by Todd Palamar | Publisher: Infinite Skills | Release Date: April 2014 | ISBN: 9781771372305

In this Autodesk Maya 2015 training course, expert author Todd Palamar teaches you the core features and concepts of Maya. This course is for the absolute beginner, meaning no prior experience with Maya is necessary. You will start by touring the Maya interface, then jump into learning about nodes and transformations. Todd will teach you how to model a polygon, including creating the basic structure, extrude faces, and bevel. This video tutorial will cover topics including UV mapping, applying custom textures, rendering, painting and mirroring weights, and rigging. You will learn how to create animations and work with the graph editor. Finally, Todd teaches you how to render your finished product using Mental Ray. Once you have completed this computer based training course, you will be fully capable of using Maya 2015 to create your own models from start to finish, using the key concepts and techniques that Todd has taught you. Working files are included, allowing you to follow along with the author throughout the lessons.

1. Introduction
   • Introduction To Maya 00:04:04
   • What To Expect 00:03:29
   • What Is New In Maya 2015 00:03:47
   • Maya Help 00:06:03
   • About The Author 00:03:00
2. The Maya Interface
   • Interface Overview 00:03:23
   • Hotbox And Marking Menus 00:04:20
   • Camera Control 00:04:34
   • Projects 00:05:40
3. Nodes And Transformations
   • Primitive Objects 00:08:07
   • Transforming Objects 00:08:55
   • Parenting And Grouping 00:05:04
   • Hypergraph 00:11:23
   • Outliner 00:06:18
   • Image Planes 00:06:10
   • Curves 00:08:39
4. Polygon Modelling
   • Understanding Polygons 00:05:48
   • Selecting Polygon Components 00:12:38
   • Basic Structure 00:13:51
   • Extrude Faces 00:10:06
   • Edge Loops 00:06:35
   • Mirror Geometry 00:05:52
   • Normals 00:07:35
   • Sculpt Geometry 00:09:34
   • Bridge - Part 1 00:11:00
   • Bridge - Part 2 00:09:27
   • Extrude Along A Curve 00:07:58
   • Mirror Cut 00:06:21
   • Bevel 00:05:17
   • Booleans 00:05:29
   • Quad Draw 00:08:34
5. Texturing
   • Materials 00:07:40
   • UV Mapping - Part 1 00:09:02
   • UV Mapping - Part 2 00:13:48
   • Mirror And Layout UVs 00:09:14
   • Applying Custom Textures 00:07:31
   • Hypershade 00:04:04
   • Rendering 00:06:02
6. Rigging And Weighting
   • Understanding Joints 00:08:59
   • Creating A Skeleton 00:09:25
   • Binding Geometry 00:12:39
   • Painting Weights 00:06:08
   • Refining Weights 00:04:29
   • Mirror Weights 00:03:01
   • IK Handles 00:08:13
   • Basic Rigging 00:10:28
   • Node Editor 00:09:42
7. Animation
   • Setting Key Frames 00:13:13
   • Animating 00:09:33
   • Dope Sheet 00:07:07
   • Graph Editor - Part 1 00:09:42
   • Graph Editor - Part 2 00:09:00
   • Graph Editor - Part 3 00:07:32
8. Rendering With Mental Ray
   • Batch Rendering 00:07:25
   • Image Based Lighting 00:07:38
   • Final Gather 00:10:25
9. Conclusion
   • Conclusion 00:02:02