Maya Lesson

This tutorial series shows you how to model anatomy of the human body in Maya and gives specific tips on how to eventually be able to do it from memory. Part one starts with the head, part two the torso, part 3 the legs, part four the foot, part 5 the arm, part 6 attaching the ...more

This lesson will show how to create and apply textures to objects in Maya.

Here we build a skeleton for the character and bind the skeleton to the geometry in Maya. This is also known as rigging a character.

So we got half a Maya model...now what? We mirror it over and merge the vertices, all with one command, to get us a solid object. We use the dolphin from our organic polygon modeling series, but the technique can be applied to any polygon model. Watch and learn how to mirror g ...more

If you plan to do a lot of modeling in Maya, you will find it is easier if you set up reference images on image planes. This tutorial shows you how to create and set up image planes in Maya.

In this tutorial you will learn how to create a pretty decent looking water shader in Maya without many nodes. Water materials are a great and fast way to get around creating real 3D water effects so watch this Maya tutorial and create your own water shader.

Have some glass that needs rendering in Maya? With Mental Ray, it's easily done. Mental Ray (trademarked mental ray) is a rendering application by mental images that's integrated into Maya, and in this video you'll learn about two of the major glasses within it, plus how to r ...more

The bouncing ball animation is a classic beginning point for animating in every 3D software package. This tutorial shows you how to do it in Maya. Part two will concentrate on keyframes. Part three will turn the bouncing ball into a character set. Part four will cover using th ...more

This 3D modeling software tutorial shows you how to use the split polygon modeling tool in Maya. Learn how to use the split polygon tool to get full control over adding detail to your polygon object in Maya.

Learn how to manipulate NURBS surfaces using the Revolve, Extrude and Loft methods in Autodesk's Maya 3D modeling and animating software.

The key to being able to animate realistic smoke or dust is being able to master the particle texture rate technique in Maya. Once you have gotten this down, you can create any sort of particle effect, such as sand or bubbles in addition to smoke and dust. This three part tuto ...more

Learn the most efficient and quick way to model a head with polygonal modeling. The proper edge flow is easy to achieve this way.

3D modeling tool Mayafrom Autodesk is a monster of a program, able to do SO many things. One of the things you'll need to learn is how to use the CV Curve tool. This will allow you to create objects with curves of any shape or dimension you desire. Let's be honest, most of you ...more

A demonstration of how to model a human torso simply and effectively using image planes in Maya. This is a detailed tutorial but it will help if you are familiar with the Maya interface.

This tutorial shows you how to use specular maps to create textures on a lemon in Maya. Lesson files here: http://www.houseoftutorials.com/veohfiles/MLT_lesson5_MayaC.zip

Got a hole in your polygon object that the fill hole tool just can't fix? Check out this Maya video to learn how to quickly seal that object up. Learn how to not-so-magically fill polygonal holes in Maya.

This Maya 7 video tutorial teaches you how to construct a metal shader in Maya 7 from Autodesk. This video is from the "Game Lighting and Color" course. Shaders alone do a lot to give a realistic feel to various materials, and adding textures to the mix gives them even more ...more

In this tutorial you will learn how to setup a basic rig in Maya. Animation rigs are the bone and muscle structures used to animate and move characters and objects made in Maya. If you plan to make anything you model in Maya come to life, you will need to learn the basics of r ...more

Want to learn how to quickly and easily paint directly on 3D objects? With Maya's 3D paint tool, it's a cinch. And this guide will show you how. Whether you're new to Autodesk's popular modeling software or a seasoned 3D artist just looking to better acquaint yourself with app ...more

In this 3D modeling software series you will learn how to model organically with polygons in Maya. For this example, you will learn how to model a dolphin. PART 1: we go over the beginning steps of modeling a dolphin with polygons. We cover how to split the model in half from ...more

Material texture and lighting within the 3D modeling Community is a skill in itself. Hopefully this will help those that are trying to go down the road of a texture artist. part one covers editing multiple uv's at the same time on a model in Maya using the Maya UV editor. part ...more

Want to create a perfect duplicate of a modeled object in Maya 2011? Let this clip show you how it's done. Whether you're new to Autodesk's popular modeling software or a seasoned 3D artist just looking to better acquaint yourself with the Maya 2011 workflow, you're sure to be ...more

Learn how to setup a Reference Plane to use for modeling objects in Maya. A reference plane or image plane in Maya is used as a template to make sure the proportions and surfaces of a model look the same as the original design. This is an important part of any 3D modeling. Wat ...more

Autodesk Maya, affectionately known as just Maya to its users, is a 3D computer graphics software that makes it easy to create impressive, realistic models of real-life - or imagined - objects. Super useful for graphic designers, film makers and web designers, the program is o ...more

This tutorial series shows you how to work with lighting in Maya by creating a stain glass window with a candle in front of it. This is a great in-depth look at lighting. Part one sets up a 3 point lighting system within maya. so this is a general overview of many light proper ...more

Whether you're a Maya (AKA Autodesk Maya) beginner or seasoned veteran, modeling a realistic house using the 3D graphic design software is a great course on how to use your vectors and a variety of Maya tools. Whether you are an interior designer, architect or are just trying ...more

Learn how to convert a skeleton of a character for Unreal Tournament 3 (UT3) from 3D Studio Max to Maya and import it into the Unreal engine.

