How to Use Sound Files in Maya - a Guide for Animators

Sine wave. Image: Wikipedia

Maya is a wonderful piece of software but its audio tools are not especially sophisticated. You only get one audio track, and it will only accept certain kinds of audio files (wavs and iffs).  So, how exactly should an animator approach the use of audio files in Maya? Below is our handy guide which should answer most of the vital questions.



What kind of sound files can you use in Maya?

1. wav files
2. .iff files


How to load sound files into Maya:

1. Copy the sound file to your Maya project audio folder

2. File/import/wav

3. In the Maya timeline, right click on the sound file and select it.


How Do You Adjust the timing of the Audio in the timeline?

1. Right click in the timeline on the audio file, select the options box

2. Change the offset values to adjust the audio timing.

3. Adjust the Offset. +10 to advance 10 frames. -10 to regress 10 frames.


How do you delete sound files?

1. Window/animation editors/trax editor

2. Select the audio file and delete it.


How do you edit a audio or sound clip? (You cannot do this in Maya)

1. Online: www.aviary.com/tools/audio-editor. Allows you to edit sound files online.

2. Quick Time Pro is simple to use and good for editing clips.

3. Premiere Pro or Final Cut Pro


Where can you find free sound effects online?

1. www.findsounds.com

2. www.freesound.org

3. www.moviewavs.com


How Do You Convert a MP3 file into a wav?

1. www.media-converter.com will convert .mp4 files to .wav

2. Adobe Sound Booth


What If Maya doesn’t like your wav file?

1. Try opening the file in Quick Time Pro, or Premiere, and exporting it as a new wav file.

2. Go to www.media-converter.com and export it as a new wav file, or an .iff file


I want to record a voice-over. What shall I do?

1. Garage Band is good. Go to the podcast settings, and select male narrator.

2. You can use the microphone in your computer, but it is better to buy an external mike; you will get much better quality.


Why Doesn’t my Audio Work in Maya? – Troubleshooting Guide

1. Have you copied the sound file to your project folder?

2. Is it a .wav or a .iff file? If one kind does not work, try converting into the other

3. Have you tried converting it online using www.media-convertor.com?

4. Have you tried adjusting the offset?


For more on the experience of studying at Bucks New University, come and visit us at one of our Open Days,  take a virtual tour of one of our animation studios, check out what our students think of our course, and see why we're ranked in the top 12 creative universities in the UK. Find out why we're giving free laptops to all our students, and why we give all our students free access to videos at Lynda.com. Also, see what financial assistance might be available to you. Learn which is better for animation, a PC or a Mac? Get hold of a copy of a map so you can find your way around campus, and learn about motion capture at Bucks.  

The Morpheus Rig - and How To Use It

There are plenty of free rigs available these days for the use of students. One of the best is Morpheus, created by the prodigiously talented Josh Burton. It is used extensively by trainee character animators hoping to polish their skills and get better at their craft. Morpheus is an excellent rig but, like all free rigs (and, frankly, like all rigs), it does have a few quirks. Below is a guide for animators to some of the main problems that we have come across, and how to fix them.


Problem 1: Hand IK Orientation
Morpheus's Hand IK control is parented to his shoulders. This means if you animate the shoulders you will animate the hand IK controls, which, mostly, you don’t want.

Solution:
Under the hand IK control, change the value for Parent in the channel box to world, not shoulders.
Also, the elbow pole vector controls should be set in the channel box (under parent) to world, not to the hand.


Problem 2: Vanishing or invisible skin textures
Morpheus' skin textures can be a bit tricky. You may have trouble making them appear, or when you render a frame Morpheus, sometimes his skin comes up black or invisible. If this happens, it is because the skin textures have become disconnected from the source image.

