Animotion is en of created ond cultivated ove: [34 computer jaraphics the last century. while drawing, painting, sculpting, and photography allow artists to represent shope cond form at o single point in time, onimation lets ortists explore o world in motion Through enimation, new worlds con be imagined. This modern ort form evokes emotion through the movement of a sequence of drowings, paintings, photographs or rendered images. The introduction of 50 computer grophics over the last couple of decades hos hod 0 big impact on the world of animation. Digital characters ond sets can now be built and onimeted, then presented in diffe ent media formats such as film, video, ond interoctive games. Choracters and visual effects con even be seamlessly integrated into live-action footage, Moye is 0 3D onimotion system thot lets ertists ploy the roles of director, actor, set designer, ond cinemotogropher.< 2 3 3D Computer A grown from experimental short films to full integration into the creative process for mony types of media. From flying logos to digital actors, the field of 30 computer graphics has evolved rapidly over the lost two decodes. The use of 30 grophic tools is now on important part of many television, film, ond multimedia projects. What makes 3D such o useful tool is the way it sinulotes real objects. The way objects oppeor in perspective, the way a surface bends ond twists, or the way o light illumi- nates a space ~ cil of these complex 30 effects can now be recreated on the computer. The resulting digital images con then be inte- groted into other media types using fonilior compositing ond editing techniques. Moya is 0 30 enimation system thot addresses the needs of a wide variety of digital content creators. Mayo’s tools and techniques have been developed with the artist in mind, while commond-based scripting offers ways to build customized tools that suit more integrated production workflows. T he world of 30 computer graphics has BroapcasT There is a good chance that anyone involved in the eorly years of 30 computer grophics hes hod to animate a flying logo. This use of 30 offered o new and dynanic way of get- ting the message across ~ always important in the world of advertising. Since then, the use of 30 in broadcast hos evolved ond more sophisticated artwork is being produced. Flying logos are now integrated into more complete 30 environments where a product is advertised or a corporate message introduced. Character onimetion is also used more to bring objects to life and help sell the message. Moyo has helped open the door to a more complex use of 30 in the broadcast world. With integrated modeling, oni- mation, chorocters, visual effects ond rendering, o smaller video production house can now easily add 30 into their existing 20 workflow. 3D Computer Animation ANIMATED SHORT FILMS For mony years 3D computer grophics were used primarily in animated short films. The experimental nature of these films was o good match for this new computer graphics technol- ogy. Smaller teams of artists, or even individ- ual artists, could explore the use of comput- ers to generate animation without the pres- sures of a larger feature production schedule. In fact, an animated short film, Chris Londreth’s Bingo, wos created at Alios|Wovefront while Moya wos still in development. Using Maya, Chris and his team were able to tell o compelling story about the influences of our society on the average person. Short films provide o fertile ground for experimentation that help drive innovation in the computer graphics industry. It is also © great way for young onimators and students to begin using their onimotion skills os @ vehicle for storytelling.the jart of maya Feature FILMS The lost few years have seen a shorp rise in the use of 30 in feoture films. While mony films hove integrated 30 into existing live action scenes, Pixar's Toy Story? become the first feature-length animation thot used 30 exclusively for chorocters ond sets. Recently Sony Pictures Imageworks’ Stuart Little® took this one step further and mode @ digital mouse the stor of a live-action movie. digital creatures, choracters and sets continue to show up in the movies and even troditionol filmmakers are starting to consider 30 0 standard port of the production process. Feoture films tend to use many computer progrons to complete a project, including in-house softvore and off- the-shelf software such os Maya. Moya is mest often used for modeling, onimotion, choracter animation, and dynam- ies simulations such os cloth. Maya's open architecture mokes it easy for Computer Grophics (C6) supervisors to build custom tools to help streonline production. INTERACTIVE VIDEO GAMES Over the yeors, video gomes hove developed from black and white pixels to real-time virtuol environments built with 30 chorocters ond sets. The grophics used in these games hove colways conformed to the copobilities of the game console on which they ore delivered. Tomorrow’s next-generation game systems use the some kind of computing power as the work- stotions that you use teday to run