basic notes of MAYA

Overview
Introduction
Welcome to Autodesk® Maya®, one of the world’s leading software applications
for 3D digital animation and visual effects. Maya provides a comprehensive
suite of tools for your 3D content creation work ranging from modeling,
animation, and dynamics through to painting and rendering to name but a
few.
With Maya, you can create and edit 3D models in a variety of modeling formats
and animate your models using Maya’s suite of animation tools. You can create
convincing visual simulations of rigid and soft body objects interacting in the
physical world using the computational dynamics and particles tools. Maya
also provides a range of tools to allow you to render your animated 3D scenes
to achieve photo realistic imagery and animated visual effects.
The Maya software interface is fully customizable for those users who require
the ability to maximize their productivity. Maya allows users to extend their
functionality within Maya by providing access to MELTM (Maya Embedded
Language). With MEL, you can customize the user interface and write scripts
and macros. In addition, a full Application Programmers Interface (API) is
available to enhance the power and functionality of Maya. Maya also provides
a Python-based Maya API for those users wishing to use it.
The content creation power of Maya is provided to users in an integrated software
application that is designed to enhance user productivity and ease of use.
This section provides the following information:
■ About the Getting Started lessons–Information about the lessons, where to
begin, and the order in which you should complete the lessons.
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1
■ Before you begin–Prerequisite knowledge and skills you should possess
before beginning the Getting Started with Maya lessons.
■ Installing Maya–Information on installing Maya.
■ Using the lesson files–How to access and use the lesson files for the Getting
Started with Maya lessons.
■ Conventions used in the lessons–Describes the various conventions used
throughout the Getting Started with Maya lessons.
■ Using the Maya Help–Outlines the various help resources provided with
your Maya software.
■ Additional learning resources–Outlines learning resources beyond what is
included with your Maya software.
■ Restoring default user settings–Describes how to reset Maya to its default
settings before you begin the lessons.
About the Getting Started lessons
Getting Started with Maya introduces the different areas of Maya in a set of brief
lessons. The lessons are designed to let you learn these modules at your own
pace.
If you are new to Maya, this guide gets you started on your learning path. If
you are an existing user or are transitioning from another 3D software
application, Getting Started with Maya provides a starting point for
understanding features you haven’t yet had time to learn.
If you are a user of Maya® UnlimitedTM you can learn about the features of
your software by going through the lessons in Getting Started with Maya Unlimited
which is included in the Learning Resources section of the Maya Help. If you
are new to Maya, we recommend that you begin with the lessons contained
within Getting Started with Maya.
Getting Started with Maya is not meant to replace the documentation that comes
with the Maya software. Only the commands and options used in the lessons
are explained in this manual. You will find the Maya Help provides an excellent
companion reference to the lessons and much more.
Many of the lessons in Getting Started with Maya contain one or more separate
lessons that provide step-by-step instructions for creating or accomplishing
specific tasks within Maya. You can follow the lessons in this guide from start
2 | Chapter 1 Overview
to finish or complete only the lessons that correspond to your interests and
needs.
We recommend that any new Maya user begin by completing the following:
■ Viewing the Essential Skills Movies that are available when you first start
Maya.
■ Completing the Maya Basics lessons (Chapter 2) which introduce many
fundamental concepts and skills related to the Maya user interface.
The version of Getting Started with Maya within the Maya Help also contains
Apple® QuickTime® movies for some of the lessons.
To use the lessons from the Maya Help
1 In Maya, select Help > Tutorials.
The Maya Help window displays the Getting Started with Maya lessons.
2 Click the tutorial you want to work through.
The Maya Help displays the associated lessons for that tutorial.
Before you begin
Before beginning Getting Started with Maya, you should have a working
knowledge of your computer’s operating system. You should know how to
use a mouse, select menus, and enter text and commands from your keyboard.
You should also know how to open and save files, copy files from a DVD to
your hard drive, and be able to navigate your computer operating system’s
file browser.
If you require an overview or review of these techniques, we recommend that
you refer to the documentation that came with your particular computer and
operating system.
If you are new to 3D computer graphics and animation, you might want to
obtain The Art of Maya (ISBN: 978-1-8971-7747-1). It explains many concepts
and techniques that are unique to the world of 3D computer graphics as they
relate to Maya.