Solution: To solve this, follow these steps:

1. Make sure you created a new project and set to it correctly.
2. Make sure you have copied Morpheus’s textures into your source images folder. Now do a test render again
3. If the textures still don’t show up, open up the Hypershade and look inside for the faulty materials. These will appear black in the Hypershade, meaning no data. Let your mouse hover over the black materials and find the ones named skin materials (it is usually Morpheus’s skin that causes problems).
4. Double click on the material so that its attributes appear in the Attribute Editor.
5. Now, in the Attribute Editor, try to re-connect the material with the source image. Open up the file3 node under the materials tab, then scroll down and re-establish the connection to HeadTextureLight.png, or whatever the file is that the material is searching for.
6. Keep doing this for all of Morpheus’s textures until they are all working correctly. 
7. Don’t forget to render in Mental Ray 
8. If you're still having problems, try using a different lighting setup.

Still can’t make the skin texture work? Animation Apprentice student Giuseppe Candido says:

"that's because it has been used a subsurface scattering material, this is the kind of material to reproduce the skin effect. To avoid that just assign a standard material and reapply textures, it should work then."

Problem 3: Slow Playback

If you turn Morpheus's mesh smooth control to 1, this will slow down the real time playback on screen. Under his God control you'll find the attributes to smooth or unsmooth him.


For more on the experience of studying at Bucks New University, come and visit us at one of our Open Days,  take a virtual tour of one of our animation studios, check out what our students think of our course, and see why we're ranked in the top 12 creative universities in the UK. Find out why we're giving free laptops to all our students, and why we give all our students free access to videos at Lynda.com. Also, see what financial assistance might be available to you. Learn which is better for animation, a PC or a Mac? Get hold of a copy of a map so you can find your way around campus, and learn about motion capture at Bucks. 

Free Zombie Rig from Hotel Transylvania!

Free zombie rig from Sony Pictures

Sony Pictures have just released a free zombie rig from Hotel Transylvania - created in Maya. This is a great opportunity for animation students to use a production-quality rig, one which has been used on a beautifully animated Hollywood blockbuster. Production rigs are more complex than the training rigs that we use at Bucks - so it is strictly for experienced animators. We have not tested it out yet ourselves, so we welcome input from our students on its strengths and weaknesses. Below are the terms of the license offered by Sony Pictures.

Where can you find the free zombie rig?
Follow this link

What are the terms of use?
Hotel Transylvania  Software License: 
This Zombie Rig is being made available to you for your personal, non-commercial use pursuant to the non-exclusive, revocable license grant in Paragraph 7 of the “Licenses Granted to You” Section of the Terms of Use and all other provisions thereof. By ticking the boxes below and clicking AGREE, you certify that you have read and agree to all of the provisions of the Terms of Use, including, without limitation, the restrictions on the “User Submissions” that you might create with the Zombie Rig, as well as the warranties, representations and indemnities made by you therein.

The key words above (of course) are "non-commercial use".

How does it work?
Watch this free tutorial below:



Watch out though - it looks like Sony have removed the facial expressions from the rig. So, while this is good for walk cycles and physical actions, you won't be able to get much in the way of facial expressions.

For more on the experience of studying at Bucks New University, come and visit us at one of our Open Days,  take a virtual tour of one of our animation studios, check out what our students think of our course, and see why we're ranked in the top 12 creative universities in the UK. Find out why we're giving free laptops to all our students, and why we give all our students free access to videos at Lynda.com. Also, see what financial assistance might be available to you. Learn which is better for animation, a PC or a Mac? Get hold of a copy of a map so you can find your way around campus, and learn about motion capture at Bucks. Finally, find out about how to use our free online training videos here at Vimeo.
  

Where can you find free rigs for animation?

There are many free rigs available to Maya animators hoping to practice and learn their craft. Norman, Max, Morpheus - all excellent rigs available at no charge and easy to download, all free for non-commercial use. But beware - all rigs are different and each one has its own quirks. All take time to get used to, and each one will drive you crazy at first. Fortunately for us, The Eleven Second Club Resources Page has helpfully provided a page pulling together many of the best free rigs most commonly used for character animation.

