Advanced Maya Texturing and Lighting E-Book

Lee Lanier

• Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
• Kategorie: Wissenschaft und neue Technologien
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 723

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2011

Beschreibung

If you already understand the basics of Maya, the industry-leading 3D animation and effects software, you'll be ready to move on to the sophisticated topics in this updated edition of Advanced Maya Texturing and Lighting. Detailed, easy-to-follow instructions will teach you the real-world production secrets that professional animators use to achieve amazing results. In the second edition, you will find extensive and updated coverage of the latest theories and trends in addition to an enclosed CD with exclusive content to help you sharpen your skills.

Leseprobe

Table of Contents

Cover

Title Page

Credits

Copyright

Publisher's Letter

Dedication

Acknowledgments

About the Author

Introduction

Chapter 1: Understanding Lighting, Color, and Composition

Understanding the Art of Lighting

Understanding Color and Composition

Step-by-Step: 3D Lighting Examples

Chapter 2: Applying the Correct Maya Light Type

Maya Light Types

Linking and Unlinking Lights

Using Light Fog and Light Glow

Chapter Tutorial: Lighting an Interior

Chapter 3: Creating High-Quality Shadows

Rendering Depth Maps

Raytracing Shadows

Linking and Unlinking Shadows

Creating Effects Shadows

Chapter Tutorial: Lighting a Flickering Fire Pit with Shadows

Chapter 4: Applying the Correct Material and 2D Texture

Reviewing Shading Models and Materials

Reviewing 2D Textures

Mastering Extra Map Options

Stacking Materials and Textures

Mastering the Blinn Material

Chapter Tutorial: Re-Creating Copper with Basic Texturing Techniques

Chapter 5: Applying 3D Textures and Projections

Exploring 3D Textures

Applying Environment Textures

2D Texture Projection Options

Chapter Tutorial: Creating Skin with Procedural Textures

Chapter 6: Creating Custom Connections and Applying Color Utilities

Mastering the Hypershade Window

Shifting Colors

Chapter Tutorial: Creating a Custom Paint Material

Chapter 7: Automating a Scene with Sampler Nodes

Employing Samplers

Tying into Nonmaterial Nodes

Connecting Multiple Materials in One Network

Using the Studio Clear Coat Utility

Chapter Tutorial: Building a Custom Cartoon Shading Network

Chapter 8: Harnessing the Power of Math Utilities

Math Utilities

Using Esoteric Utilities and Scene Nodes

Chapter Tutorial: Creating Eye Glow with Advanced Math Utilities

Chapter 9: Improving Textures through Custom UVs, Maps, and Sliders

Preparing UV Texture Space

Using the 3D Paint Tool

PSD Support

Bump and Displacement Mapping

Custom Sliders

Chapter Tutorial: Preparing the UVs of a Polygon Model

Chapter 10: Prepping for Successful Renders

Determining Critical Project Settings

Mastering the Render Settings Window

Rendering with the Command Line

Organizing the Render

Selecting Image Formats and Render Resolutions

Creating Depth of Field

Applying Motion Blur

Step-by-Step: Splitting Up a Render

Chapter 11: Raytracing with Maya Software and mental ray

Maya Software vs. mental ray

Raytracing with Maya Software

Raytracing with mental ray

Reproducing Water

Reproducing Glass

Chapter Tutorial: Texturing and Rendering an Ice Cube

Chapter 12: Working with Global Illumination, Final Gather, and mental ray Shaders