In this tutorial, we learn how to work with normal maps within Maya 2011. Whether you're new to Autodesk's popular modeling software or a seasoned 3D artist just looking to better acquaint yourself with the Maya 2011 workflow, you're sure to be well served by this video tutori ...more

In our opinion, human body parts are some of the hardest things an artist can draw. When it comes to parts like hands and ears, we generally settle for a basic, rudimentary rendering because achieving a realistic portrayal seems so hard. If you're looking for quality, though, ...more

If you are working on characters or rigs, you are definitely working with joints. This video shows you how to insert a join in a joint chain if you need more or happened to miss one.

Learn how to import objects from one scene into another in Maya 7 or later. Whether you're new to Autodesk's popular modeling software or a seasoned 3D artist just looking to better acquaint yourself with application and its workflow, you're sure to be well served by this vide ...more

Creating realistic trees in Maya is hard enough without the leaves, but when you add the lively green leaves onto the branches, the difficulty level doubles. An animated leaf needs to mimic a real life, living leaf, which is intricate, to say the least. So, if you've been havi ...more

Jason Welsh shows you how to model a mech robot in Maya. NOTE: This link is to a Flash version of the first 5 minutes of this 45 minute tutorial. A download link is provided on the veoh.com page for the full WMP tutorial.

Character rigging is important. Advanced Rigging makes it easier to animate your character. View joints and nerves so that you may easily select parts of the character. Check out this Maya animation tutorial video from Sessions Online School of Game Art's "Character Animation ...more

Learn how to use the bend deformer to make your models a little more dynamic without having to learn all that bothersome animation stuff! Whether you're new to Autodesk's popular modeling software or a seasoned 3D artist just looking to better acquaint yourself with applicatio ...more

Maya can count itself among the most powerful and also most challenging programs in all of computing. It's 3D modeling potential is nearly limitless if you can master its intricacies. This video features a professional digital art teacher teaching you how to model a 3D head us ...more

Learn how to extrude polygon faces and start to really make objects. Extruding is the most important and most often used method for manipulating and modeling with polygons in Maya so if you are learning Maya, you definitely want to check out this tutorial.

Maya is arcane, complex, but incredibly powerful software. It is the industry standard for 3D modeling in games and film. This video for Maya beginners will teach you how to create a model of an airplane as a means of teaching you a lot of the basics of Maya. It is meant to be ...more

ets face it: modeling in polygons in Maya is a rough way to make organic objects. In comes the smooth player: subdivision proxy objects. Learn how to model with the least amount of detail, but see your Maya model in all of it's quad-faced glory by using the subdivision proxy o ...more

This tutorial shows you how to model a hand in Maya from a Photoshop image. NOTE: This link is to a Flash version of the first 5 minutes of this 2 hour tutorial. A download link is provided on the veoh.com page for the full WMP tutorial.

First off, a bit of explanation. The hypershade in Maya is a quick way to create and connect rendering nodes, which include textures, materials, lights, and special effects. Hypershade is one of the most important features in Maya to learn and master. In this Maya tutorial, y ...more

Say you want to bring two objects together so they automatically flow from one piece to the next in Autodesk Maya 8.5, well, then you're going to have to bridge them. Check out this video tutorial on how to do just that. Combine them, then bridge them. It's that simple. So, fo ...more

This is a quick tutorial that shows you how to import Adobe Illustrator files into Maya. If you're going to use your illustrator files in Maya, make sure the fonts can be exported because they won't all work. Import Illustrator files into Maya. Click through to watch this vide ...more

Need to convert a NURBS surface to plain old polygons when working in Maya 2011? This clip will show you how it's done. Whether you're new to Autodesk's popular modeling software or a seasoned 3D artist just looking to better acquaint yourself with the Maya 2011 workflow, you' ...more

This is the basic bone animation using a character set and the hypergraph within Maya. Geared for kids to learn 3D modeling and animating this video is great for beginners.

This tutorial covers using Paint effects with Maya to quickly make hair and export it to Zbrush for your Zbrush models.

This tutorial shows the best way to model a human hand with perfect edge flow. Made in Maya but should work great in any package. This is an advanced tutorial so you should be familiar with the software and interface.

Creating beautiful 3D images in Maya is easier than doing so by hand, but not by much! This video will teach you how to use Maya to create a normal map form a high poly geometry easily using the render pass feature that came out in Maya 2009.

Learn how to use the sculpt geometry tool to make modeling polygon surfaces much easier when doing 3D modeling in Maya.

Learn how to make a dynamic chain in Maya so that it will react properly when it hits the ground.

Learn how to control and change the size joints are displayed in the Maya viewport.

Maya 2009 introduced a lot of cool new UV tools to the already-powerful Maya 3D modeling software. This two-part video will teach you how to use some of these features to cut apart a 3D model of a hand by its UV edges. This technique is perfect for very fast organic UV unwraps ...more

This tutorial shows you how to use curve snapping in Maya. It allows you to snap to snap to nurbs curves, isoparms or polygonal edges or anything that's a curve!

This tutorial shows you another method for using dynamic point constraints in Maya to create springs and things.

This tutorial shows you how to switch between animation mode and dynamics mode in Maya so you can animate objects with constraints on them.

This tutorial shows you how to generate normal maps to add depth to your textures in Maya.

This 2 part Maya tutorial covers how to use pin constraints and how they differ from dynamic constraints. Part 1 of 2 - How to Use pin constraints in Maya. Use pin constraints in Maya - Part 2 of 2. Click through to watch this video on veoh.com