The five most commonly used by competitors in the monthly 11 Second Club competition (which we highly recommend our students enter) are Eleven, Norman, Morpheus, Max, Moom and Bishop. Beware of the latter - it is owned by the online school Animation Mentor and only free for use by their students. Of the first five, Norman is the longest established, arguably the simplest to learn, and probably the most robust. All, however, have their strengths and weaknesses.

Which ever rig you choose, make time to get used to it, and don't forget the power of Google to help solve problems. Other students will have encountered the same difficulties as you, and there are user forums across the web which will help you overcome hurdles and get you on your way.

"What is wrong with Morpheus' skin textures"
"Where are the IK switchers on Norman?"

Someone out there knows. If you don't get an answer quickly, try formulating the question in a different way:

"Morpheus skin texture problem"
 

One way or another,  you will find the answer. Make a note of it, build up your own library of rig notes which you can come back to next time you animate with that character, or help out a fellow student who is stuck.

---Alex


For more on the experience of studying at Bucks New University, come and visit us at one of our Open Days,  take a virtual tour of one of our animation studios, check out what our students think of our course, and see why we're ranked in the top 12 creative universities in the UK. Find out why we're giving free laptops to all our students, and why we give all our students free access to videos at Lynda.com. Also, see what financial assistance might be available to you. Learn which is better for animation, a PC or a Mac? Get hold of a copy of a map so you can find your way around campus, and learn about motion capture at Bucks. And find out about how our online video tutorials work.

When Should an Animator Animate on the World Control in Maya?

When Should You Use the World Control to Animate in Maya? The short answer is: "never". But, as with most rules, real life is not quite as simple as that, and there are exceptions to the rule. Since this is an area of some confusion for animators learning to to use Maya, here's a brief outline of what the rules of World Control Etiquette really are.

What is the world control?
The World control is the control on a character or creature rig which allows it to be moved into position. It is also sometimes called the World Mover, the Global Control, or the God Control. It is at the very top of the animation hierarchy, and supersedes all the other controls, hence its name.

What is it used for?
The World Control is used to place your character in your 3D set. That is generally the first and last time that you will use it.

Why should you not use it for animation?
Because it creates confusion. If you set keyframes on your world control to move your character, you will have to counter-animate other controls such as the body and the feet. This will create two sets of curves which counteract one another, and make it very hard to edit your curves.

So why in the Animation Apprentice tutorials do you sometimes animate on the World control?
Good question. The reason is that sometimes you have no choice. For example, if you are animating a walk cycle "on the spot", you may need to set a keyframe on the World Mover in order to create a sense of forward movement. This is because training rigs are generally highly simplified to make learning Maya easier. On production rigs, which tend to be very complex, there would likely be a series of controls below the World Control in the hierarchy which perform the same function as the World Control, but are called something different, such as the "Direction Control". So, on a production rig, you would use one of these other controls to create the same function, while leaving the World Control untouched.

So it is bad to animate on the World Control?
Generally, yes. But when you are animating motion cycles with simple rigs, then you may have no choice.

----Alex

For more on the experience of studying at Bucks New University, come and visit us at one of our Open Days,  take a virtual tour of one of our animation studios, check out what our students think of our course, and see why we're ranked in the top 12 creative universities in the UK. Find out why we're giving free laptops to all our students, and why we give all our students free access to videos at Lynda.com. Also, see what financial assistance might be available to you. Learn which is better for animation, a PC or a Mac? Get hold of a copy of a map so you can find your way around campus, and learn about motion capture at Bucks. And find out about how our online video tutorials work.  

Eleven Rules to Become a Great 3D animator

Part of the secret of having a successful career as an animator is learning how to be good and fast at the same time. Directors want quality, Producers want speed. You must please both. Animation producers like animators who do the job well, on time, and are nice to work with. If you have all three of these qualities - a long and successful career in the industry will be yours. Below are our top tips for animating in Maya - how to be both good and fast. We don't say that this is an exhaustive list, but it's a great place to start.


