Thanks for getting this intro series!

This PDF is aimed at helping you

through the series. It contains hotkeys used and general notes. It’s not
supposed to replace the videos, but rather serve as additional notes.

Ui & Workflow -
02_interfaceOverview.mp4
- You won't use most areas of the UI. Keep it simple and focus on what you
need to work.
- The magic happens in the 3D Viewport
- Left: Selection and UI elements
- Top - Change mode - menus change (F2-F6)
- The Shelf contains frequently used tools under different categories
- Right: Attribute Editor/ Channel Box
- Expert Mode - Ctrl Spacebar
- Ortho views - Spacebar - Click on ‘Maya’

Navigation
03_navigation.mp4
- Rotate - Alt LMB
- Zoom - Mouse wheel or Alt RMB
- Pan - Alt MMB
- Frame - F
- Camera Undo - Alt Z
- Camera Redo - Alt Y
- Gizmo bottom left

Saving
04_saving.mp4
- File - Save
- Save as either .ma or .mb
- Save incremental: File - Save Incremental
- Autosave: Windows - Settings/Preferences - Preferences - Settings -
Files/Projects - Autosave
- Changing default file browser: Autosave: Windows - Settings/Preferences -
Preferences - Settings - Files/Projects - File Dialog - OS Native
Outliner
05_outliner.mp4
- Complete view of everything in your scene
- Search on the top
- Hiding - H
- Grouping - Ctrl G
- Moving up and down - MMB Drag
- Renaming - Double Click
- Parent - MMB drag one onto another
- Unparent - Shift P
- Secret double outliner
- Bonus: Display - DAG Objects Only

Nodes Explained
06_mayaIsNodebased.mp4
Maya scenes are visual representations of a node network. The best way to visualize
this is to model while the Node Editor is open (Windows - Node Editor)

Attribute editor & Channel box

07_channelBox_attributeEditor.mp4
- Channel Box: Fastest way of editing object attributes
- Attribute Editor: How all the nodes connect
- Toggle between Channel Box and Attr Editor - Ctrl A
- Deleting a node: Select node under Input - Edit - Delete Node

Customizing the UI
08_customizingMaya.mp4
- Top Right - Workspaces
- Revert to Default - Workspace - Reset Current Workspace
- Open UI elements - dock them
- Panels - Saved Layouts

Customizing ​shelves
09_customShelf.mp4
- Cog icon - New Shelf
- Go to the menu item you want to add to the shelf - Ctrl Shift Click
- MMB Drag to move them around
 - Add primitives and modeling tools
- RMB - Edit - Shelves

Custom Hotkeys
10_customHotkeys.mp4
- Windows - Settings/Preferences - Hotkey Editor
- ‘Center Pivot’ - Ctrl Alt Q

Bonus​: My Custom Hotkeys

Edit Edge Flow - Alt A
Sculpt Tool - Alt Q
Center Pivot - Ctrl Alt Q
Multi-Cut - Alt C
Bevel - Alt B
Quad Draw - Ctrl Shift Q
Target Weld- Shift V
Slide edge tool - Shift S (Edit mesh - Slide Edge Tool)
Bridge - Shift B
Connect - Z
InvertSelection - Alt S (Edit - Invert)
Insert Edge Loop Tool - Alt W

Modeling

Marking menus
11_markingMenus.mp4
The marking menus are context based, meaning they are different based on the
mode you're in.
- Properties - RMB
- Modeling Tools Shift RMB
- Selection tools - Ctrl RMB

Hotbox
12_hotbox.mp4
Hold the Spacebar to get the hotbox. Collection of the most used tools in Maya.

Adding Primitives
13_creatingPrimitives.mp4
Three ways of making primitives:
- Shelf
- Create - Polygon Primitives
- Marking Menus.
Marking menus is the fastest, but takes some time to get used to. Hold down Shift
RMB with nothing selected to make primitives with the marking menus.