Moyo. This it breaking down limitations of the past. Gome artwork is becoming more sophisticated with com- plex 3D models, texture mops, lighting, ond even dynamics. Moyo is on ideo! tool for generating this kind of 30 ortwork cond includes tools to eddress the speciol needs required to build content for real time. Visual EFFECTS VISUALIZATION AND Wes While €6 actors stor in movies of their own, 3D computer grophics Digital content creation tools ore used in o num- is changing how visual effects are used for both film ond television. ber of fields including fine orts, orchitecture, Smaller productions con now offord to integrate 30 grophics into design, education, and scientific research. | their work while large film productions con now achieve effects only Some of these fields require 30 computer | dreamed of in the post. graphics to produce highly realistic images | Film sets can be portiolly built ond then extended with detoiled 30 for the evaluation of projects or prototypes. digital sets. Also, animated stunt people con be thrown off buildings with advances in the web's ability to present in woys not reconmended for real people. And, smoke, fire, ond grophic ond 30 information, visualization exploding objects can now be simulated within the sofety of o on the internet is emerging os on important computer screen, tool for many companies. Moyo's tools especially Moya's Dynonics, ore ideal for generoting visual effects thot can be fully integrated into live-action shots. The best effects moke it impossible to find the line between reality ond where computer grophics is used.Technical Creativity must first understand the technical aspects of your new tools before you con reach your full creative potential. Just os © painter must learn how @ particular point mixes ond dries on canvas, and @ photographer must learn what film speed works best with 0 particular lens, a 30 ortist must learn the basics of setting keyframes, working with 30 geometry, ond setting up moterials and lights for photorealistic rendering To fully master computer animation, you must have a balance of artistic and technicel skills. Not only must you learn how to work with shape, form, motion, color, ond texture, but also you ‘must learn how the computer interprets all of these elements. While Moyo will allow you to go far without understonding oll the technical detoils, you will have greater creative freedom with more knowledge. A 5 on artist working in e new medium, you GETTING To KNow Your COMPUTER 1f you are sitting down ot the computer for the first time, you moy be intimidated by the many computer-based tasks you must learn such os ‘opening applications, moving and saving files, ‘and even how to work over a network. If you ‘work in a larger production house, you probably have technical assistance on-site to help you get through this port of the learning process. Ina smoller production house, you likely have less assistance and must learn more on your own. luckily, these skills come quickly with experience. The best woy to learn is to dive in ‘ond start working, GETTING STARTED WITH MavA There are several steps to getting storted with Maya. This book is designed to give you a con- ceptuol understanding of how Moya works, while the Learning Maya tutorial book gives you proj- ect-based experience. You con also use the rof- erence monuals and Web tutorials offered ot the Aliosiwavefront web site. While these acadenic tools ore important, they can’t replace true production hands-on experience. One good way to begin using the softwore is to model, render, ond animate o real object -- an object you can study, docu- ment and accurately turn into a digital scene. Try to build ond animate your favorite old toy, @ household appliance or even your own face. By using @ real object, you will be able to evaluate your success against the reol object. By focusing on creating something you will be able to apply the knowledge you hove gained from this process. Technical Creativity —~ sadiafaseae neo aO NAS Artists with skills in troditional medio will ind the transition to 30 computer graphics ‘easier once they get used to working on a computer. In fact, new 30 artists should toke the time to learn one or more of the following traditional art forms because they con help enhance 30 ski rowing is 9 technique ef eepresenting the reo world by means infor developing oy dos belore proceeding te computer ntcgation, ove fw thouah. Hon of Pworocnapny ‘ti photoorophy requires on understanding of thet ore vetul for foning sees €RIGHT-AND LEFT-BRAIN THINKING WITH MAYA Mayo has a creative ond o technical side. Moya’s creative side offers you tools thot © 30 world with shape and form. These tools free you up to decisions on your project. Mayo’s technicol side offers you access to the inside workings of both your scenes and Mayo itself. This access mokes it possible to build your own custom tools and to speed up production where repetitive tasks oppeor. By hoving this duol noture, Maya is able to contribute to different stages of o produc- mmoke it easy to work make