1 – Establish your screen layout and save it  

The standard animator’s layout is a three panel view split at the top. The Graph Editor goes at the bottom. Top right is your camera view (which should be locked off), and on the left is your perspective view, where you can dolly and zoom. To find this in Maya, go to Panels/3 Panel view, split at top. Customise the view, then save the layout so you can retrieve it each time you open Maya. Go to window/save current layout. Name it “Animation View”. Retrieving this setup will be the first thing you do when you open Maya.


2 – Create a camera and lock it off.

As an animator, you should always animate to the camera view (unless you're working on a cycle for a games project). You want to set up your camera straight away, else you will waste time animating stuff that the audience will not see. To create a camera, go to Create/cameras/camera. Name it “shotCamera”. Go to Panels/look trough selected, and move your camera into the right position. Once you are happy with it, select your camera, right click on it, and lock it off in the Channel Box.

The T Pose. As still on your model as it is in real life

3 - Start off by relaxing your rig

Almost all animation rigs are designed in the “T pose”, which is stiff and formal. So, you need to relax it. At frame 0 in your timeline, relax your character, and make it less stiff. Bend the knees, bend the arms, give the face an expression. Offset the feet a little. Save this pose on frame 0 - outside your timeline, so you can come back to it later when you need to create new poses.

Expressions will sell your shot

4 – Block out everything, including facial expressions, from the start.

You should add eyebrows, eyes, fingers and facial expressions on all your poses. Offset the symmetry, make each key pose expressive. Facial expressions will help to sell your shot to the director. Don’t think “Oh, I’ll do the facial expressions later”. Do them now. Facial expressions help to tell the story, to make the shot clear.


5 - Don't animate on the world mover

The world mover is for moving your rig into position at the start of the shot, and for nothing else. Except in rare circumstances, don’t animate on the world control. Set a key on the World mover once, when you move the character into position, Then, never touch the world mover again.


6 – Decide which controls you want to use and stick to them

If a character has multiple body controls, decide which ones you want to use. Be consistent – else you will forget where you set keys. For example, don’t use multiple rotations on the spine controls. You will forget which ones you used, and this will make it very hard to make adjustments to your animation later on.


7 – Pick an attitude for the shot and stick to it

Don’t over-complicate things. You don’t need multiple expressions. Pick one main expression for your shot and stick with it. A common mistake is to have too many expressions in a shot.

Are the characters looking at one another?

8 – Make sure your eye direction is consistent


Bad eye direction will let down your work. Is the character looking where they are supposed to? Eye direction movers are often inaccurate. You will likely have to fine tune the eye direction, sometimes frame by frame.

Show it is Hi Rez and get approvals faster. Photo: Wikipedia

9 – Show your work in high resolution

Show your work to the director, or whoever is approving your shot, in the highest possible resolution to get it approved faster. Low resolution shots look grainy and unimpressive, even if they are well animated. Make your work look nice – and get faster approvals.


10 – Imagine you are the director – does your shot make sense?

Does your shot make sense to anyone other than you? It you showed to your seven year old niece would she like it? Your work must be clear to others as well as you. If you have to explain what is going on, it probably needs work.

11 – Download the TweenMachine

The Tween Machine is a free Maya plugin which makes the work of adding breakdowns to your shot super easy. Download it, install it, and never look back. http://www.creativecrash.com/maya/script/tweenmachine

To see how to use the TweenMachine in detail, see this post. For more about the experience of studying at Bucks New University, come and visit us at one of our Open Days,  take a virtual tour of one of our animation studios, check out what our students think of our course, and see why we're ranked in the top 12 creative universities in the UK. Find out why we're giving free laptops to all our students, and why we give all our students free access to videos at Lynda.com. Also, see what financial assistance might be available to you. Learn which is better for animation, a PC or a Mac? Get hold of a copy of a map so you can find your way around campus, and learn about motion capture at Bucks. And find out about how our online video tutorials work

How to use the free Parent Master plugin for Maya

The Parentmaster - a free Maya plugin

Autodesk Maya is free to students, and a result of this it has a huge user base around the world. Many Maya users have sought to improve the software, developing free plugins that can (as the name suggests) be plugged in to your free copy of Maya, adding to its usability and helping to solve some of the trickier problems associated with digital animation.

