Autodesk Maya

Animation: Animation is a process of giving movement and life to the objects, characters, props,
and more.
Pre-production:
• It is the phase of developing ideas and planning prior to the process of production.
• It begins with the main concepts or ideas which are initially turned into a full story, and then,
once the story has been finalized, other things such as the script, shot sequence and camera
angles are worked out.
• It is the period before any real animation work takes place.
The major components of a pre-production process are as follows:
1. Storyboard
2. Layouts
3. Model Sheets
4. Animatics
Storyboard:
• The storyboard helps to finalize the development of the storyline, and is an essential stage of the
animation process.
• It is made up of drawings in the form of a comic strip, and is used to both help visualize the
animation and to communicate ideas clearly.
Layout:
A layout is a visual map. It instructs the various artists on a scene where the characters are to be
positioned and how they are to move. The layout department works closely with the director to
design the locations and costumes. With this, they begin to stage the scenes, showing the various
characters' positions throughout the course of each shot.
Model Sheets:
• Model sheets are precisely drawn groups of pictures that show all of the possible expressions
that a character can make, and all of the many different poses that they could adopt.
• These sheets are created in order to both accurately maintain character detail and to keep the
designs of the characters uniform whilst different animators are working on them across several
shots.
Expression Sheets: Expression Sheets may also be developed as a guide to character facial
expressions, such as, smiling, laughing, sad, shocked, startled, sleepy, alert, thoughtful, concerned,
etc.
Character Line-up Sheets: Character Line-up Sheets are also produced to compare the scale of the
characters against one another.
Animatics:
It is a rough animation that is used by animators to give some idea about the timing of a sequence,
used as a kind of animated storyboard and is often accompanied by audio such as dialogue, sound
effects and music. Each frame of the animatic depicts a certain key point of the scene or movie.
Production:
Once the storyboard has been approved, the project enters the production phase. It is here that
the actual work can start, based on the guidelines established during pre-production. Some major
activities that are undertaken during the production phase are the layout, modeling, texturing,
lighting, rigging, and animation. During this stage the Director approves camera moves, depth of
field and the composition of the models making up the set.
Layout Artist:
• A Layout Artist set the stage for each scene of animation.
• Layout Artists are responsible for composing the shots and delivering rough animation to the
animators as a guide.
• The Layout Artist produces the 3D version of what storyboard artists had previously drawn on
paper.
• The layout determines lighting and camera angles as well as where characters and props are
placed in the scene according to their start positions.
• The Layout Artist will often work closely with the Director and other specialists such as a Scene
Planner and Special Effects Supervisor to work out the scene layout.
Key Frame Animators:
The Key Frame Animators draw the images that determine the beginning of a movement and the
end of movement.
The in between Animators:
The in between animators draw the images or frames in between the key frames to complete the
movements prescribed by the Key Frame Animator.
Digital Ink and Paint Artist:
The process of colouring of animation frames is carried out by Digital Ink and Paint Artist using
special ink and paint software.
Clean-up Artists:
Clean-up Artists are responsible for re-drawing the Key Frame and In between Animators drawings
which are normally of a rough line quality.
The Scanner Operator:
The Scanner Operator is responsible for scanning drawings prepared by the Clean-up Artist. Ink and
Paint, which is the process of colouring the drawn frames is used to transfer drawings over to cells
which are then hand painted.
Digital Ink and Paint Artists:
In the digital age the term is often referred to as Digital Ink and Paint as the process now involves
scanning the finished drawings into a computer where they can be coloured using a software . The
scanned cells can be coloured in or 'inked' using simple tools such as the 'Paint Bucket‘ tool. It is
also possible to touch up the scanned line drawings using tools such as the Paintbrush.
Line Test:
A Line Test is a process used to check hand drawn frames prior to them being used for final