Understanding Indirect Illumination

Applying Caustics

Applying mental ray Shaders

Using Final Gather

Fine-Tuning mental ray Renders

Chapter Tutorial: Creating Caustics with Final Gather

Chapter 13: Texturing and Lighting with Advanced Techniques

Adding Realism with HDRI

An Introduction to RenderMan For Maya

Creating Textures with the Transfer Maps Tool

Managing Renders with the Render Layer Editor

Step-by-Step: Creating the Cover Illustration

Chapter 14: Additional Techniques

4.1: Creating a Custom Wireframe Render with a Ramp Texture

4.2: Creating a Custom Window Reflection with Ramp Textures

6.1: Controlling a Bicep with a Clamp Utility

6.2: Creating Stylized Chrome with the Surface Luminance Utility

7.1: Replicating Iridescence with the Surface Sampler Utility

7.2: Re-creating Skin Translucence

8.1: Rotating a Tire with Multiply Divide Utilities

8.2: Solving the Length of a Triangle’s Edge with a Plus Minus Average Utility

9.1: Rebuilding Closed and Periodic Surfaces

10.1: Adjusting NURBS Surface Tessellation

12.1: Applying mental ray Diagnostic Tools

Appendix

What You’ll Find on the CD

System Requirements

Using the CD

Troubleshooting

Index

End-User License Agreement

Download CD/DVD content

Acquisitions Editor: Mariann Barsolo

Development Editor: Susan Herman

Technical Editors: Keith Reicher, Eric Keller

Production Editor: Laurel Ibey

Copy Editor: Liz Welch

Production Manager: Tim Tate

Vice President and Executive Group Publisher: Richard Swadley

Vice President and Executive Publisher: Joseph B. Wikert

Vice President and Publisher: Neil Edde

Project Manager: Laura Moss-Hollister

Assistant Producer: Kit Malone

Book Designer: Franz Baumhackl, Lori Barra

Compositor: Kate Kaminski, Happenstance Type-O-Rama

Proofreader: Ian Golder, Word One

Indexer: Nancy Guenther

Cover Designer: Ryan Sneed

Cover Image: Lee Lanier

Copyright © 2008 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana

Published simultaneously in Canada

ISBN: 978-0-470-29273-0

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Lanier, Lee, 1966-

Advanced Maya texturing and lighting / Lee Lanier. — 2nd ed.

p. cm.

ISBN 978-0-470-29273-0 (pbk. : CD-ROM)

1. Computer animation. 2. Maya (Computer file) I. Title.

TR897.7L367 2008

006.6’96—dc22

2008019683

TRADEMARKS: Wiley, the Wiley logo, and the Sybex logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of John Wiley & Sons, Inc. and/or its affiliates, in the United States and other countries, and may not be used without written permission. Maya is a registered trademark of Autodesk, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Wiley Publishing, Inc., is not associated with any product or vendor mentioned in this book.

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Dear Reader,

Thank you for choosing Advanced Maya Texturing and Lighting, Second Edition. This book is part of a family of premium quality Sybex books, all written by outstanding authors who combine practical experience with a gift for teaching.

Sybex was founded in 1976. More than thirty years later, we’re still committed to producing consistently exceptional books. With each of our graphics titles we’re working hard to set a new standard for the industry. From the writers and artists we work with to the paper we print on, our goal is to bring you the best graphics books available.

I hope you see all that reflected in these pages. I’d be very interested to hear your comments and get your feedback on how we’re doing. Feel free to let me know what you think about this or any other Sybex book by sending me an email at [email protected], or if you think you’ve found an error in this book, please visit http://wiley.custhelp.com. Customer feedback is critical to our efforts at Sybex.

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Neil Edde

Vice President and Publisher

Sybex, an Imprint of Wiley

To all the dreamers and artists out there.

Acknowledgments

My thanks to the excellent editorial, production, and compositing staff at Sybex and Wiley & Sons, including Acquisitions Editor Mariann Barsolo, Development Editor Susan Herman, Production Editor Laurel Ibey, Technical Editors Keith Reicher and Eric Keller, Copy Editor Liz Welch, and Proofreader Ian Golder.

Special thanks to the faculty, staff, and students at the Art Institute of Las Vegas and Westwood College Online for inspiring me to perfect my craft. Special thanks also to my family and friends who supported my wild ambitions. And the biggest thanks to my beautiful wife, Anita, who encouraged me all the way, despite all those late, late 3D nights.