The ParentMaster is a plugin created by Paolo Dominici which greatly simplifies the business of attaching and un-attaching objects in Maya. Say you want to animate a character picking up a ball and then dropping it. This free tool will make your life much, much easier.

What is it for?
The free Parentmaster plugin is a way to attach and un-attach objects in Maya.

What do you need to do?
By following this tutorial you should be able to:

1. Import a free plugin into Maya – the ParentMaster - and install it successfully.
2. Learn how the Parent Master works by attaching and un-attaching objects in Maya using the free ParentMaster factory Maya file
3. Use the ParentMaster to animate a character picking up a ball and then dropping it.

PART 1 – Import and install the plugin

a) Import the plugin
You can find the free plugin here: http://www.creativecrash.com/maya/script/zv-parent-master
You will need to register with Creative Crash and then log in.

b) Installation

1. Import the ParentMaster plugin and open it up.
2. Find the Read me document inside and follow it carefully
3. Place "ZvParentMaster.py" in your scripts folder in Maya. Navigate through documents to find your Maya folder. It should look something like this: 
1. Win XP: "C:\Documents and Settings\USERNAME\My Documents\maya\scripts"
2.  Win Vista/Win 7: "C:\Users\USERNAME\Documents\maya\scripts"
3. Mac:"/Users/USERNAME/Library/Preferences/Autodesk/maya/scripts
4. Place the "zv" folder in the same folder (If that doesn’t work, try placing it in the icons folder instead)
5. In Maya, open up the Script Editor and go to the Python tab, copy and paste these two rows: 

import ZvParentMaster
ZvParentMaster.ZvParentMaster()

Once you have done that, follow these steps:

1. Highlight the text in the Python tab and click on "Save Script to Shelf...", specify a name for the shelf (eg PM) and click "OK".
2. You should now see a tab on your shelf labeled PM. Click on it, and this symbol should appear in your view port:
3. If you have any problems with installation, go through the process again.

To see Paolo Dominici demonstrate how it works, check out the demo at http://www.paolodominici.com/vid/parent/parent.mov

The ParentMaster "factory"

If you want to install it on a Mac, try this video below:



PART 2 – animate the ParentMaster factory.
Your goal is to complete the exercise so that the parcel moves through the factory, attaching and un-attaching as it goes.

1. Open up the Maya scene file that comes with the ParentMaster – it looks like a little factory. Create a project, and set to it.
2. At the frame where you want to attach the parcel to the blue pusher, select the box, select the pusher, and click on the attach button
3. At the frame where you want to un-attach the parcel from the blue pusher, select the box, select the pusher, and click on the detach button.
4. Keep repeating the process until the parcel box moves through the factory.

Technical Notes

How to edit Parent Master constraints and adjust the timing in the Graph Editor:

1. Go to the Parent Master menu bar and select the 5th icon down labeled “Select constraints and snap groups”, and click on it
2. This will show your ParentMaster key frames in the Graph Editor
3. Adjust the timing of the key frames just like you would any keyframes in Maya

PART 3 – Use the Parent Master to animate a character picking up and ball and dropping it.

1. Import the character rig Morpheus. Google “Morpheus rig maya” to find and download the rig.
2. Import a table (find one at www.turbosquid) into your shot
3. Create a ball. Create/polygon primitives/sphere
4. Set Morpheus’s hands to IK.
5. Under Preferences, set your animation to stepped curves
6. On stepped curves, animate Morpheus picking up the ball and dropping it, using the Parent Master.