artwork. Frames are captured either via a video camera, frame by frame or by scanning them into a
computer. The resulting sequence allows the animator to assess how well the sequence is flowing.
If the result is unsatisfactory then the animator can simply re-draw, add or delete frames and then
create another line test.
Onion Skinning:
Onion Skinning is a method used to view several frames of an animation simultaneously, it allows
the animator to check the changes occurring within each frame and how they flow together.
Walk Cycle / Loops:
The 'Walk Cycle‘ is a form of loop where the sequence of frames used to show one foot moving in
front of another which can be repeated continually to give the effect of continuous walking. Walk
Cycles are a common form of 'loop' animation, they consist of a sequence of frames which
together make a continuous flowing loop. They help to make repetitive movements simpler to
animate.
Modeler:
Modelers work closely with the Art Directors, Visual Effects Supervisors and Animation Supervisors.
Modelers turn the 2D concept art and traditionally sculpted models into high detailed, 3D models
in computer using software such as Autodesk Maya and 3Ds Max.
Texturing Artists:
Texturing Artists are responsible for writing shades and painting textures as per the scene
requirements. Working hand-in-hand with the surfacing and shading departments, textures are
painted to match the approved concept art and designs which were delivered by the art
department. These textures are created in the form of maps which are then assigned to the
models.
Rigging:
Rigging is the process of adding bones and controls to a character or defining the movement of a
mechanical object so that the characters or objects can be animated easily.
The rigging department is also involved in developing cloth simulation – so as well as making a
character able to clench their fist or rotate their arm, the rigging and cloth department is
responsible for making their costume move in a believable manner.
Post-production:
• Post-production is the third and final step in film creation and it refers to the tasks that must be
completed or executed after the filming or shooting ends.
• It involves exporting or rendering out the animation frames and then editing the pieces of
animation together using video editing software.
• It includes the editing of raw footage to cut scenes together, inserting transitional effects,
working with voice and sound actors and dubbing to name just a few of the many post-
production tasks.
The three main phases of post-production are rendering, compositing, and audio-video editing.
Rendering:
• It is the process of getting the final assembled videos or animated scenes out of the computer in
the format of a sequence of individual frames.
• The aim of rendering is to generate a series of individual pixel-based frames or a video clip.
Compositing:
The Compositing Department brings together all of the 3D elements produced by the previous
departments in the pipeline, to create the final rendered image ready for film. After the animation
has been rendered it may be necessary to add some special effects or to combine separate
rendered elements together into one final animated sequence. This process is known as
Compositing.
Editing:
Editing The editing stage of post-production involves putting the rendered pieces of animation or
recorded video clips together in the correct order of events.
Video editing:
Video editing is the process of manipulating and rearranging shots to create a seamless final
product, and it is at this stage that any unwanted footage and scenes are removed. Other tasks
include titling and adding any effects to the final video and text.
Audio editing:
The use of audio, such as music, sound effects and vocal dialogue all play a big part in telling the
story. Altering the type of sound used, particularly the choice of music or background ambience
will have an effect on the mood of an animation. The editing department is responsible for
selecting and assembling the sound recordings in preparation for the final sound mix, ensuring lip
sync and adding all of the sound effects required for the final film.
Titles and Credits:
Titles and Credits are an important part of a finished animation. It helps in people know who made
it, when it was made, who funded the project and so on. This may involve adding text or subtitles
at various points if appropriate.
Angle of View: Describes how much of the scene in front of the camera will be captured by the
camera's sensor. It is measured in degrees.
Effects Animation: The animation of non-character elements such as explosions, smoke and rain.
High definition (HD): A general term for a video signal with a significantly higher resolution than
standard definition.

