This is not a book about Maya software with a few animation pointers thrown in here and there. This is a guide to Maya software written by professional animators. This book provides you with complete, set-by-step walkthroughs of essential animation techniques that increase your speed and efficiency while using Maya 2017 for character animation. From curves to constraints, this book covers all of the methods available in the latest version of Maya. Featuring gold-mine coverage this book teaches you new techniques for working with characters in animation tests and short films. Accompanied by a companion site, this is the one and only guide to get you up to speed.
Key Features
Complete step-by-step, walkthroughs of essential techniques every animator needs to know.
Features interviews with leading experts and experienced animation leads.
Companion web site including all exercise/example scene files and extras such as video tutorials and animation files.
Interlude articles covering everything from Reference Video to Resumes.
Contents
How to Cheat and Why............... ix
Acknowledgments..................... xiii
How to Use This Book.................xv
1 Animation
Principles........................1
Squash and Stretch......................2
Anticipation....................................6
Staging............................................10
Straight Ahead/
Pose to Pose..................................15
Overlapping Action/
Follow-through........................... 22
Slow In/Slow Out....................... 26
Arcs.................................................. 30
Secondary Action....................... 33
Timing............................................ 38
Exaggeration............................... 42
Solid Drawing ............................. 46
Appeal............................................ 50
Interlude........................................ 54
2 Splines.......................... 59
How Splines Work.......................61
Splines and Spacing.................. 67
Tangent Types .............................74
Tangent Handles........................ 82
Spline Technique ....................... 89
Spline Reference ........................ 92
Interlude........................................ 95
3 Graph Editor.............. 103
Graph Editor Windup..............104
Visual Tools................................. 107
Working with Keys....................116
Value Operators........................ 120
Buffer Curves............................. 124
Speed Cheats............................. 128
4 Techniques................ 133
Auto Key...................................... 134
Timeline Techniques............... 138
Cartoony Motion......................144
Trax Editor................................... 147
Copying Curves........................ 151
Editable Motion Trails............. 159
IK and FK...................................... 167
IK/FK Switching......................... 171
Character Sets........................... 178
Grease Pencil Tool.................... 182
Grease Pencil and Trails......... 190
Interlude...................................... 196
5 Constraints................ 201
Parenting.....................................202
Parent Constraints...................207
Constraining a Prop................ 212
Constraint Weights.................. 216
Animating with
Constraints................................. 221
Interlude...................................... 231
6 Rigging Cheats......... 235
Rig Testing..................................236
Sprucing it Up...........................248
Rigging Props............................256
Interlude......................................259
7 Standing Out............. 263
Adding BlendShapes..............264
Adding Clusters........................272
Wrap Deformer.........................282
Adding Hair and Cloth...........288
Interlude......................................296
8 Workflow................... 301
Planning/Reference.................302
Converting Cycles.................... 310
Stepped Keys............................. 313
Stepped Preview......................320
Moving Holds When
Splining....................................... 324
Moving Holds with the
Retime Tool.................................334
Refining Arcs in Polish............ 337
Final Texture...............................342
Interview.....................................346
9 Cycles.......................... 355
Cycle Basics................................356
Stride Length.............................363
Walk Cycle...................................372
Flying Cycle................................378
Quad Cycles...............................388
10 Referencing............... 393
Referencing Basics...................394
Offline Edits................................401
Saving Reference Edits...........407
Interlude...................................... 413
11 Facial Animation.......417
Planning and Prep................... 418
Core Poses..................................422
Lip Sync 1-Jaw Motion........428
Lip Sync 2-Mouth
Corners........................................432
Lip Sync 3-Mouth
Shapes..........................................436
Lip Sync 4-Tongue................441
Blinks............................................445
Blink and Brows........................450
Eye Darts.....................................459
Final Touches.............................465
Interlude...................................... 470
12 Animation Layers..... 473
How Animation
Layers Work................................ 474
Animation Layer Basics.......... 476
Cheating a Cycle.......................483
Layers for Texture..................... 491
Interlude......................................496
Index..............................................501