Moving, Scaling and Rotation

14_moving_scaling_rotation.mp4
- Move - W
- Rotate - E
- Scale - R
- Local and World
Marking menus:
W Hold
R Hold
E Hold
- Transforms (top right)
- Incremental Snap - J

Component Vs Object Mode

15_componentVsObjectMode.mp4
- When moving, rotating or scaling the object, use object mode.
- When modeling, use component mode

Selection
16_selection.mp4
- Vert, edge, poly
- Select - LMB click
- Remove from selection - Ctrl click
- Invert - Shift LMB drag
- Invert - Shirt Shift I
- Select connected - Double Click on poly
- Loop - Double Click on the loop
- Ring - Double click on the ring
- Range select - Select start, double click end point
- Selection Marking Menu - Ctrl RMB
- Deselect All - Alt D
- Grow Selection - Shift >
- Shrink Selection - Shift <
 - Grow/Shrink Marking Menu - Ctrl RMB

Hiding/Unhiding
17_hiding_isolation.mp4
- Isolate selected
- Hide - H
- Unhide - Shift H
- Hide polygons - H

History
18_understandingHistory
- All the nodes created will be connected to the model. Once the history gets
big, Maya gets very unstable. Delete history often.
- Deleting History - Shift Alt D
- Deleting Non-Deformer History deletes everything but the deformers.

Modeling Tools
19_modelingTools.mp4
- Extrude - Shift Drag on Gizmo
- Repeat Last - G
- Hold Ctrl for smaller increments
- Merge
- Multi Cut
- Average Verts
- Target weld
- Fill Holes
- Bridge
- Append Polygons Tool
- Combine (why does weird stuff happen here)
- Separate
- Extract
- Smooth
- Edit Edge Flow
- Bevel - Ctrl B
- Slide Edges
- Circularize components (top third)
- Connect
- Delete Edge
- Insert Edge Loop Tool
Subdivision
20_subdivision.mp4
- Polygons - 1
- Cage - 2
- Subdivisions - 3

Sculpting
21_sculpting.mp4
- Object Mode - Shift RMB - Sculpt Tool
- Sculpt Brushes - Ctrl RMB
- Sculpting Settings - RMB
- Brush Size - B
- Reverse stroke - Ctrl while sculpting
- Size Units: World/Screen Pixels
- Strength:
- Sculpt - Ctrl 1
- Smooth - Shift, Ctrl 2
- Relax Ctrl 3
- Wax
- Grab - Hold Ctrl to move verts on their normal

Soft selection
22_softSelection.mp4
- Activate Soft Selection - B
- Grow/Shrink - B Drag
- Change falloff under Tool Settings

Curves
23_curves.mp4
- Non renderable
- CV Curve tool
- CV - Control Vertex
- Select Polygon - Select Curve - Extrude along curve. In the Attribute Editor,
play with the curve settings.
Manipulator and Pivots
24_pivots.mp4
- The point where the rotation, translation or scaling happens from
- Align Pivot - Hold D - or Insert
- Click on verts, edges or polys
- Rotate off the pivot like a hinge
- Center Pivot: Modify - Center Pivot

Snapping
25_snapping.mp4
- Grid Snap - X
- Vert Snap - V

Deformers
26_deformers.mp4
- Animation - Deform - Nonlinear
- Bend
- Lattice
- Texture - set to World/Normal in textureDeformHandle
- Twist - Envelope to 1, change End Angle
- Wave
- Edit - Delete by Type - Non-Deformer History

Blend Shapes
27_blendshape.mp4
- Rigging Menu (F3) - Deform - Blend Shape
- Allows you to modify one model with another identical model.
- Used a lot of facial expressions.
- Selection Order: Master - Slave.
- “I want ​this ​to control ​that​”

Booleans
28_booleans.mp4
- Selection Order: Master -> Slave (I want ​this ​to be affected by ​that​)
- Move transform in the outliner
Instances and duplication
29_duplication.mp4
- Duplicate - Ctrl D
- Duplicate - Shift Drag
- Duplicate Special: Edit - Duplicate Special