Write a short note on Autodesk Maya:

Autodesk Maya is a professional 3D computer graphics application that is used to create assets for
interactive 3D applications & games, animated films, TV series, and visual effects. It is known for its
powerful modeling, animation, simulation, and rendering tools.
Maya is used by a wide range of artists and professionals, including:
• 3D modelers
• Animators
• Riggers
• VFX artists
• Game developers
• Motion capture artists
• Architectural designers
• Medical visualization artists

Some Short Cut Keys in Maya:

Q: Select Tool – Used to select the objects or components.
W: Move Tool – Used to move the objects or components.
E: Rotate Tool – Used to rotate the objects or components.
R: Scale Tool – Used to scale the objects or components..
F: Focus – Used to focus the object.
S: To set the keys for animation.
Alt + Left Mouse Button: To rotate the entire grid.
Alt + Right Mouse Button: Zoom in and Zoom out.
Alt + Click and hold Middle Mouse Button: To pan the entire grid.
Alt + Scroll Middle Mouse Button: Zoom in and Zoom out.
Middle Mouse Button: Zoom in and Zoom out.

Animation Editors:
• The Animation Editor can be used to animate any attribute in Maya, including object position,
rotation, scale, and visibility.
• It can also be used to animate the behavior of objects, such as the way they collide with each
other or the way they respond to forces.
• It provides a variety of features for creating and editing animation curves, including: Keyframing,
Tangent manipulation, Playback controls, Graphing tools, etc.
Some Common Animation Editors are:
Graph Editor
Time Editor
Trax Editor
Dope Sheet Editor
The Dope Sheet Editor:
• The Dope Sheet is another animation editor in Maya that is similar to the Graph Editor.
• Instead of displaying curves, the Dope Sheet displays key times as coloured rectangles and lets
you edit event timing in blocks of key frames and synchronize motion to a sound file.
• The Dope Sheet editor displays key frames over time, only using a horizontal graph rather than
vertical.
• You can see all the keys in a spreadsheet type interface.
• You can select any or all of the keys in a scene, scale them, move them, copy and paste them,
and otherwise work directly here, rather than in the viewport.
• You can choose to select the keys for children, or sub tree, or both, so you can make simple
changes that affect many objects and their keys at once.
• Dope Sheet allows for soft-selection of keys which is very useful when working with motion
capture data that has keys on every frame.
• Dope Sheet provides tools for working directly with time.
• You can select, cut, copy, paste, and insert and reverse time using the tools on the Time menu.

View Menu: This menu controls the layout of the Dope Sheet view area.
Frame All: Frame All adjusts the graph view to fit all animation in the window.
Frame Selection: Adjusts the graph view to fit selected animation in the window.
Frame Playback Range: Frame Playback Range adjusts the graph view to fit the playback range in
the window.
Centre Current Time: If you want to shift the view so the current time is in the middle of the
editor, select Centre Current Time from the View menu.
Auto Frame: This adjusts the graph view to fit the display when new curves associated with a
selected object are loaded into the Dope Sheet.
Dope Sheet Summary: This option loads the Dope Sheet Summary into the Dope Sheet outliner.
Scene Summary: This option loads the Scene Summary into the Dope Sheet outliner.

Curves Menu: The Curves menu items are functions for processing animation curves.
Pre and Post Infinity Animation Curves:
Pre and Post Infinity animation curves options In Maya, animation curves are extrapolated outside
the first and last keys of the curve. Curves before the first key and after the last key will be flat (no
change in value over time) unless you set the pre and post tangent controls to anything other
than constant. You can use these options to automatically generate specific types of repeating
animation.
Note: If you want to create editable animation of a repetitious or cyclical nature, you can bake a
channel with Infinity turned on.
Bake Channel: This operation calculates a new animation curve for an attribute using the input
nodes that contribute to its properties.
Bake Channel is useful to:
• Edit a single animation curve instead of all the contributing attributes that affect the behaviour
of a single attribute, for example, an object affected by a driven key or an expression.
• Add keys to an existing curve.
Change Rotation Interp: Let’s change the rotation interpolation type of existing curves. You can
change the rotation interpolation type only on rotation channels that have key frames on all three
channels (rotate X, rotate Y, rotate Z). In addition, because the rotate X, rotate Y and rotate Z
channels always share the same interpolation type, changing interpolation for a single channel
such as rotate X, will automatically change rotate Y and rotate Z as well.
Curve Filters: Curve filters in Autodesk Maya are a set of tools that allow you to modify animation
curves in a variety of ways. They can be used to smooth out curves, reduce the number of keys, or
create custom effects.
Some common curve filters are as follows:
Smooth Filter: Smoothes out the animation curve by averaging the values of the keys.