crea} tion ond to ferent woys of working LeFT-BRAIN THINKING “we Teeserent MATHEMATICS, SCRIPTING, AND PROGRAMMING Mothemotics is used by Maya in a number of woys. Objects in Moye exist in @ 3D coordinate system, colors are stored os RGB values, and onimation is created os values that ore mopped ‘ogoinst time. A Mayo scene is bosically 0 database of numbers ‘thot is interpreted by the softwore into geometry, color, ond texture. In some coses, you moy need to do some math out- side of Mayo to moke sure the right numbers are plugged in. Also you may wont to set up mathematical equation or expression to create more complex motion in your scene. Moya is built on MEL (Moya Embedded Longuage), o script- ing language that you can use to build custom tools and workflows. This language is fairly easy to learn and more technically minded artists might wont to explore its use in their work. If you want the tool integrated into Mayo, you can also program plug-ins using Moya’s API. To develop these skills, 0 foundation in C++ programming is an osset. However, you can get quite for by using existing scripts ond source code os inspiration. tthe jort (of mayo RIGHT-BRAIN THINKING we Casarive foot B.'O8 CREATIVE AWARENESS One of the gools of creating ortwork in @ 3D grophics appli cation such os Maya is to minic the reol world. This means thot the more you ore ewore of the world around you, the easier it will be to recreate it on the computer. fs you come into contact with people, places, ond objects, toke o closer look ond imagine thet you have to model, oni- ‘mote and render oll of the detoils that you see. Details such ‘0s how © person swings his or her orms while walking, or how light enters a room, offer great reference for the 30 ortist to incorporate into their work. Any seasoned onimotor will tell you the importance of observing the world around you, ‘You should continue this kind of aworeness when you go to the movies. In mony woys, your onimations will have roots more in movies thon in real life. while watching movies, ‘observe comera angles, set lighting, the staging ond fromir of actors, and performances. An understanding of how People, places, color, shope, ond form are coptured on film con help you become a better animator.@ = o so a Si 2 ° ASF « o £ £ 3D sequence. When computers were first used for 30 grophics, these stages were broken down into model~ ing, enimating, and rendering. These stages have since been expanded with the introduction of choracter enination, effects, ond more sophisticoted comera ond lighting tools. Each stage of 50 onimotion is ¢ full orec of study on its, own. it is useful to be fenilior with all the stoges, even if you find yourself focusing on only one later on. Knowing how the stoges in the onimotion pipeline work together will help you moke decisions that benefit everyone down the line A number of different stages lead up to ¢ finel eninated MODELING, ANIMATING, AND RENDERING ‘The animation pipeline con be summarized in seven stoges: modeling; onimotion; choracters; moterials ond textures; lights ond comeros; effects; and rendering end compositing, These general stoges describe the main tasks required to create on cnination, ne project, you will often work on different ports of the pipeline ot the some time. It is 0 good idea to have teoms work closely using storyboards ond sketches to tie elements together. If you work in e lorger office, you may focus on one of these areas although hoving an understand- ing of several areos is beneficial. The Animation Pipeline 7. Ranpenine ano Couposrrzne Seporotey then bing then bocktopeth>|the fart jof maya ANIMATING IN Maya Looking at the animation pipeline from the e of a Maya user, several stages - such os modeling, characters, and effects - Use animation as their foundation. since almost any ottribute in Maya con be onimoted, you can begin preporing for the onimation process at any tine. After setting up and onimoting o scene, you can render and composite the 30 objects ‘ond bring then into o 20 bitmap world. The rendering and compositing stages seem to stond on their own at the end of the pipeline. However, you con apply test renderings throughout the anination process ond undertake compositing earl PRODUCTION PIPELINES ‘The way in which you opproach the animotion pipeline will depend on the environment you create in. From a single artist on his or her ‘own to an artist in o large corporation, the approach to using 3D graphics may differ. Here are some general descriptions of the produc- tion pipelines you can expect to encounter. Smvote Aarase ng ou gn think mere eretively Sunus Propverzon House Ine snole production house, the focus ton cutting ioy be put into pce to streamline Gawene Company ‘gone conpony con work ike either # all or lng produc tetra vr, pont flow fr yo ote elon, which lety of you ination, or You on wotkwth your fellow students to crest a production- house scenri. Here you would choose Second eppreac ptes you predation TecHNrcaL Leaps In production houses, technical directors (TDs) and CG supervisors offer their teams