Image Planes
30_imageplanes.mp4
- Select the ortho camera in the Outliner you want to use (front, side, top)
- Attribute Editor - Environment - Create - Image Name - Select your image

Retopo Basics & Quad Draw

31_retopoBasics.mp4
- Make Live

-
- Modeling Toolkit - Quad draw
- Add points - LMB
- Make Quad from Points - Shift LMB
- Extrude Edge - TAB LMB
- Extrude Loop - TAB MMB
- Insert Loop - Ctrl LMB
- Delete Polys - Ctrl Shift LMB
- Relax - Shift LMB

Retopo a basic head

32_retopoHead.mp4
- Put in big loops first
- Work from general to specific
- Once you have a low res, you can smooth it (Shift RMB in Object Mode -
Smooth)

UV Mapping Basics
33_uvMappingBasics.mp4
- Assign uv shader
 -
- Planar Mapping
- Cylindrical Mapping
- Cut - Shift X
- Sew - Shift S
- Move and Sew - Shift RMB Up
- Selection - Double click/ UV shell
- Unfold
- Optimize - Relaxes UVs
- Texture Borders :

-
- Convert to shell
- Merge Uvs
- Flip
- Layout: Pre shell rotation, scaling
- Straighten out uvs
- Orient to edges - Arrange and Layout - Orient to Edges
- Texel Density: Transform - Get/Set
- Symmetrize: Tool - Symmetrize
- UDIM move: Transform - Arrow Keys

Transfer UVs
35_transferUVs
- Mesh - Transfer Attributes

-
 - Selection Order: Master -> Slave

Uv mapping a head
34_uvMappingHead.mp4
- Think of the seams as if you’re making a 2D version of your model which you need to
flatten. (Morbid version is to make a carpet out of your model)
- Overall workflow: Select Seams - Cut - Unfold - Layout UVs - Place them as you see
fit

Pipeline & Workflow

Setting the Project

36_settingTheProject.mp4
Setting the project is essential, as it tells Maya where all the project files will live.
- File - Set Project
- File - Project Window

Relative vs Absolute path

37_relativeVsAbsolutePath.mp4
- Relative Path shows you the path within the project
- Absolute Path shows you the actual file directory on the computer.
- It’s ​much​ more pipeline friendly to use Relative Path

Importing, Exporting
38_importingExporting.mp4
- File - Export (selection)
- File - Import
- Drag and drop files from Windows Explorer
- Copy paste from one Maya scene to another
- Load OBJ Plugin: Windows - Settings/Preferences - Plug-In Manager -
Search for ‘obj’ - set to Load and Auto-Load - Hit ‘Refresh’

Display layers
39_displayLayers.mp4
- Select Objects - Create Layer from selected objects
 -
- Assign Color
- Reference button

Fixing Common Issues

40_fixingCommonIssues.mp4
- File - Optimize Scene Size
- ngons
- Panel Menu gone - Shift M
- Gizmo size
- Reset the UI
- Delete history
- Deleting prefs : C:\Users\[user]l\Documents\maya\2020\prefs
- Cant move objects in your outliner: Outliner - Display - Sort Order - Scene
Hierarchy.

UI Scene Management
41_uiSceneManagement.mp4
- Panel Menu - View - Camera Settings
- Panel Menu - Shading
- Panel Menu - Show
- Below Panel Menu:
- Select Camera
- Lock camera
- Grid
- Wireframe
- Smooth Shade All
- Default Material
- Wireframe on Shaded
- Textured
- Use All Lights
- Ambient Occlusion
- Motion Blur
 - AA
- Xray
- Display - Heads Up Display - Polycount

Tips and Tricks

- Quickly copy channel values: Select slave - Master - hit TAB
- Measure Distance: Create - Measure - Distance Tool
- Create camera based on current view - Ctrl + Shift + C
- View - Camera Settings - Vertical
- Copy Paste between maya scenes
- Preferences - File/Project - File Dialogue - OS/Native