Key Reduce Filter: Reduces the number of keys on the animation curve without significantly
changing the overall shape of the curve.

Simplify Curve: Use this operation to remove keys that are not necessary to describe the shape of
an animation curve. Excess keys may accumulate on an animation curve as a result of adding keys
manually or performing operations such as a Bake Channel. You may need to remove keys from an
animation curve to reduce the complexity of the graph view. You might also need to provide larger
spans for adjusting curve tangents.

Resampling curves: You can resample dense data curves with the Curve > Resample Curves option
in the Graph Editor or Dope Sheet. Resampling creates a periodic frame rate by placing keys at
uniform intervals. The filter converts animation curves with keys at either uniform or non-uniform
intervals to curves with keys at a uniform interval that you specify.

Non-Weighted and Weighted Tangents: Specify the tangent weighting for selected keys. The
default setting is non-weighted tangents, which provide simple handles for manipulating the
tangent’s angle. Weighted tangents represent the amount of influence a tangent has on an
animation curve segment. By turning on Free Tangent Weight, it is possible to simultaneously edit
the influence and angle of the tangent quickly and intuitively.
Keys menu: Provides to add in between keys, break the keys, mute an unmute the keys.

Mute Keys: Mutes the selected keys. Keys that are muted do not contribute to the animation on
their channels. When keys are muted, a green symbol appears next to the names of the muted
keys channels in the Dope Sheet Outliner.

Unmute Key: Unmutes the selected keys. Keys that are not muted contribute to the animation on
their channels. Unmuting keys disables their Mute channels (indicated by the red x symbol next to
the names of the muted keys channels in the Dope Sheet Outliner) but does not remove them.

Tangents Menu: Tangents describe the entry and exit of curve segments from a key. This menu
operates on the shape of curve segments around selected keys.

Spline Tangent: Specifying a spline tangent creates an animation curve that is smooth between the
key before and the key after the selected key. The tangents of the curve are co-linear (both at the
same angle). This ensures that the animation curve smoothly enters and exits the key. When
animating fluid movement, a spline tangent is an excellent place to start.

Linear Tangent : Specifying a linear tangent creates an animation curve as a straight line joining
two keys. If the in tangent type is linear, the curve segment before the key is a straight line. If the
out-tangent type is linear, the curve segment after the key is a straight line. When animating the
colour of a heating element on a stove, you would use linear to achieve that gradual change in
colour from charcoal gray to burning hot red.
Clamped Tangent: Specifying a clamped tangent creates an animation curve that has the
characteristics of linear and spline curves. The keys’ tangents will be splines unless the value of two
adjacent keys are very close. In this case, the out tangent of the first key and the in tangent of the
second key will be interpolated as linear. When animating a skeleton in a walk-cycle, you may
notice a slipping of the pelvic and foot joint position. This occurs because the value of the keys on
the curve are either the same or close to (with in tolerance of) the value of the other. Maya assigns
a default spline tangent to describe what occurs between these keys. This is why you get the joint
positions slipping. By setting the tangent type to clamped for these keys, the slipping is corrected
and the tangents becomes a combination of linear and spline. In the Maya environment
preferences, Clamped is the default tangent type.

Stepped Tangent: Specifying a stepped tangent creates an animation curve whose out tangent is a
flat curve. The curve segment is flat (horizontal), so the value changes at the key without
gradation. The light from a strobe light turns on and off. To create a strobe like effect, you would
use a step tangent.

Stepped Next Tangent: Full Body Inverse kinematics (FBIK) animation keys use the stepped next
tangent type by default. This tangent type differs from regular Stepped tangents in that its
interpolation values jump immediately to that of the next key, rather than holding the value of the
current key until the next key is reached.