support with scripts, expressions, plug-ins, and chorocter rig- ging. Technical leads set up controls that ollow animators to focus on cre- oting notion. In building up o character, the technical lead might olso build high-level controls that create o porticular kind of motion for use by the animators. For exonple, if mony different onimotors are working on 0 bird character, the technical lead might wont to moke sure ‘the wing beot is always animated the some way. Therefore, a single control con be created that drives all the components of the wing beat. The high-level control mokes sure oll of the wings beat the some way. j Management of the production workflow may also involve creating | ‘custom tools. Since many production | houses use in-house software, MEL scripts might also be used to pipe Mayo scenes out to a custom res fie ternct. AnrmaTons While the setup of scenes and thorosters son important port of the process, the onimation of == these clenantsis where the or it treated. Animators mutt tll story —— using motion as the moin tool. Gaommrentnm 5 wall top scene ges on aninator space to focus on setting a. apron the vorlous high-level ene trols bull by the technical lead. EEN) With non-lineer onimetion, 0 whole = library of motion con be soved and used in different parts of a project. Such 0 librory provides an onimator Teas Eorron auo Vzs0R with o sort of animation polette. 1 nonlinear warfiow i 0 idea Well-built controls and skilled onimators are the ideo! combination for creating art through onimotion.ECR ome td & o 2 = a ° 2 a a € 3 3 Seawmres Camo Computer System hile most digital ortists hove o good understanding of the W technology they work with, some traditional artists moy find thenselves facing the computer screen for the first time with very little computer knowledge. Graphics opplications, like Moyo, noke it possible to quickly begin creating, while technical aspects con be addressed by others, simultaneously or oto later tine. ‘Acquiring some technical knowledge yourself will strengthen your skills 05.0 30 ortist. therefore, you should become foniliar with the various hordwore ond software components aveiloble to you, This will hela moke the computer in front of you less intinidating ANATOMY oF @ COMPUTER WORKSTATION Buying o computer system involves finding o balance between power and offordobility. With o more powerful system, you con create more complex scenes ond render them foster. If you ore focused on offordability, then you will need to build more efficient models ond spend more time keeping your rendering tines down. Luckily, the results will not be ony less impres- sive, es long 0s your animations tell their stary effectively, Moya is quelified to run on o specific list of workstations. Visit the flios|Wovefront Web site (www.clioswavefront.com) for the lotest list of ‘uolified systems. It is possible to build o more cost-effective system thot motches the capabilities of @ quolified system, but problems arising from a non-standord configurotion moy not be something that con be fixed. For this reason, only qualified systems ore recommended. Ganpwres Taner Computer TERMS 5 Computer Crophien The wre of conputers to ees 01 Cop hiee ear rnverfec) Sepen erome 0-RoM (ovb) onive cou get o peed boort tom ll enon (aan) 2 sed by the processors). ano bravethe Jart of |maya OPERATING SYSTEM ‘The software thot controls how your computer works is the operating sys- ‘tem. Moyo runs on Microsoft*Windows NT®, Windows 2000 or SGITIRIX®. In 2001, Mayo will clso be available on Apple® Mac* 0S X ond on the Linux® operating system. Maya's Batch renderer olso runs on Linux which offers UNIX*-style administration and reliability on a typi Moyo works virtually the same woy on all these systems. The moin dif- ferences lie in system-specific file management tools and the hardware ond graphics thet ore supported by each system. yws KT Wanvows 2000 1RIK ‘ses sot ran enindows Gps rwindowsbye. number st workstations produced bys EXPANDING Your SYSTEM To expand your basic workstation, there are © number of tools ranging from storage solutions to Internet connectivity. Each of these tools offers you functionolity thet is not required to run Moyo successfully but will enhonce your production. The list below is @ small sompling of the options available to you. Keep your eyes on industry magazines ond Web sites to learn obout advances in these support tools. Ss | Voto capture Bonn video boord, There bourds tote the inated fromes rd upload ‘hood venecch which ae tite your awede.nternotel. yO ses 0s references orm ntwrenner Recast RELATED CG APPLICATIONS While many digital o ists focus on a 3D soft- ware package like Moya, other software pock- ‘ages offer complementary tools that support Mayo 30 projects. Learning about these tools will help empower you when it comes to toking © project from concept to reality. Listed below iso small sampling of related software thot complements Maya. robes Photoshop® Seine reewore) ‘ hloslvoveront studoPont™ me Greewore) 30 Parwr Ropazen’ Couposrrine ano Vzot0 Eorrawe dade taetter 10