Several of the photos in this book were provided by the photographers of Stock XCHNG (www.sxc.hu). This is a wonderful site that provides royalty-free, restriction-free material simply out of love of the medium. Additional models were purchased from Turbo Squid (www.turbosquid.com), another excellent service.

About the Author

Lee Lanier is an award-winning 3D animator and director. His films have played in more than 200 film festivals, museums, and galleries worldwide. Before directing the shorts “Millennium Bug,” “Mirror,” “Day Off the Dead,” “Weapons of Mass Destruction,” and “13 Ways to Die at Home,” Lee served as a senior animator in the Lighting and Modeling Departments of Pacific Data Images on Shrek and Antz. He got his start in 3D at Buena Vista Visual Effects at Walt Disney Studios, where he created digital special effects for such films as Mortal Kombat. Lee currently lives in Boulder City, Nevada, where he serves as manager of BeezleBug Bit, LLC (www.BeezleBugBit.com) and director of the Dam Short Film Festival (www.DamShortFilm.org).

Introduction

Texturing and lighting is a blast. There’s nothing quite like turning a gray-shaded model into something that looks real—or that could be real.

I should stress that I am self-taught. In 1994, I sat down at a spare seat of Alias PowerAnimator 5.1 and started hacking away. After several years and various trials by fire, 3D became a livelihood, a love, and an obsession. Along the way, I was fortunate enough to work with many talented artists at Buena Vista Visual Effects and Pacific Data Images. In 2000, I switched from PowerAnimator to Maya and have since logged tens of thousands of hours with the subject of this book.

Due to the unusual combination of an informal and professional background, I do not profess to know everything there is to know about Maya. In fact, you may find a better, quicker, more efficient way to achieve some of the texturing and lighting techniques described in this book. That’s the beauty of Maya. There are probably a dozen ways to tackle every problem or challenge. If anything, I hope this book provides you with the theory, the background, and the basic approach you need to come up with your own creative solutions.

Second Edition

The first edition of Advanced Maya Texturing and Lighting was written with Maya 7.0 and published in 2006. This edition represents a major revision, with every chapter updated for the most recent Maya release and the latest trends and techniques in the animation industry. In addition, material covering fundamental theory that underpins computer animation and the natural world it tries to re-create has been expanded.

Who Should Read This Book

Advanced Maya Texturing and Lighting, Second Edition, is designed for anyone with a working knowledge of Maya. Specifically, this book was written with the following people in mind:

Students who are reaching the upper levels of their 3D curriculumHobbyists or amateurs who are self-starters and would like to rapidly refine their Maya skillsProfessionals working in other areas of Maya, such as animation or rigging, who would like to expand their knowledge of texturing and lighting

Although most of the information in this book is Maya specific, you can apply the texturing and lighting theories and approaches to other 3D programs. This book also assumes that you have a basic knowledge of such image manipulation programs as Adobe Photoshop and compositing programs as After Effects.

How to Use This Book

Advanced Maya Texturing and Lighting, Second Edition, is divided into 14 chapters. Thirteen of these chapters are in the book. One of the chapters is provided as a bonus PDF file on the companion CD.

Chapter 1 discusses lighting history, technique, and application, as well as basic color and composition theory. Naturalistic, stylistic, 1-point, 2-point, and 3-point lighting are covered in detail. If you are new to lighting, this is the best place to start.

Chapters 2 and 3 detail Maya lights and shadows and how to properly apply them. Specialized effects, such as Environment Fog, Light Fog, the Toon renderer, Maya Fur, Maya Hair, and nCloth, are also covered.

