length

Lock Tangent Length

Auto Load Graph Editor on/off

Load Graph Editor from Selection

Time Snap on/off

Value Snap on/off

Display Curve in Absolute View

Display Curve in Normalized View

Display Curve in Stacked View

Renormalize Curves

Pre-infinity Cycle

Pre-infinity Cycle with Offset

Post-infinity Cycle

Post-infinity Cycle with Offset

Unconstrained Drag

Open the Dope Sheet

Open the Trax Editor

Animation Layers

Creating an Animation Layer

Animation Layer Pane

Creating the Parent-Child Relationship in the Animation Layer Editor

Tutorial 1

Tutorial 2

Tutorial 3

Self-Evaluation Test

Review Questions

Exercise 1

Chapter 9: Rigging, Constraints, and Deformers

Introduction

Toggle the Character Controls

Bones and Joints

Creating a Bone Structure

Types of Joints

Parent-Child Relationship

Kinematics

Deformers

Blend Shape Deformer

Curve Warp Deformer

Cluster Deformer

Delta Mush Deformer

Lattice Deformer

Wrap Deformer

ShrinkWrap Deformer

Pose Space Deformation Deformer

Soft Modification Tool Deformer

Nonlinear Deformers

Applying Constraints

Parent Constraint

Point Constraint

Aim Constraint

Orient Constraint

Scale Constraint

Geometry Constraint

Normal Constraint

Tangent Constraint

Pole Vector Constraint

Rivet Constraint

Point On Poly Constraint

Closest Point Constraint

Adding Constraints to Animation Layers

HumanIK Character Controls

Skinning an Object

Paint Skin Weights Tool

Go to Bind Pose Tool

Maya Muscle Deformer

Muscle Objects

Types of Muscles

Muscle Creator

Set Driven Key

Tutorial 1

Tutorial 2

Tutorial 3

Tutorial 4

Self-Evaluation Test

Review Questions

Exercise 1

Exercise 2

Chapter 10: Paint Effects

Introduction

Working with the Content Browser Window

Creating Objects

Working with the Paint Effects Window

Brush Type

Global Scale

Channels

Brush Profile

Twist

Mesh

Shading

Illumination

Shadow Effects

Tutorial 1

Tutorial 2

Self-Evaluation Test

Review Questions

Exercise 1

Exercise 2

Exercise 3

Chapter 11: Rendering

Introduction

Render Setup

Maya Software Renderer

Maya Hardware Renderer

The Maya Hardware Renderer Settings

Arnold Renderer

Working With Lights

Working with Maya Lights

Working with Arnold Lights

Standard Shader

Base

Specular

Transmission

Bump Mapping

Emission

Matte

Tutorial 1

Tutorial 2

Tutorial 3

Self-Evaluation Test

Review Questions

Exercise 1

Exercise 2

Chapter 12: Particle System

Introduction

Creating Particles

Tool Settings (Particle Tool) Panel

Creating Emitters

Emitter name

Basic Emitter Attributes Area

Distance/Direction Attributes Area

Basic Emission Speed Attributes Area

Creating Goals

Colliding Particles

Resilience

Friction

Offset

Rendering Particles

Animating Particles Using Fields

Air

Drag

Gravity

Newton

Radial

Turbulence

Uniform

Vortex

Volume Axis

Creating Effects

Creating the Fire Effect

Creating the Smoke Effect

Creating the Fireworks Effect

Creating the Lightning Effect

Creating the Shatter Effect

Creating the Curve Flow Effect

Creating the Surface Flow Effect

Tutorial 1

Tutorial 2

Self-Evaluation Test

Review Questions

Exercise 1

Exercise 2

Exercise 3

Exercise 4

Chapter 13: Introduction to nParticles

Introduction

Creating nParticles

nParticle Attributes

nParticleShape1 Tab

nucleus1 Tab

Tutorial 1

Tutorial 2

Self-Evaluation Test

Review Questions

Exercise 1

Exercise 2

Chapter 14: Fluids

Introduction

Classification of Fluid Effects

Open Water Fluid Effects

Dynamic Fluid Effects

Non-Dynamic Fluid Effects

Working with Fluid Containers

Attributes of Fluid Container

Creating Fluid Containers with Emitter

Painting the Fluid Effects into Containers

Fluid Components

Ocean

Pond

Fluid Effects

Tutorial 1

Tutorial 2

Tutorial 3

Tutorial 4

Self-Evaluation Test

Review Questions

Exercise 1

Exercise 2

Chapter 15: nHair and XGen

Introduction

nHair

Creating nHair

Simulating nHair

hairSystemShape1 Tab

Painting Texture on nHair

Painting Follicle Attributes

Styling nHair

Applying Shadow to the nHair

Rendering the nHair

XGen

Create new description Button

Import collections or descriptions

XGen Tab

Tutorial 1

Tutorial 2

Tutorial 3

Self-Evaluation Test

Review Questions

Exercise 1

Chapter 16 :Bifrost

Introduction

Flip Solver

Working With Bifrost Fluids

bifrostLiquidContainer1 Tab

liquidShape1 Tab

Working with Bifrost Aero Emitters

Adding Emitter

Removing Emitter

Colliders

Adding Colliders

Removing Colliders

Caching a Simulation to Disk

Flush Scratch Cache

Compute and Cache to Disk

Working with the Bifrost Browser Windowand Bifrost Graph Editor Window

Creating Bifrost Simulation Using the Bifrost Browser Window

Foam

Remove Foam

Tutorial 1

Tutorial 2

Self-Evaluation Test

Review Questions

Exercise 1

Chapter 17: Bullet Physics and Motion Graphics

Introduction

Bullet Objects

Creating Active Rigid Body

Creating Passive Rigid Body

Creating Soft Body

Rigid Body Constraint

Soft Body Anchor

Soft Body Vertex Properties

MASH Menu

MASH1_Distribute

MASH1

MASH Shelf

Tutorial 1

Tutorial 2

Self-Evaluation Test