Before you begin | 3
Installing Maya
You must have Maya installed and licensed on your computer system to
successfully complete the lessons in this guide. To operate Maya on your
computer you must be running a qualified Microsoft® Windows®, Linux®, or
Apple® Mac OS® X operating system with the recommended minimum
memory and storage requirements. Maya requires a three button mouse to
access its full functionality for menus, commands, and 3D viewing.
For complete instructions on qualified hardware and operating systems, as
well as installation and licensing of the Maya software, please refer to the
Installation and Licensing manual that came with your Maya software or check
the Maya Features and Specification link at http://www.autodesk.com/maya.
Conventions used in the lessons
Some important conventions used throughout Getting Started with Maya are
explained here.
Maya is available for use on a wide range of operating systems. Any differences
between operating systems when operating Maya are identified throughout
this book in the following ways:
(Windows), (Mac OS X), (Linux)
The screen illustrations and examples within Getting Started with Maya vary
among the Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux operating systems. Maya’s interface
is generally consistent across these systems.
When instructed to select a menu within Maya we use the following
convention:
■ Menu > Command (For example, File > New Scene)
When you are instructed to select the option box for a particular menu item
within Maya, we use the following convention:
■ Menu > Command > Option (for example, Create > NURBS Primitives>
Sphere > ).
4 | Chapter 1 Overview
Using the lesson files
Many of the Getting Started with Maya lessons have accompanying lesson
files that were created for use with the lessons. These files are included in the
GettingStarted directory that was installed with your Maya software and can
be found in the following locations:
(Windows XP and Vista, 32 and 64-bit)
<drive>:\Program Files\Autodesk\Maya2009\GettingStarted
(Mac OS X)
/Applications/Autodesk/maya2009/GettingStarted
(Linux 64-bit)
/usr/autodesk/maya2009-x64/GettingStarted
Before you use the lesson files, you need to copy the GettingStarted directory
to your Maya projects folder. Then, you need to set the GettingStarted folder
as your project directory in Maya. For more information and steps, see Copying
and setting the Maya project on page 25.
Using the Maya Help
Your Maya software application comes with a comprehensive set of
documentation resources.
Essential Skills Movies
The first time you start Maya, the Essential Skills Movies window displays in
Maya. Watch these movies to learn about the skills you need to master when
you first use Maya. The audio for the movies is available in English, French,
German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, and Mandarin.
Using the lesson files | 5
To play the Essential Skills Movies
1 In the Essential Skills Movies window, click the buttons to play a movie.
Your computer launches the necessary multimedia player and your chosen
movie begins to play.
2 Click your multimedia player’s controls to start, stop, and pause the
movie.
To close the Essential Skills Movies window or the multimedia player
1 To close the Essential Skills Movies window, click the close box in the
upper right corner of the window.
If you do not want to have this dialog box automatically display when
you start Maya, turn on the Don’t show this at startup check box.
2 To close the multimedia player, select File > Exit or click the close box in
the upper right corner of the window. (This instruction might vary
depending upon which multimedia player is used)
If you want to watch the movies in the future
1 In Maya, select Help > Learning Movies.
The Learning Movies window appears.
6 | Chapter 1 Overview
Maya Help
Your Maya software application comes installed with Maya technical
documentation that assists you in learning the Maya software. The Maya Help
is HTML-based, structured by module, fully searchable, and is displayed using
your computer’s web browser.
The Maya Help is topic based and displays the major functionality categories
for Maya. The Maya Help can assist you in finding reference information about
particular topics, how to perform specific tasks, and MELTM command
references.
To launch the Maya Help
1 Select Help > Maya Help.
The Maya Help appears in a separate web browser window (depending
on your user preference settings). The left hand pane of the Maya Help
lets you navigate to various Maya topics.
To obtain help on a particular Maya topic
1 In the Maya Help navigation pane, click the name of the Maya topic you
want information about (for example, Modeling, Animation, Dynamics,
MEL commands, and so on).
The Maya Help displays the associated sub-topics and categories associated
with the name you selected.
Maya Index and search
You can search the Maya Help directly using the index and search capabilities.