Chapters 4 through 8 delve deeply into Maya materials and utilities. Most Maya books barely scratch the surface in this area. If you’ve ever wondered what each Maya node actually does, check out these chapters. Custom networks are also discussed at length. Numerous examples are provided with clearly labeled illustrations, and you’ll find that the examples are easy to follow (as much as such a complex subject allows).

Chapter 9 takes a detour and discusses UV texture space. UV preparation is a critical component of texturing, but it is often ignored by texturing and lighting books.

Chapters 10 through 12 concentrate on rendering and expend a good deal of text on mental ray, Global Illumination, Final Gather, and other advanced render tools.

Chapter 13 includes advanced tools and techniques, including HDRI lighting, normal mapping, and the Render Layer Editor. A guide to the creation of this book’s cover illustration is also provided.

If you’re fairly new to Maya or 3D in general, I suggest starting with Chapter 1, then working your way through the book. If you’re experienced with Maya, I recommend hitting the chapters that contain information that’s poorly documented by other sources. In this case, Chapters 6, 7, and 8 should prove the most interesting. If you’d like to take your Maya knowledge even further, an Additional_Techniques.pdf file is included on the companion CD. The file includes extra sections that cover shading networks, NURBS preparation, and advanced rendering techniques.

Each chapter of Advanced Maya Texturing and Lighting, Second Edition, contains either a tutorial or examples of industry work. The tutorials are in-depth methods of practicing advanced techniques. Each tutorial is accompanied by ample illustrations and completed Maya scene files. The industry examples, on the other hand, present renders from completed animations and explain the process of their creation. These sections often include “quick and dirty” techniques that were born in the face of production deadlines.

The Companion CD

The CD included in the back of the book is an important part of learning with Advanced Maya Texturing and Lighting, Second Edition. A bonus chapter, sample scenes, shading networks, QuickTime movies, and texture bitmaps are included to help you perfect your knowledge. The included materials match many of the illustrations in this book; check the illustration captions for filenames.

As for Maya file locations, the following directory structure is used on the CD:

Project_Files\Chapter_1\scenes scene files and shading networks

Project_Files\Chapter_1\images background and HDR images

Project_Files\Chapter_1\textures texture bitmaps

Project_Files\Chapter_1\movies sample QuickTime movies

Maya Versions

The scene files included on the CD are saved in the Maya 8.5 .ma format. The files have been tested with versions 8.5 and 2008. All the techniques discussed in the book have been tested with versions 8.5 and 2008; any significant differences between the two versions have been noted in the text.

Shading Network Figures

A number of figures in this book illustrate custom shading networks. The connections are labeled with the output and input channels. As such, the output channel name is indicated by its placement on top of the connection line (closer to the top of the node icon). The input channel name is placed below the connection line (see Figure I-1). Details concerning attributes, channels, custom connections, nodes, and shading networks are provided.

Figure I-1: An example shading network

A number of files saved on the companion CD contain shading networks. When opening a file, you may be surprised to find it void of geometry. Nevertheless, you can access the contained shading network through the Hypershade Materials, Textures, or Utilities tab. If the network is exotic and difficult to access, instructions are included in the text.

Abbreviations

Since Maya requires a three-button mouse for proper operation, the abbreviations LMB, MMB, and RMB are used and respectively stand for Left-Mouse-Button, Middle-Mouse-Button, and Right-Mouse-Button.

Websites

Feel free to contact me at www.BeezleBugBit.com. If you’re a fan of short films, or have made a short film and would like to find an audience, visit www.DamShortFilm.org.

Chapter 1

Understanding Lighting, Color, and Composition

Lighting is a cornerstone of any 3D project. Although you can easily create and position lights within a scene, an understanding of lighting theory will help you make aesthetically solid choices. The history of art and cinema is full of inspiring examples to choose from. Although 3-point lighting is a mainstay of 3D, 1-point, 2-point, and naturalistic lighting provide alternative lighting methods that better match the real world and the art traditions of the past. On the other hand, stylistic lighting can free an artist from traditional bounds and thereby place no limits on expression.