Problems

Note that the Parent Master does not work with referenced files. Or, rather, it can be made to work - but it is difficult.

---Alex

For more tips and tricks in Maya and other free tutorials, follow this link.  To see the books we recommend for the study of animation and visual effects, click here.  For more on the experience of studying at Bucks New University, come and visit us at one of our Open Days,  take a virtual tour of one of our animation studios, check out what our students think of our course, and see why we're ranked in the top 12 creative universities in the UK. Find out why we're giving free laptops to all our students, and why we give all our students free access to videos at Lynda.com. Also, see what financial assistance might be available to you. Learn which is better for animation, a PC or a Mac? Get hold of a copy of a map so you can find your way around campus, and learn about motion capture at Bucks.

The TweenMachine - the Animator's Best Friend

One of the many advantages of learning to animate in Maya is the wide range of free plugins developed by the user community around the world. A free plugin is just that - a piece of code that can be added to your copy of Maya, free of charge. One of the most useful is the tweenMachine, created by Justin Animator, which helps animators to create breakdown poses in Maya on stepped curves. It's a time saving tool that takes much of the labour out of breaking down your character poses once you are happy with the timing of the main blocking of your animation.

What is the tweenMachine?
The tweenMachine is a free Maya plugin designed to simplify the process of creating breakdown poses between your key poses.

How do you download the tweenMachine plugin?
You can find the free plugin here: http://www.creativecrash.com/maya/script/tweenmachine

Who created it?
The tweenMachine was created by Justin animator.

How do you install it?
The tweenMachin comes with a Read Me file, which you should definitely read.
To install it,  first find these two files:
tweenMachine.zip
tweenMachine.xpm

1. Copy the files into your scripts folder in Maya. The path should look something like this: username/myDocuments/maya/2014/scripts
2. Once you have copied the files into your Maya scripts folder, open Maya.
3. Now open up the script editor (bottom right hand corner of yr screen) and type this in the MEL (not Python) command line: tweenMachine. This should launch tween machine.
4. In the script editor, copy the command, and go to file/save to shelf tab, and create a new shelf tab.
Name it tween. Now you can use the tweenMachine any time you like.
5. Click on the shelf tab to activate the tweenMachine. A pop-up slider should appear:

How do you test it out?

To test the tweenMachine, first create some break down poses on a simple moving object, such as a sphere.

1. Create a sphere. Create/polygon primitives/sphere.
2. Move the sphere to one end of the grid, and set a keyframe on it
3. Click on the preferences tab in Maya, and set your animation curves to stepped curves, not spline.
4. Back in your timeline, go to frame 25. In the viewport, move the sphere to the other end of the grid, and set a key frame. Press play. You should now see the sphere move, but in a very staccato fashion.
5. Go to frame 13 in your time line. Set a keyframe on the sphere, and click on the tweenMachine button. Use the slider on the tweenMachine to adjust the position of the breakdown pose. The slider allows you to favour one key pose over another.

Ok, got it. Now, how do I use it for proper animation?
Now use the tweenMachine to create break down poses on a complex human biped.

1. Import a human biped, such as the Morpheus or Max rig.
2. Create two poses, one at frame 1, and a second at frame 25, following the thumbnails below.

3. Now select all the controls, and set a keyframe at frame 13. Click on the tweenMachine tab, and use the slider to adjust the spacing of the breakdown position.
4. Once you have done your pose at frame 13, go ahead and add breakdown poses at frame 5, 9, 17 and 21, using the tweenMachine.

In conclusion:

What the tweenMachine does is allow you to set breakdown positions on all the control curves, without having to manipulate individual controls one by one. It saves a huge amount of time on production.