Flat Tangent: Sets the in and out tangents of the key to be horizontal (with a slope of 0 degrees).
When a ball reaches its ascent, it hangs in the air for a brief time before starting its descent. You
can create this effect by using a flat tangent.

Fixed Tangent: Specifying a fixed tangent allows a key’s tangents to remain unchanged as the key is
edited. When animating a ball, you may find the ball isn’t falling from a desired height, yet its
impact with the floor and everything else is perfect. Using a fixed tangent lets you change the
height of the ball while retaining the tangent’s angle.
This process is useful when you want to:
• Edit a single animation curve instead of all the contributing attributes that affect the behaviour of
a single attribute, for example, an object affected by a driven key or an Expression.
• Add keys to an existing curve.

Plateau Tangent: Plateau tangents ease animation curves in and out of their key frames like spline
tangents, but also flatten curve segments that occur between equal-valued key frames like
clamped tangents. The plateau tangent normally behaves like a spline tangent, but ensures that
the minimum and maximum values along a curve are all at key frames. Plateau tangents are useful
when you want the positions of your key frames to be exact, because they ensure the maximum
and minimum values (‘hills and valleys’) of the curve do not extend past their key frames. For
example, picture an animation of a ball rolling off a table, falling to the floor, and then rolling on
the floor. With spline tangents, the ball falls through the floor, and then comes back up to the floor.
With plateau tangents, the ball will not fall through the floor.

In Tangent: It lets you specify a type of tangent for the In Tangent only. The in tangent defines the
type of curve segment that comes before a key.

Out Tangent: Let’s specify a type of tangent for the Out Tangent only. The Out tangent defines the
type of curve segment that comes after a key.
Graph Editor:
• The Graph Editor is a helpful tool for tweaking values for keys you have set.
• It gives you a visual representation - a curved line - of the attributes that are animated.
• The animation time goes from left to right, and any keyed variable appears as a line that ramps
up or down to indicate its value over time.
• It can help you visualize how things are changing and how fast. You can pan and zoom this panel
like any other.
To move around in the graph editor, you use the same controls as in the perspective view. Zoom:
Scroll the middle-mouse button
Pan: Command + Middle mouse button
F: Focus in on the currently selected key frames

The Trax Editor:

The Trax Editor is a high-level animation tool that lets you select and control characters and their
animation clips, layer and blend animation sequences, synchronize your animation and audio clips,
and drag-and-drop animation clips between mapped characters. The trax editor is an inbuilt
component in Maya similar to a video editing software like Adobe Premier.
The Trax Editor window has four work areas:
(i) Trax menu bar: Contains character and clip or object and geometry cache clip related options
that let you perform all required actions for creating and editing your animation or
deformations nonlinearly.
(ii) Trax toolbar: Contains a selection of buttons that let you quickly access some of the
functionality contained in the Trax menu bar.
(iii) Track control area: Contains buttons that let you control the playback of each track’s animation
or deformations.
(iv) Track view area: Contains all the tracks, animation clips,
Geometry cache clips, and audio clips for your loaded characters or objects.

Timeline:
The timeline is where the bulk of the animation process takes place. This is where you control the
speed at which a movie element moves, when it enters and exits the scene, and its depth, or
stacking order, in relation to other elements in the scene. Here you are able to set animation keys,
scrub through the animation, and change the range of time in your animation. Notice the four
boxes that comprise the Range Info. The two outer boxes (with values 1.00 and 48.00) are the start
and end of your timeline. The two inner boxes represent the start and end of the current section of
the timeline.

Keys:
Keys store a value at a given time in animation. This time is measured in frames. Most animations
have 24 frames in a second, so, if at frame 1 there's a key frame that says the value is 0, then on
frame 24 there's a key frame with the value of 5. In the time span of one second, that value
changes from 1 to 5. The way this value changes is defined by tangents.