With these tools you find the Maya topic you’re looking for by searching the
topic word in an alphabetic list or by directly typing the topic word(s) into
the search field and having the search tool find the documentation entries
associated with it.
To use the Maya Index
1 In Maya, select Help > Maya Help.
The Maya Help appears in a separate window (depending on your user
preferences). The Maya Index button appears at the top of the left
navigation pane.
2 Click the Index button.
Using the Maya Help | 7
The navigation pane updates to display an alphabetic list at the top of
the pane with the first index items listed.
3 Click an item/letter in the alphabetic list.
The information related to that topic appears in the right pane.
To use the Maya Help search
1 Select Help > Maya Help.
The Maya Help appears in a separate window (depending on your user
preferences). The Maya Search button appears at the top of the left
navigation pane.
2 Click the Search button.
The navigation pane updates to display the available search methods and
options. You search a topic by typing in a word(s) that best represent the
information you require.
3 In the text box, type a word that best represents your search topic.
By default, all of the content in the Maya Help is searched. You can
narrow the search results by selecting a specific user guide from the drop
down list below the text box.
4 Click the Search button to begin.
The search results appear in the left navigation pane, in order of relevancy.
5 Click the desired topic from the search results list.
The information related to that entry appears in the right pane of the
Maya Help.
Popup Help
Popup Help provides you with a quick method of identifying a particular tool
or icon in the Maya user interface.
8 | Chapter 1 Overview
To use Popup Help
1 Move your mouse cursor over an icon or button.
The name or description of it appears in a popup window directly over
it.
To turn on the Popup Help if it does not appear
1 If you’re operating Maya on a Windows or Linux operating system:
■ Select Window > Settings/Preferences > Preferences.
■ In the Preferences window, click the Help category and set the Tooltips
box to Enable in the Popup Help section so a check mark appears.
■ Click the Save button to close the Preferences window.
2 If you’re operating Maya on a Mac OS X operating system:
■ Select Maya > Preferences.
■ In the Preferences window, click the Help category and click the
Tooltips Enable box in the Popup Help section so a check mark
appears.
■ Click the Save button to close the Preferences window.
Help Line
The Help Line at the bottom of Maya's window shows information about
tools, menus, and objects. Like the Popup help, it displays descriptions when
you move the mouse over icons and menu items. It also displays instructions
when you select a tool. This is useful if you don’t know or forget how to use
a particular tool.
Using the Maya Help | 9
To use the Help Line
1 Move your mouse cursor over an icon or button.
The icon or button name and instructions about how to use that tool
appear in the Help Line.
Find Menu
The Find Menu feature lets you find the location of a particular menu item.
Find Menu works only on the main menu items.
To find the location of a main menu item
1 Select Help > Find Menu.
The Find a Menu Item window appears.
2 Type the menu item you want to locate in the text field, and press Enter
(Windows and Linux) or Return (Mac OS X).
The possible locations for the main menu item display in the results field
of the Find Menu window.
Additional learning resources
Beyond the Maya Help resources within your Maya software, you can access
the following resources to learn more about Maya or obtain technical
assistance.
The Maya Learning Path
Discover the many learning resources available from Autodesk using the Maya
Learning Path. For more information, see
http://www.autodesk.com/maya-learningpathwww.autodesk.com/maya-learningpath.
10 | Chapter 1 Overview
The Maya Web site
The Maya Web site contains a wealth of resources related to your Maya software
and many other related products and services. You can view the Maya Web
site athttp://www.autodesk.com/maya www.autodesk.com/maya using your web
browser.
Autodesk Training
Autodesk provides a range of products and services to help you get the most
from your Maya software. You can purchase additional self-paced learning
materials or attend certified instructor led training courses at Autodesk
sanctioned training facilities. For more information, see
http://www.autodesk.com/maya-trainingwww.autodesk.com/maya-training.
Technical Support
Autodesk delivers technical support services for Maya globally through
telephone and email services, as well as online eSupport services. For more
information, click the Support Center link from the Maya Help menu or click
the Services and Support link on the Maya Web site.
Events and Seminars
Autodesk also runs Maya seminars and short format training courses at major
computing events and trade shows. For more information, see
http://www.autodesk.com/maya-events-seminarswww.autodesk.com/maya-events-seminars.