And if you are having trouble installing it, try this video below:




---Alex

For more on the experience of studying at Bucks New University, come and visit us at one of our Open Days,  take a virtual tour of one of our animation studios, check out what our students think of our course, and see why we're ranked in the top 12 creative universities in the UK. Find out why we're giving free laptops to all our students, and why we give all our students free access to videos at Lynda.com. Also, see what financial assistance might be available to you. Learn which is better for animation, a PC or a Mac? Get hold of a copy of a map so you can find your way around campus, and learn about motion capture at Bucks.

The Mery Project - a new free character for Maya animators!

One of the many benefits of animating with Autodesk Maya (the main animation software we use at Bucks) is the large and growing global community of artists who collaborate on freeware projects, bringing to life excellent animation rigs like Norman and Morpheus. The latest character rig to be released soon will be The Mery Project - available to Maya users free of charge.

To find The Mery Project, go to  http://www.meryproject.com. Below is a short video explaining how it all works:


Mery Project Presentation from Mery Project on Vimeo.

In the meantime,  here is a list of some of the rigs that we recommend our students use, and which we think are the best for animation training. They are all free to use, though their creators should always be credited. Industry professionals always give credit where it is due.

1. Bouncing Ball. The best place for beginners to start learning animation. You will have to register with Creative Crash first, but it's free and they don't send spam.
2. Ultimate Rigs. A great collection of free rigs.
3. Monty. Our favourite simple biped rig - perfect for learning animation. 
4. Norman. An excellent biped rig, very stable and thoroughly tested. Norman can be adapted and customised.
5. Heavy. Based on the character from the video game Team Fortress. An excellent, stable rig.
6. Morpheus. Arguably the best free rig for character performance. Very adaptable. Not for beginners though.

---Alex

Hair Simulation in Maya 2014

Rapunzel - great hair!

One of the best new features of Autodesk Maya 2014 is a big step forward in its hair simulation capabilities. The new tool is called XGen, and it comes free with Maya 2014. It was developed by Disney/Pixar and was used on their recent film Rapunzel, to generate the heroine's gorgeous, bouncing tresses.

At the BlueGFX Expo in London last month, Autodesk demonstrated their new hair simulation tool, giving us a step-by-step tutorial in how to go about creating great hair effects in Maya with this new instancing system. So how exactly does it work?

XGen is found under the Dynamics tab in Autodesk Maya. You go to Create/XGen/description, and give it a project name. Pick groomable splines/create to create your new hair map.  You can use the Density slider to add to or reduce the density of the follicles.

Using the brush tool you can paint the hairs to make them bigger or smaller. You can pose them too, grooming the hair to make it follow the contours of the body, growing out in different directions, just like real hair.

On a facial rig, you can add stubble, a moustache, a beard. You will generally do this on a separate mesh. Underneath the hair mesh will be the original mesh, which will have its own skin shader.

You can also use XGen to create other effects, such as long grass waving the wind. You can use the same system to propagate trees in a landscape, or grass over a field, or roof tiles on a roof.

So, next time you're working on a character rig, have a go at XGen and see what you can create.

---Alex

For more about free online tutorials, see our post about Andy Sykes' excellent tutorials in Flash, and check out the free Maya tutorials at Animation Apprentice. Be sure to take advantage of free life drawing classes at Pixelovely.com. For more on the experience of studying at Bucks New University, come and visit us at one of our Open Days,  take a virtual tour of one of our animation studios, check out what our students think of our course, and see why we're ranked in the top 12 creative universities in the UK. Find out why we're giving free laptops to all our students, and why we give all our students free access to videos at Lynda.com. Also, see what financial assistance might be available to you. Learn which is better for animation, a PC or a Mac? Get hold of a copy of a map so you can find your way around campus, and learn about motion capture at Bucks. And find out about how our online video tutorials work.

Bucks Animation - Maya "Taster Day"

Autodesk Maya

We just finished our animation "taster day" here at Bucks - showing students the basics of Autodesk Maya, the leading software now being used in the animation, games and VFX industries.

I was delighted by the excellent turnout and the quality of the candidates - all of whom I have already met during the interview process here at Bucks. It was a pleasure to meet such enthusiastic students and help them to get started on their professional journey as animators and digital artists.