Auto Key:
Auto key automatically saves the changes you make to an object's keyframes. If the current frame
already has a key, auto key will immediately update the key with your changes. If the current frame
does not have a key, auto key will automatically create a keyframe based on your adjustments (this
only works on objects with existing keys). However, beware that with auto key it is easy to
accidently create stray keys on the timeline or make changes you did not intend.
Keyframe:
Maya uses “keyframes” for animation also called as keys. A keyframe is basically a marker used to
specify an object's position and attributes (for example, translate, rotate, scale, colour, and so on)
at a given point in time.

Camera in Maya:
Camera animation is very important thing for an animation movie, because there is no sense of
making an animated movie with a static camera, as cinematography said.
There are three types of perspective cameras in Maya.
i. Camera:
With this camera type, you see only the camera icon. In general, because this camera freely rotates
and loses track of its "up" vector, you should use it only when you're linking the camera to another
object for movement and animation, or when you are placing a camera in one fixed spot.
ii. Camera and Aim:
This camera includes a camera target and an aim handle for adjusting the camera target. In
addition, this camera automatically stays level in relation to the horizon, so it is the one you will use
most often. You can make this camera roll if you want, but by default, it stays level except at
extreme straight-up or straight down orientations.
iii. Camera, Aim and Up:
This camera type includes two handles: the aim handle, described for Camera and Aim, and an up
handle for banking (leveling) the camera. This camera type is useful when you want to bank the
camera during your animation.

Some of the setting in Camera:

Clip Planes: Only objects located within the values specified for the camera's clip planes appear in
the scene. If distant objects are not showing up in your scene, raise the Far Clip Plane value. If
nearby objects seem to be appearing in cross-section or not appearing at all, lower the Near Clip
Plane value.

Depth of Field: In simplest terms, depth of field is how much of your image/video is in focus. In
more technical terms, depth of field is the distance in an image/video where objects appear
“acceptably in focus” or have a level of “acceptable sharpness.”
If Depth of Field is Enabled in Maya Camera, the distance blurs with this attribute. It can be a
render-intensive effect, but yields a nice cinematic result because objects close to and far away
from the focus point are progressively blurred.

Orthographic Views: Orthographic views are two-dimensional views of three-dimensional objects.

Orthographic Projection is a way of drawing an 3D object from different directions. Usually a front,
side and plan view are drawn so that a person looking at the drawing can see all the important
sides. Orthographic drawings are useful especially when a design has been developed to a stage
whereby it is almost ready to manufacture. There are two ways of drawing in orthographic – First
Angle and Third Angle. They differ only in the position of the plan, front and side views. You can
create perspective cameras, rotate them in to position, and then set them to orthographic to get a
"flat“ view for projecting textures onto an object.

Path Animation: Path animation allows you to animate an object along a path specified by a curve.
In this way, the curve controls the motion of the object. Path animation is useful for animating
objects such as trains, boats, airplanes, and moving cameras whose motion follows a set path. By
having the object move along a curve, you can easily adjust the object’s path by editing the curve.
Normal: A normal is a theoretical line, perpendicular to the surface of a polygon. In Maya, normal
are used to determine the orientation of a polygon face (face normal), or how the edges of faces
will visually appear in relation to each other when shaded (vertex normal).

Face Normal:
The front of a polygon’s face is graphically represented using a vector called the polygon’s normal.
The order of vertices around the face determine the direction of the face (whether a side of the
polygon is the front or the back). For example, if you place vertices in a clockwise direction, the
face normal points downward. If you place vertices in a counter-clockwise direction, the face
normal points upward. When you shade or render polygons, the normal determine how light
reflects from the surface and the shading that results.

Vertex Normal:
Vertex normal determine the visual smoothing between polygon faces. Unlike face normal, they
are not intrinsic to the polygon, but rather reflect how Maya renders the polygons in smooth
shaded mode. Vertex normal appear as lines projecting from the vertex, one for each face that
shares the vertex.

Bank/Banking: It means the object will lean in towards the centre of the curvature of the curve
that it travels along (like a motorcycle going around a corner). The bank option is only available if
the Follow option is on, as banking also affects the rotations of the object.

Animation Layer Editor: Write the notes by yourself.