Xgen
42_xgen.mp4
- Xgen is extremely picky
- Set the project ​first - it needs to save out maps and data
- Grooms aren't stored in the scene, but in the project
- Hair comes from the polygons selected. UV map it, Select more than you
need
- Put original model - not hair - on a layer
- Collection: The project. Description: Part of the groom e.g eyelashes, hair etc
- Name everything
- Assign ‘lambert1’
- Make new Collection: Splines - Randomly - Guides
- Click on the Eye to see your groom
- Two parts: Grooming and Modifiers
- Try to get the shape with the least amount of guides possible

- Sculpt Guides tool (move Convert to Polys far away)

- Move guide- Ctrl MMB
- Resize brush - Shift LMB
- Sculpt Guides - Lock Length
- Guides have CVs

- Set density
- Taper
- Width : rand(0.01,0.05)

- Region maps:
- Artisan Paint Tool: Brush icon next to Region Map
- Use only a hard brush
- Premade colors
 - Save the map
- Save Ptex

- Density Maps
- Controls where the groom is and the density

- Modifiers
- Clumping
- Setup Maps: Density, Generate, Guide
- Click to make a clump guide, Ctrl click to remove
- Clump Noise: Frequency: The waves
- Noise Effect: Noise, Frequency

- Preview/Output
- Percent: Viewport display amount
- Assign shader to the DESC
- Assign aiStandardHair1
- Preview/Output - Output Settings - Renderer: Arnold

Animation basics
43_animationBasics.mp4
- Workspace - Animation
- Graph Editor - Tangents
- Set Key - RMB on Channel - Set Key
- Delete Key - RMB - Delete Key / Select Key - Delete
- Change hor/vert view graph editor Shift Alt RMB

Rigging

Parenting
45_parenting.mp4
One object will control another
- Parenting: Slave -> Master - P
- MMB Drag in outliner

Constraints
46_constraints.mp4
- Rigging Menu (F3) Constraints
- Selection Order: Master - Slave
- “I want ​this ​to control ​that​”
- Parent: Controls rotation and translation
 - Orient: Controls Orientation
- Point: Controls translation
- Scale: Controls scale
- Aim: Used to control eyes, turrets etc
- In the Constraint Options - Enable ‘Maintain Offset’

Joints
47_joints.mp4
- Rigging - Skeleton - Create Joints
- Panel Menu - Xray Joints
- Move joints - Hold down D
- Joint Size: Display - Animation - Joint Size
- Skeleton - Mirror Joints - YZ
- Snap - Snap to Projected Center

Weight painting
48_weightPainting.mp4
- Skin - Bind Skin
- Skin - Paint Weight maps
- RMB on top of a Joint - Select influence
- Mirror Skin Weights - YZ
- Smooth Skin Weights
- Deform - Delta mush

Rendering

Rendering Basics
49_renderingBasics.mp4
 - Scene consists of models, shaders/materials, lights
- It’s like a real world photo set.
- Render settings:
- Common - Frame Range
- Frame Range
- Renderable cameras
- Image Size
- Arnold Renderer
- Where all render settings live
- Panels - Perspective - Render Cam

Assigning Materials
50_assigningShaders.mp4
- A Shading Group connects to the model. Surface and Displacement port
- Assigning files - RMB - Assign New Material - Arnold - aiStandardSurface
- Adding to Favorites: RMB - Add to Favorites
- Name the shader/node
- ‘aiStandardSurface’ is the default Arnold material

Understanding the Shader

51_understandingTheShader.mp4
- Must-Read resources:
https://academy.substance3d.com/courses/the-pbr-guide-part-1
- Ctrl click drag to change values quickly
- Base:
- Color
- Metalness
- Specular:
- Color, Roughness, IOR,
- Transmission:
- Weight, Color
- IOR
- Control the sharpness with Specular Roughness
- Shape Node - Arnold - Disable Opaque
- Subsurface: Weight, Color, Radius. Scale of the model is important
- Emission: Weight, Color
- Geometry: Bump Mapping