Restoring default user settings
If you have already used Maya or have a prior version of Maya installed, you
should restore the default settings for Maya before you begin the lessons. This
ensures that Maya appears and operates exactly as the lessons describe.
If you are an existing user of Maya we recommend that you save your existing
preferences for later use prior to restoring the default user settings.
To save your existing custom user preferences
1 Ensure Maya is not running.
Each time you exit Maya it saves the configuration of most components
of your user interface so it appears the same when you start it the next
time. It writes the preferences to a directory called prefs. If you rename
Restoring default user settings | 11
the prefs directory, your original preferences will be maintained and Maya
will create a new prefs directory the next time it is run.
2 Rename your existing user preferences file to a different name; for
example, myprefs. The prefs directory path is:
Windows
(Windows XP)
\Documents and Settings\<username>\My Documents\maya\
2009\en_US\prefs
(Windows XP 64bit)
\Documents and Settings\<username>\My Documents\maya\ 2009-
x64\en_US\prefs
(Windows Vista)
\Users\<username>\Documents\maya\2009\en_US\prefs
(Windows Vista 64-bit)
\Users\<username>\Documents\maya\2009-x64\en_US\prefs
Mac OS X
/Users/<username>/Library/Prefer
ences/Autodesk/maya/en_US/2009/prefs
Linux (64-bit)
~<username>/maya/2009-x64/en_US/prefs
NOTE If you are running the Japanese version of Maya, change en_US in the
above directory paths to ja_JP.
If you have a previous version of Maya installed, also rename that prefs
directory to a new name such as myprefs. Maya will load older preferences
if they exist from a previous version.
3 Start Maya and begin the Getting Started with Maya lessons.
To restore your custom user preferences after doing the lessons
1 Ensure Maya is not running.
2 Rename the previously changed preferences back to prefs.
12 | Chapter 1 Overview
Maya Basics
Introduction
Critical to learning any software application is some initial understanding of
the basic concepts: how that software’s world works and the fundamental skills
you need to work in that world. If you have never used a three dimensional
(3D) software application before, you may initially find Maya different compared
to 2D applications.
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13
If you are wondering “where do I begin?”, this chapter is the best place to
start. We recommend that you complete the lessons in this chapter so the
essential concepts and skills presented become familiar to you.
This chapter covers some of the fundamental concepts and skills for Maya in
four lessons:
■ Lesson 1 The Maya user interface: Introduction on page 15
■ Lesson 2 Creating, manipulating, and viewing objects: Introduction on
page 29
■ Lesson 3 Viewing the Maya 3D scene: Introduction on page 42
■ Lesson 4 Components and attributes: Introduction on page 61
Preparing for the lessons
To ensure the lessons work as described:
■ Ensure Maya is installed and licensed on your computer.
If you have not installed Maya yet, refer to the Installation and Licensing
manual that accompanies your Maya software package. It outlines the
requirements for installing Maya and procedures for installation and
licensing Maya on supported hardware platforms.
■ If you have never started Maya on your computer before, it will start for
the first time using the default preference settings.
■ If you have run Maya before, you should ensure that your Maya user
preferences are reset to their default setting. This ensures that the lessons
appear and work as described.
Refer to Restoring default user settings on page 11 for instructions on
resetting user preferences to the default setting.
■ Unless otherwise indicated, the directions in this chapter for making menu
selections assume you’re working from the Polygons menu set.
NOTE Before you perform the lessons in this book, ensure that the Interactive
Creation option for primitives is turned off by selecting Create > Polygon
Primitives > Interactive Creation and Create > NURBS Primitives > Interactive
Creation. That is, ensure a check mark does not appear beside these menu
items.
14 | Chapter 2 Maya Basics
Lesson 1:The Maya user interface
Introduction
Just as the driver of an automobile is familiar with the dashboard of their
vehicle, it is important for you to become familiar with the Maya “dashboard.”
The Maya user interface refers to everything that the Maya user sees and operates
within Maya. The menus, icons, scene views, windows, and panels comprise
the user interface.
Through the Maya user interface you access the features and operate the tools
and editors that allow you to create, animate, and render your three
dimensional objects, scenes, and effects within Maya.