Review Questions

Autodesk Maya 2025 A Comprehensive Guide

(16th Edition)

CADCIM Technologies

525 St. Andrews Drive

Schererville, IN 46375, USA

(www.cadcim.com)

Contributing Authors

Sham Tickoo

Professor

Purdue University Northwest

Hammond, Indiana, USA

Mable Thomas

CADCIM Technologies

USA

Autodesk Maya 2025: A Comprehensive Guide, 16th Edition

Sham Tickoo

CADCIM Technologies

525 St Andrews Drive

Schererville, Indiana 46375, USA

www.cadcim.com

Copyright © 2024 by CADCIM Technologies, USA. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America except as permitted under the United States Copyright Act of 1976.

No part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means, or stored in the database or retrieval system without the prior permission of CADCIM Technologies.

ISBN 978-1-64057-209-6

Copy Editor Technical Editor

Anju Jethwani Arti Deshpande

NOTICE TO THE READER

Publisher does not warrant or guarantee any of the products described in the text or perform any independent analysis in connection with any of the product information contained in the text. Publisher does not assume, and expressly disclaims, any obligation to obtain and include information other than that provided to it by the manufacturer.

The reader is expressly warned to consider and adopt all safety precautions that might be indicated by the activities herein and to avoid all potential hazards. By following the instructions contained herein, the reader willingly assumes all risks in connection with such instructions.

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www.cadcim.com

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DEDICATION

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to enlighten the young and curious minds

of our future generations

To students, who are dedicated to learning new technologies

and making the world a better place to live in

THANKS

To employees of CADCIM Technologies for their valuable help

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Preface

Autodesk Maya 2025

Welcome to the world of Autodesk Maya 2025. Autodesk Maya 2025 is a powerful, integrated 3D modeling, animation, visual effects, and rendering software developed by Autodesk Inc. This integrated node-based 3D software finds its application in the development of films, games, and design projects. A wide range of 3D visual effects, computer graphics, and character animation tools make it an ideal platform for 3D artists. The intuitive user interface and workflow tools of Maya 2025 have made the job of design visualization specialists a lot easier.

Autodesk Maya 2025: A Comprehensive Guide textbook covers all features of Autodesk Maya 2025 in a simple, lucid, and comprehensive manner. It aims at harnessing the power of Autodesk Maya 2025 for 3D and visual effects artists and designers. This textbook will help you transform your imagination into reality with ease. Also, it will unleash your creativity, thus helping you create realistic 3D models, animation, motion graphics, and visual effects. It caters to the needs of both the novice and advanced users of Maya 2025 and is ideally suited for learning at your convenience and at your pace.

Our latest edition covers new tools and enhancements in modeling, animation, Bifrost, and much more. The performance improvements in tools such as Smart Extrude, Graph Editor, and Animation are covered in depth. The author has also explained the Smart Extrude and Bifrost Graph Editor, advanced features of this release, with the help of suitable examples.

The salient features of this textbook are as follows:

• Tutorial Approach

The author has adopted the tutorial point-of-view and the learn-by-doing approach throughout the textbook. This approach will guide the users through the process of creating the models, adding textures, and animating them in the tutorials.

• Real-World Models as Projects

The author has used about 37 real-world modeling and animation projects as tutorials in this textbook. This will enable the readers to relate the tutorials to the real-world models in the animation and visual effects industry. In addition, there are about 34 exercises that are also based on the real-world animation projects.

• Tips and Notes

Additional information related to various topics is provided to the users in the form of tips and notes.

• Learning Objectives

The first page of every chapter summarizes the topics that will be covered in that chapter.

• Self-Evaluation Test, Review Questions, and Exercises

Each chapter ends with Self-Evaluation Test so that the users can assess their knowledge of the chapter. The answers to Self-Evaluation Test are given at the end of the chapter. Also, Review Questions and Exercises are given at the end of each chapter and they can be used by the instructors as test questions and exercises.

• Heavily Illustrated Text

The text in this book is heavily illustrated with about 550 diagrams and screen captures.

Symbols Used in the Textbook

Note Note

The author has provided additional information to the users about the topic being discussed in the form of notes.

