Maya: Interface basics
The first thing you want to do when you first open Maya is create and set a project. The project directory contains different folders for the different elements in it (scenes, textures, renders, etc)
To create a new project, just click on File > Project Window. On the new window you can name and locate the project. Once this is done, you have to set the project in order to work on the project's scenes. For that just click File > Set project... Then select the new project folder.
The upper row on the Poly Modeling tab has primitive polygons. To create one, just click on one of them. The basic keys on the keyboard are QWER:
- Q --> Select
- W --> Move
- E --> Rotate
- R --> Scale
To add polygons to existing meshes there is the Extrude Tool. You can click either on the Extrude button on the top row or on the Modeling Toolkit tab or just use the shortcut Ctrl+E. The new polygon can be now moved or scaled with the arrows and the cubes that appear on the new element. To scale every axis at once, just click on one of the cubes. A light blue cube will appear in the center like with the usual scale tool.
If you press G on the keyboard, the last made action will be repeated.
By pressing the space bar, you´ll get a four view layout with front, side, top and perspective view. By pressing the space bar again, you´ll get the full screen of the view, where the mouse pointer was currently on.
The panel layouts can be also switched with the buttons on the left column.
The Outliner allows you to keep your scene organised. The objects in the scene can be renamed. To open or close the outliner, click on the last button on the left column.
You can activate the wireframe mode by pressing 4 on the keyboard. Bey pressing 6 you come back to normal mode.
The Attribute Editor lists attributes on the selected object. It can be opened with the tab on the right side of the screen or with the third button above the menu. Translate, rotate and move actions can be done more precisely here.
To combine two objects, click Mesh > Combine. They function like one object now.
Once two objects are combined, the Bridge Tool can be applied. The button is on the Modeling Toolkit tab.
Select the elements you want to bridge, in this case two faces and click Bridge Tool. On the small pop up window we can edit the number of divisions and the curve of the bridge. By selecting Blend, the bridge will become an arch.
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