As you spend time learning and working with Maya, your knowledge of and
familiarity with the user interface will increase until it becomes second nature.
In this lesson you learn how to:
■ Start Maya on your computer.
■ Use the Maya interface so that you can begin to understand where and
how to access the critical tools to get started with Maya.
■ Select the menu and icon sets within Maya.
■ Learn the names of tools related to the icons in Maya.
■ Create a new scene view.
This first lesson contains additional explanations of the tools and concepts
compared to many of the lessons later in this manual. We suggest you take
some time to review these explanations as they lay the foundation for
understanding where things are in Maya.
Starting Maya
To start Maya on Windows
1 Do one of the following:
■ Double-click the Maya icon on your desktop.
Lesson 1:The Maya user interface | 15
■ From the Windows Start menu, select All Programs > Autodesk >
Autodesk Maya 2009 > Maya 2009 (Maya Complete or Maya
Unlimited).
To start Maya on Mac OS X
1 Do one of the following:
■ Double-click the Maya icon on your desktop.
■ Click the Maya icon in the Dock.
■ From the Apple Finder menu, select Go > Applications and then browse
for the Maya icon and double-click it to start Maya.
To start Maya on Linux
1 Do one of the following:
■ Double-click the Maya icon on your desktop.
■ In a shell window, type: maya.
The Maya interface
Now that Maya is running, you first need to understand what you are seeing.
There are a lot of items displayed in the Maya user interface.
The best way to begin is to learn the fundamental tools and then learn
additional tools as you need them. Begin by learning some of the main tools.
16 | Chapter 2 Maya Basics
The Maya workspace
The Maya workspace is where you conduct most of your work within Maya.
The workspace is the central window where your objects and most editor
panels appear.
The Maya interface | 17
When you start Maya for the first time, the workspace displays by default in
a perspective window, or panel. There are the other components of the default
perspective view panel:
■ The panel is labeled persp at the bottom to indicate that you are viewing
the Maya scene from a perspective camera view.
■ The panel has its own menu bar at the top left corner of the panel. These
menus allow you to access tools and functions related to that specific panel.
■ The grid is displayed with two heavy lines intersecting at the center of the
Maya scene. This central location is called the origin. The origin is the center
of Maya’s 3D world, and with all object’s directional values measured from
this location.
18 | Chapter 2 Maya Basics
In Maya, like many other 3D applications, the three dimensions are labeled
as the X, Y, and Z axes. The origin is located at X, Y, Z position of 0, 0, 0. The
grid also lies along the X, Z plane. We refer to this as a plane because you might
visualize an imaginary, flat, two-dimensional square laying along this 3D
position.
Maya labels the X, Y, and Z axes with a color scheme: red for X, green for Y,
and blue for Z. Many tools that you use in Maya use this color scheme to
indicate that you are accessing a particular item that relates to X, Y, and Z in
some way.
The axis indicator shows in which direction, X, Y, or Z, you are viewing the
Maya scene. The axis indicator is color coded in the red, green, and blue color
scheme and appears in the lower left corner of a view panel.
This is extremely useful if you are new to 3D, as many of the instructions in
this manual and the Maya Help assume you know where you are viewing the
scene in relation to the X, Y, Z axes.
The Maya interface | 19
Main Menu bar
Tools and items are accessible from pull down menus located at the top of
the user interface. In Maya, menus are grouped into menu sets. These menu
sets are accessible from the Main Menu bar.
The Main Menu bar appears at the top of the Maya interface directly below
the Maya title bar and displays the chosen menu set. Each menu set
corresponds to a module within Maya: Animation, Polygons, Surfaces,
Rendering, and Dynamics. Modules are a method for grouping related features
and tools. Maya® UnlimitedTM has additional menu sets (For example, Maya®
nClothTM).
You switch between menu sets by choosing the appropriate module from the
menu selector on the Status Line (located directly below the File and Edit
menus). As you switch between menu sets, the right-hand portion of the
menus change, but the left-hand portion remains the same; the left-hand
menus are common menus to all menu sets. The left-hand menus contain
File, Edit, Modify, Create, Display, and Window.