Tip

Special information and techniques are provided in the form of tips that help in increasing the efficiency of the users.

The author has provided this symbol next to the new topics and tutorials added in this edition of the textbook.

The author has provided this symbol next to the topics and tutorials enhanced in this edition of the textbook.

Formatting Conventions Used in the Textbook

Please refer to the following list for the formatting conventions used in this textbook.

Naming Conventions Used in the Textbook

Tool

If you click on an item in a panel of the Tool Box and a command is invoked to create/edit an object or perform some action, then that item is termed as tool.

For example:

Select Tool, Lasso Tool, Move Tool, Scale Tool, Rotate Tool, Show Manipulator Tool

Flyout

A flyout is a menu that contains options with similar type of functions. Figure 1 shows the flyout displayed on pressing the right mouse button on the Select camera tool.

Marking Menus

Marking menus are similar to shortcut menus that consist of almost all the tools required to perform an operation on an object. There are three types of marking menus in Maya.

The first type of marking menu is used to create default objects in the viewport. To create a default object, press and hold the SHIFT key and then right-click anywhere in the viewport; a marking menu will be displayed, as shown in Figure 2.

The second type of marking menu is used to switch among various components of an object such as vertices, faces, edges, and so on. To invoke this marking menu, select an object and right-click; a marking menu will be displayed, as shown in Figure 3.

The third type of marking menu is used to modify the components of an object. To invoke this marking menu, select a component, press and hold the SHIFT key, and then right-click on the selected object; a marking menu will be displayed, as shown in Figure 4.

Button

The item in a dialog box that has a 3D shape is termed as Button. For example, Extrude button, Apply button, Close button, and so on, refer to Figure 5.

Drop-down List

A drop-down list is the one in which a set of options are grouped together. You can set various parameters using these options. You can identify a drop-down list with a down arrow on it. For example, Menuset drop-down list, refer to Figure 6.

Naming Conventions Used for the Resources

You can access resource files related to this textbook by visiting www.cadcim.com. The path to access resources is as follows: Textbooks > Animation and Visual Effects > Maya > Autodesk Maya 2025: A Comprehensive Guide.

When you open this link, several drop-downs will appear on the page displayed. You can download a resource file by first selecting it from the desired drop-down and then choosing the Download button corresponding to it. Table 1 shows the naming conventions in detail.

Free Companion Website

It has been our constant endeavor to provide you the best textbooks and services at affordable price. In this endeavor, we have come out with a free companion website that will facilitate the process of teaching and learning of Autodesk Maya 2025. If you purchase this textbook, you will get access to the companion website.

The following resources are available for faculty and students in this website:

Faculty Resources

• Technical Support

You can get online technical support by contacting [email protected].

• Instructor Guide

Solutions to all review questions and exercises in the textbook are provided in this guide to help the faculty members test the skills of the students.

• Maya Files

The Maya files used in illustration, examples, and exercises are available for free download.

• Rendered Images

If you do an exercise or tutorial, you can compare your rendered output with the one provided in the CADCIM website.

• Additional Resources

You can access additional learning resources by visiting https://mayaexperts.blogspot.com.

• Colored Images

You can download the PDF file containing color images of the screenshots used in this textbook from the CADCIM website.

Student Resources

• Technical Support

You can get online technical support by contacting [email protected].

• Maya Files

The Maya files used in illustrations and examples are available for free download.

• Rendered Images

If you do an exercise or tutorial, you can compare your rendered output with the one provided in the CADCIM website.

• Additional Resources

You can access additional learning resources by visiting https://mayaexperts.blogspot.com.

• Colored Images

You can download the PDF file containing color images of the screenshots used in this textbook from the CADCIM website.

If you face any problem in accessing these files, please contact the publisher at [email protected] or the author at [email protected] or [email protected].

Video Courses

CADCIM offers video courses in CAD, CAE Simulation, BIM, Civil/GIS, and Animation domains on various e-Learning/Video platforms. To enroll for the video courses, please visit the CADCIM website using the following link: https://www.cadcim.com/video-courses

Stay Connected

You can now stay connected with us through Facebook and Twitter to get the latest information about our textbooks, videos, and teaching/learning resources. To stay informed of such updates, follow us on Facebook (www.facebook.com/cadcim) and Twitter (@cadcimtech). You can also subscribe to our YouTube channel (www.youtube.com/cadcimtech) to get the information about our latest video tutorials.

Chapter 1

Exploring Maya Interface

Learning Objectives

After completing this chapter, you will be able to:

• Start Autodesk Maya 2025

• Work with menusets in Autodesk Maya

• Understand various terms related to Maya interface

• Work with tools in Autodesk Maya 2025

INTRODUCTION TO Autodesk Maya

Welcome to the world of Autodesk Maya 2025. Maya is a 3D software, developed by Autodesk Inc., which enables you to create realistic 3D models and visual effects with much ease. Although Maya is quite a vast software to deal with, yet all the major tools and features used in Autodesk Maya 2025 have been covered in this book.

STARTING Autodesk Maya 2025