Chapter Contents

Common lighting termsAn overview of 1-, 2-, and 3-point lightingAn exploration of naturalistic and stylistic lightingA quick review of color theory, monitor calibration, and composition techniquesLighting examples

Understanding the Art of Lighting

Like every aspect of 3D, lighting must be created from scratch. Unfortunately, the techniques for emulating the real world are not always obvious or intuitive. Luckily, a wealth of lighting theory exists in the form of historical artwork, photography, and motion pictures.

For the sake of clarity, I’ve broken the discussion of lighting theory into the following categories: 1-point, 2-point, 3-point, naturalistic, and stylistic. The first three categories refer to the number of lights employed. The last two refer to a particular style. Before delving into 1-point lighting, however, I’ll define a few common lighting terms:

Key The most intense light in a scene. The key light’s source is generally identifiable (the sun, a lamp, and so on). The key light usually produces the strongest shadow in the scene.

Fill A secondary light that is less intense than the key. This light “fills” in the dark areas of a subject and the shadows produced by the key. Fill lights often represent light from a key that has bounced off a surface, such as a wall.

Rim An intense light source placed behind a subject that strikes the subject along the edge. Rim lights are often employed as hair lights. These lights are commonly known as backlights or kickers.

Using 1-Point Lighting

The 1-point lighting scheme is dramatic, sometimes stark, and often foreboding. The lighting involves a single, easily identifiable key light source, with no significant supplemental sources. You can find 1-point lighting in the following situations:

A man lights a cigarette in an otherwise dark alley.A woman drives a car down a dark country road, lit only by the car’s instrument panel.Sunbeams burst through the window of an otherwise unlit interior.A theater audience is illuminated by the light of the movie screen (see Figure 1-1).

The motion picture genre that most closely emulates 1-point lighting is film noir. Film noir is a style historically associated with crime dramas of the 1940s and 1950s. The style is typified by black-and-white film stock, sparsely lit characters, and deep black shadows. Aesthetically, the lighting stemmed from stories with cynical, paranoid, or nihilistic outlooks. Technically, the stark lighting was the result of placing only a few lights on the set, in some cases because of budgetary restrictions. Although multiple lights were generally needed for any given shot for proper exposure, the result often appears as if a single light source exists (see Figure 1-2).

Photo © 2008 Jupiterimages Corporation

Figure 1-1: A theater audience is lit by a movie screen in a 1-point lighting setup.

Photo © 2008 Jupiterimages Corporation

Figure 1-2: Stark lighting in a film noir–style film.

Classic film noir films include The Maltese Falcon (1941), Double Indemnity (1944), and Touch of Evil (1958). More recent examples include Blade Runner (1982) and Sin City (2005). The lighting style employed by film noir is often referred to as low-key lighting, where there is a strong key light and little, if any, fill.

Film noir is closely related to German expressionism, which was an art movement popular in Germany from 1905 to 1925. German expressionism was dominated by the dark, sinister aspects of the human psyche. The movement is known for its bold, simplified woodcuts (see Figure 1-3) and its atmospheric horror cinema (for example, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, 1919).

Photo © 2008 Jupiterimages Corporation

Figure 1-3: Emil Nolde (1867–1956). Prophet. 1912. Woodcut print.

The roots of expressionism can be traced to the chiaroscuro painting style of the 15th and 16th centuries in Italy and Flanders. Chiaroscuro is defined by a bold contrast between lights and darks (the word is Italian for light-dark). This is often characterized by figures in bright pools of light jutting through dark spaces. Chiaroscuro reached its pinnacle with the baroque art movement (17th and 18th centuries in Europe) and is exemplified by master painters Caravaggio (1573–1610) and Rembrandt (1606–69). For example, in , Jesus and his disciples are lit by the light of a single high window from the left. A fill light reaches the front of the table and the sides of their faces; however, the result is fairly subtle.