To select a specific menu set
1 On the Status line, select Animation from the drop-down menu.
The Main Menu changes to display the menu set that relates to the
Animation module. In particular, menu titles such as Animate, Deform,
Skeleton, Skin, and so on, appear.
20 | Chapter 2 Maya Basics
2 Using the menu selector, choose Polygons from the drop-down menu.
The main menu changes to display the menu set for Polygons. Menu
titles such as Select, Mesh, Edit Mesh, and so on, appear.
For now, leave the menu set at Polygons. You will use this set in the next
step.
To create a primitive 3D object from the Polygons menu set
1 Select Create > Polygon Primitives > Interactive Creation and ensure that
a check mark does not appear beside this item.
For this lesson, you won’t use this option.
2 From the Main Menu Bar, select Create > Polygon Primitives > Cube >.
Maya creates a 3D cube primitive object and places it at the center (origin)
of the Maya workspace.
Status Line
The Status Line, located directly below the Main Menu bar, contains a variety
of items, most of which are used while modeling or working with objects
within Maya. Many of the Status Line items are represented by a graphical
icon. The icons save space in the Maya interface and allow for quick access to
tools used most often.
In this lesson, you learn about some of the Status Line areas.
The Maya interface | 21
You’ve already learned the first item on the Status line: the Menu Selector
used to select between menu sets.
The second group of circled icons relate to the scene and are used to create,
open, and save your Maya scenes.
The third and fourth group of buttons are used to control how you can select
objects and components of objects. You will learn more about selection of
objects in later lessons.
The fifth group of icons are used to control the Snap Mode for objects and
components. You will begin to use these tools in a later lesson in this chapter.
The last section comprise three buttons that are used to show or hide editors,
including the Attribute Editor, Channel Box, Layer Editor, and Tool Settings.
The default display shows the Channel Box and the Layer Editor. When you
create an object, like the cube for example, information about that object
displays in these editors. You will learn how to use these editors later in this
chapter.
For better organization on the Status Line, all of the icon buttons are broken
into groups that you can expand and collapse, as shown.
Shelf
The Shelf is located directly below the Status line. The Maya Shelf is useful for
storing tools and items that you use frequently or have customized for your
own use. You can keep the tools and items you use most frequently in a
location that provides handy access. Maya has some of the Shelf items
pre-configured for your use.
22 | Chapter 2 Maya Basics
To create an object using a tool from the Shelf
1 From the Shelf, select the Surfaces tab in order to view the tools located
on that shelf.
2 Select Create > NURBS Primitives > Interactive Creation to ensure that a
check mark does not appear beside the item.
For this lesson, you won’t use this option
3 From the Shelf, select the NURBS sphere icon located at the left end by
clicking on it.
Maya creates a sphere primitive object and places it at the center of the
Maya workspace in the same position as the cube.
TIP You can determine if this is the correct tool prior to choosing it by first
placing your mouse cursor over the icon, the name or description of it appears
in a popup window directly over it.
The Maya interface | 23
In your scene view the wireframe outline of the cube you created earlier in
the lesson has changed color to navy blue, and the sphere is displayed in a
bright green color. The sphere is now the selected object and the cube is no
longer selected. In Maya, when the object displays like this, we refer to it as
being selected or active.
Selection of objects and components is a way of indicating to Maya that this
particular item is to be affected by the tool or action you will subsequently
choose. As you work with Maya, you will be selecting and deselecting items
a lot. You will learn how to select and deselect objects later in this chapter.
Some numerical information appears in the Channel Box editor on the right
hand side of the user interface. This information relates to X, Y, and Z,
translation, rotation, and scaling for the active object. The X, Y, and Z Translate
numerical values are currently set to 0. This indicates that the sphere’s location
is at the origin. The Channel Box is useful for viewing and editing this type
of basic information. You will use the Channel Box later in this chapter.
24 | Chapter 2 Maya Basics
To hide or show the Channel Box
1 To hide the Channel Box, click the Show/Hide Channel Box icon from
the right end of the Status line.
The Channel Box disappears, and the perspective scene view expands
slightly. With the Channel Box hidden, you have more working area in
your scene view.
2 To show the Channel Box, click the Show/Hide Channel Box icon on
the Status line. The Channel Box appears in the scene view.