Displacement and Bump

52_displacementBump.mp4
 - Displacement generates geometry based on a map.
- You control the image in the shader and the disp amount and quality on the
model.
- Need to first subdivide the model - then displace it with an image
- Shape Node - Arnold - Subdivision
- Shape Node - Arnold - Displacement Attribute
- Add Image:
- Displacement mat : File node
- Load image through file node
- Color Space: Raw

Arnold RenderView
53_renderView.mp4
- Arnold - Open Arnold Render View
- Navigation: Pan - MMB, Zoom - Scroll
- File - Save Image
- Change render camera
- Change AOVs
- R G B and L
- Render region - Shift Drag (shift click to disable)
- Click on objects to select them
- Status and render settings on the bottom
- View - Store Snapshot (icon bottom right)
- Isolate selected - Also works with nodes!
- Render - Debug shading
- File Types: Save as EXR or PNG

Node Editor/Hypershade
54_hypershade.mp4
- Overview of everything in your scene
- Tab to make new nodes
- Input/Output connections
- MMB drag into graph
- Make new ‘standardSurface’ - Select object, RMB - Assign Material
- Make tabs
- Edit - Delete Unused Nodes
- Clearing the graph does not delete nodes
- Drag and drop textures from explorer
- Cut Node Connection - Shift Alt Drag
Essential Nodes
55_essentialNodes.mp4
You want to use nodes with ‘ai’ in front
Procedural Nodes​:
- aiCurvature (dont use for disp)
- aiAmbientOcclusion - Enable ‘Self Only’
- aiCellNoise - Change ‘pattern’
- aiNoise - like CellNoise, but simpler
- aiTriPlanar,

gradingNodes:
- aiColorCorrect
- aiRange

LayerNodes:
- aiLayerRGBA,
- aiLayerShader / aiMixShader

AOVs
56_AOVs.mp4
- Fancy name for Render Passes
- Diffuse
- Direct
- Indirect
- Specular
- N
- SSS
- Transmission
- Make custom: AOVs - Add Custom - Custom AOVs - Shader

Arnold render settings

57_renderSettings.mp4
Essential Reading:
https://docs.arnoldrenderer.com/display/A5AFMUG/Removing+Noise
- Artist time is more valuable than computer time
- Arnold renderer - Sampling. NOT BOUNCES
- High number - High quality, high render time
- Samples increase exponentially
 - Camera (AA): Multiply of the other samples. Anti Aliasing, DOF, motion
blur
- Diffuse: Global illumination
- Specular: Specular roughness noise
- Transmission: Transmission noise
- SSS: SSS noise
- Motion Blur: Enable if you use Motion Blur

Diffuse_Indirect Diffuse samples

Diffuse_Direct (shadow noise) Light samples
Specular_Direct (specular noise) Light samples
Specular_Indirect Specular samples
Transmission Transmission samples
SSS (direct and indirect) SSS samples
Volume Volume samples

Lighting
58_lighting.mp4
- Area lights
- Exposure: Exponential
- Samples: Light samples - how much noise each light will have
- Visibility: Can change whats affected
- Directional Lights - All light rays are parallel. Similar to sunlight
- Spot - Like a spotlight used on stages
- Point - Similar to a light bulb
- Light Linking: Windows - Relationship Editors - Light Linking - Light Centric.
Click on the object you want to be associated or not with the specific light

HDRI
59_hdri.mp4
- Great resource for HDRIs:
https://hdrihaven.com/
- Arnold - Lights - Skydome Lights
- Provides incredibly rich lighting which works particularly well with reflections.
Camera
60_camera.mp4
- Focal Length
- Camera settings: Shape Node - Arnold:
- Camera Type: Perspective, fisheye
- Exposure
- Enable DOF
- Aperture Size
- Display - Heads Up Display - Object Details - Distance from Camera
- Change size: Shape Node - Object Display - Locator Scale