The Game Artist's Guide to Maya

"The Game Artist's Guide to Maya is an official introduction to creating 3D game art and animations with Maya, brought to you by Maya Press, a partnership between Alias and Sybex. Written by a production artist at a prominent game company, this detailed book focuses on the skills real game artists use daily to create stunning characters."--BOOK JACKET.

Michael McKinley is a 3D artist at Warthog Games in Austin, Texas. He is an online instructor at simplymaya.com as well as simplyphotoshop.com, and previously taught a Maya course at Collins College (Phoenix).

Introduction

vii

The Game Industry

1

(12)

Developers and Publishers

2

(2)

Artist Jobs

4

(3)

Getting the Job

7

(2)

Art Tests

8

(1)

Crunch Time

9

(1)

The Game Development Pipeline

9

(4)

Polygonal Modeling

13

(72)

Game Art Limitations

14

(2)

Game Modeling Common Tools and Commands

16

(7)

Game Modeling Pointers

23

(4)

Efficiency

24

(1)

Edge Flow

24

(1)

Articulation

25

(1)

Cleanup

25

(1)

Reference Usage

26

(1)

Symmetry

26

(1)

Scale and Orientation

26

(1)

Tutorial: Creating the Weapon

27

(6)

Creating the Blade

27

(3)

Creating the Hilt and Grip

30

(3)

Tutorial: Creating the Character Model

33

(52)

Creating Silenus's Head

35

(21)

Creating Silenus's Body

56

(18)

Creating Silenus's Armor

74

(11)

Texturing

85

(44)

Texturing in the Gaming World

86

(1)

Mapping UVs

86

(3)

UV Projection Commands

89

(3)

The UV Texture Editor

92

(1)

Texture Resolutions and Formats

93

(1)

Alpha Channel and Pixel Shader Effects

94

(2)

UV Mapping the Sword

96

(4)

UV Mapping the Body

100

(15)

UV Mapping the Torso

102

(2)

UV Mapping the Leg

104

(3)

UV Mapping the Arm

107

(4)

UV Mapping the Armor

111

(4)

UV Mapping the Head

115

(3)

The Hypershade

118

(1)

Applying a Material to a Model

118

(1)

Applying a Texture to a Material

119

(1)

Optional Procedures

119

(6)

The 3D Paint Tool

121

(1)

Vertex Coloring

122

(2)

Baking Normal Maps

124

(1)

Texture Painting Tips

125

(1)

The Finished Model

125

(4)

Rigging

129

(36)

Skeletons and Joints

130

(1)

Creating a Skeleton

130

(9)

The Pelvis and Legs

130

(2)

The Spine

132

(1)

The Arms

133

(2)

The Hands

135

(2)

Extra Joints

137

(1)

Setting the Local Rotation Axis

138

(1)

Forward and Inverse Kinematics

139

(3)

Leg IK

139

(3)

Displaying Selection Handles

142

(2)

Armor Parenting

144

(1)

Binding to the Skeleton

144

(4)

Painting Weights

148

(3)

Joint Rotation Limits

151

(1)

Eye Controls

151

(1)

Rigging the Face

152

(6)

Blend Shapes

152

(2)

Binding the Head

154

(2)

Set Driven Key

156

(1)

Facial Skeletons

157

(1)

Creating SDK Controls

158

(3)

Sword Constraints

161

(4)

Animation

165

(28)

Creating a Character Set

166

(2)

Editing the Character Set

166

(1)

Creating a Subcharacter Set

167

(1)

Creating a Quality Animation

168

(4)

Animation Reference

169

(3)

Making an Attack Animation

172

(11)

Creating Emphasis

176

(1)

Modify Timing in the Trax Editor

177

(2)

Secondary Motion

179

(4)

Idle Animation

183

(1)

Forward Movement

184

(4)

Blending Between Clips

188

(3)

The End?

191

(2)

Particle Effects

193

(20)

Sprites

195

(1)

Creating a Sprite Effect

196

(12)

Adjusting the Effect

197

(8)

Creating a Second Effect

205

(1)

Continuing the Dust Effect

205

(3)

Geometry Effects

208

(1)

Creating Impact Effects

209

(2)

Additional Helpful CD Files

211

(1)

Final Thoughts

212

(1)

Index

213

What is included with this book?

The New copy of this book will include any supplemental materials advertised. Please check the title of the book to determine if it should include any access cards, study guides, lab manuals, CDs, etc.

The Used, Rental and eBook copies of this book are not guaranteed to include any supplemental materials. Typically, only the book itself is included. This is true even if the title states it includes any access cards, study guides, lab manuals, CDs, etc.

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The Game Artist's Guide to Maya

Summary

Author Biography

Table of Contents

Supplemental Materials