Copying and setting the Maya project
Before you can save your work, you need to set a project in Maya.
A project is a file directory that stores and organizes all of the files (scenes,
images, materials, textures, etc.) related to a particular scene. In Maya, you
create and work with a variety of file types and formats. The project directory
allows you to keep these different file types in their unique subdirectory
locations within the project directory.
You can create a new project directory by choosing File > Project > New.
Alternatively, you can choose an existing folder to act as the project directory
if you have prepared a folder in advance.
For these lessons, the project directory will be the GettingStarted folder that
we have created for you. Here, you will find all the template files that you
need for the lessons, and you will save your work as you learn. You need to
copy the GettingStarted folder to your Maya projects folder, and then you
need to set the GettingStarted folder as the project directory in Maya.
Copying and setting the Maya project | 25
To copy and set the GettingStarted folder as your Maya project
1 Navigate to the GettingStarted folder that was installed with your Maya
software. The location of this folder depends on the operating system
that you are using.
(Windows XP and Vista, 32 or 64-bit)
<drive>:\Program Files\Autodesk\Maya2009\GettingStarted
(Mac OS X)
/Applications/Autodesk/maya2009/GettingStarted
(Linux 64-bit)
/usr/autodesk/maya2009-x64/GettingStarted
2 Copy the GettingStarted folder.
3 Paste the GettingStarted folder in one of the following locations,
depending on the operating system that you are using:
(Windows XP, 32 or 64-bit)
<drive>:\Documents and Settings\<username>\My Documents\maya\pro
jects
(Windows Vista, 32 or 64-bit)
<drive>:\Users\<username>\My Documents\maya\projects
(Mac OS X)
/Users/<username>/Documents/maya/projects
(Linux 64-bit)
<home directory>/maya/projects
4 In Maya, choose File > Project > Set.
5 Browse for the GettingStarted folder that you pasted in your Maya
projects directory in step 3.
6 Select the folder and click OK.
Saving your work
Make it a habit to save your work often when working on your Maya projects.
In that way, you can always open an earlier version of your work should you
make a mistake.
26 | Chapter 2 Maya Basics
Maya refers to everything you’ve created in your workspace as the scene. This
includes any objects, lights, cameras and materials associated with your
working session.
To save your Maya scene
1 Select File > Save Scene.
A file browser appears, listing the GettingStarted project directory where
you can save your scene.
If the GettingStarted directory does not appear, you need to copy the
GettingStarted folder and set it as your Maya project. See Copying and
setting the Maya project on page 25.
2 Within the GettingStarted directory, double-click the scenes folder to
open it.
3 Type: Lesson1 in the file name text box.
4 Click Save.
Maya saves your file to the scenes directory within your GettingStarted
project directory. Maya automatically saves the file with a .mb file
extension. The .mb file extension indicates that the scene was saved as a
Maya binary file: the default file type for a Maya scene.
Exiting Maya
Before you exit Maya, ensure you save any work that you want to retrieve and
continue with at a later time.
To exit Maya
1 Select File > Exit from the main menu.
Maya does one of the two following actions:
■ If you have saved your scene immediately preceding the Exit command,
Maya exits.
■ If you have not recently saved your scene, a message prompt appears on
the screen asking if you want to save your changes. Click either Save, Don’t
Save, or Cancel.
Exiting Maya | 27
Beyond the lesson
In this lesson you began your orientation to Maya by learning:
■ How to start Maya on your computer.
■ The Maya workspace, and how it shows three dimensional space (X, Y, Z).
■ How Maya color-codes items and tools related to X, Y, Z.
■ The location of the main menus for the various modules within Maya.
■ How to create a three-dimensional object from the Polygons menu.
■ The location of the Status Line and how items are displayed as icons.
■ About the Shelf how to create a three dimensional object from the Shelf.
■ How to hide and show the Channel Box and that basic transformation,
scaling, and rotational information for an object can viewed in the Channel
Box.
■ How to save your work.
■ How to exit Maya.
As you proceed through Getting Started with Maya you should be familiar
with the fundamental concepts and skills covered in this first chapter.
If you want to learn more about a particular tool or feature that has been
presented in this lesson, refer to the Maya Help.