Maya is very deep software and the learning curve - especially at the  beginning - is steep. But everyone was patient and managed in just 3 hours to get some great animation going - no small achievement given that the tools are complex and take time to master.

The morning got me excited about starting formal teaching in September - and looking forward to meeting everyone in our new cohort.

---Alex

Maya Sneak Peak: Grease Pencil

Heres a quick look at what Maya will be offering soon..pretty sweet!

Enjoy!
JP

Maya Taster Day at Bucks

Free Maya Training at Bucks

Hi Everyone!  I'm Dave and I may have met some of you at your interviews here at Bucks.  We are always excited to see what you've been up to on your courses and in your own time.  We've seen some great work!  What we have noticed is that many of those at interview don't have 3D experience.  One of the great things about our new course is the hands on nature of the projects. We'll be doing a lot of 3D work - animating, modelling, texturing, lighting, dynamics - the list goes on!

Alex and I were talking after an interview and we thought what a great idea it would be, if you could come in to Bucks and try a couple of lessons in Maya and see how you get on.  With that in mind, we are setting up a day next month when you can come in and try Maya and see how you like it.  You can experience the software, see how we teach, and see what you think of our facilities.  Interviews can be stressful times and you must feel you are under the spotlight.  Well we're turning the tables!

You can sit back and watch us at work, talk to other applicants, ask questions informally and hopefully have an enjoyable day here!

Let us know what you think! Are any of you interested?

Dave

Below is a screen shot of Maya - the dominant 3D software in the UK film industry..

Rotation Orders for Animators

Some quick tips on Rotation Orders from Brian Horgan. He helps explain how rotation orders can affect your animation and how to change them on a shot that's already animated without breaking the animation..

Rotation Orders for Animators from Brian Horgan on Vimeo.

Enjoy!
JP

bhGosting Tool for Maya

Came across this ghosting tool created for Maya by an Animator\Rigger Brian Horgan. We used a similar tool when I was at Rhythm and Hues and it was very useful. It helped in getting a good picture of weight and balance from all angles as you work through your animation. Brian goes into a little bit of its many uses here in the tutorial.

bhGhost Tutorial from Brian Horgan on Vimeo.

You can download it here.
Enjoy!
JP

found via lesterbanks.com

Free Rig: Malcolm Rig

Some might know already and some have not yet heard but the Malcolm Rig is now FREE and available both in SoftImage and Maya. I've been messing around with it and MAN...I haven't even had time to get into all the goodies of this rig. He is super appealing and I believe that's what Dave Gallagher wanted. I've heard him say that it has been his passion and dream to release a free rig like this that has all of this AMAZING capabilities. So head on over to the AnimSchool site and you see the Malcolm Image or just click here. He has also put up a forums page where you can give feedback and receive tips on the rig and it's already up and running. Also check out the "How To" video for Malcolm. It should explain most stuff. It's in the forum section or over on YouTube.

Don't forget to go to the Download Agreement and then you'll be all set.
Enjoy! I certainly am!
JP

More Animation Tools

Hey Guys

I've been meaning to post this one for a little bit but..I've been testing it out and have really enjoyed using it. This tool is a modification to the graph editor within Maya. It's called the Graph Editor Redux version 1.2.0 plugin for maya. It looks to have been developed by Ron Bublitz and he posted it on Creative Crash formerly Highend 3D. The plugin puts together alot of the animation tools that are out there all in one into the graph editor. It seems pretty handy and I do enjoy it. There is a tweener and autoTanget among others. It comes with a PDF explaining each button which is pretty handy. There are a few bugs on it that you can see in the reviews section and you can post comments and reviews on Creative Crash. One suggestion is to make it for 2009 and 2010 because for now it is only for 8.5 and 2008. So I look forward to the update.

 

graph-editor-redux

So check it out, mess around and enjoy.
JP