July 12, 2011

Aaron F. Ross, webmaster of Digital Arts Guild, has authored another series of training videos for lynda.com.

In Creating Particle and Fire Effects with Maya, Aaron F. Ross employs Maya particles and fluids to generate stunning special effects simulations, including exploding fireworks, tumbling snowflakes, and burning flames. Following a project-based approach, the course shows how to emit and render particles, write expressions to control and fine-tune effects, and animate and shade dynamic fluids. Tutorials on batch rendering and compositing in After Effects are also included. Exercise files accompany the course.

Topics include:

Laying out the scene
Sketching particles on a Live object
Emitting particles from particles
Connecting particles to Fields such as Gravity
Varying particle shader attributes
Modeling and shading for the Particle Instancer
Importing and instancing geometry onto particles
Randomizing particle rotation with Creation and Runtime Expressions
Adding Turbulence
Rendering depth of field with mental ray
Creating 3D Fluid containers
Emitting dynamic fluid attributes from an object
Animating a dynamic fluid
Using a fluid for atmosphere
Modulating light intensity with a noise expression

July 8, 2011

In this hour-long series of six free video tutorials, you’ll learn to animate the breakage of an object in Maya. We use the Shatter Effect, Rigid Body dynamics, and animated Visibility to achieve the illusion of an object shattering on impact.

This is an intermediate level exercise, building on the previous Catapult tutorial. Some of the learning outcomes of this tutorial include:

Model the shards of a broken object
Animate the initial movement with keyframes
Switch dynamics on at a certain time
Push rigid bodies in a desired direction
Fine-tune rigid body and solver attributes
Bake the simulation to keyframes
Toggle visibility to achieve “object substitution”
Render a preview animation

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March 4, 2011

The popular 3ds Max Basics videos that helped launch Digital Arts Guild are now available in HD! Clearer video makes it easier for you to learn the many details of the 3ds Max user interface.

This is a series of four free videos, each less than ten minutes long. In this series, you learn to create objects and navigate in 3ds Max. We model a very simple object, an ice cream cone. Here are some of the activites covered in this beginner’s tutorial:

Create objects and place them in 3D space
Navigate in 3D with mouse and keyboard shortcuts
Choose display options and configure viewports
Adjust object parameters such as Width and Height
Change the shape of an object with a modifier

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February 25, 2011

Aaron F. Ross, webmaster of Digital Arts Guild, has authored another series of training videos for lynda.com.

In Maya 2011 Creating Natural Environments, Aaron F. Ross demystifies a common challenge of 3D modeling: fashioning realistic natural environments such as landscapes, atmospheres, and foliage. Starting with flat terrain, Aaron shows how to sculpt various types of geometry and smooth out jagged, polygonal edges. The course also covers creating convincing backgrounds and clouds, populating a scene with foliage using 3D Paint Effects, and incorporating natural light. Exercise files accompany the course.

Topics include:

Laying out the scene
Sculpting terrain with Soft Selection and the Sculpt Geometry tool
Creating 2D textures using Artisan and Paint Effects
Applying 2D and 3D procedural textures
Building backgrounds with skydomes and matte paintings
Shaping clouds with Maya Fluids
Modeling plants and other background geometry with 3D Paint Effects
Creating non-physical daylight and casting shadows
Rendering with Maya software