Modelling a Cowgirl Hat in Maya

Modelling a Cowgirl hat in Maya...

So far, one torso, two legs, two arms, one boot and one hat brim!

After Effects

First time using After Effects

Using the interface.

Alpha paints to block out keys.

Keying

Masks

Grids.

Camera tracking

And basic animation. Looking forward to practicing with some tutorials !

Maya Rigging

Basic Maya Rigging today...

Using the joint tool and gaining more understanding of the 'outliner' box and the importance of labeling and hierarchy....and choosing the 'baby' in the hierarchy first and then the 'parent'.

Spine joints illuminated in green. 

Creating nurbs in 'green' for the ankle and toe controllers (CTR)

 Basic skeleton with the controllers ( blue and green ovals/circles) on the foot

Basic skeleton showing the left (blue) and right (red) knee controllers (K) - positioned away from the skeleton. The white diamond shape is the spine root controller.

Skeleton without the wireframe of the character

Adjusting the X,Y,Z rotation orientation for the thumb joints

Quads in Maya

Topology using quads 

Vertex faces and 'duplicate special' command in Maya

Double checking that I have clean vertex faces....any random lines or boundaries will cause a problem down the line.

I've been playing with the 'duplicate special' command, which works similarly to the 'symmetry' tool.

Next step tomorrow is modelling under the arms and then connecting the leg...then I can duplicate one half and mirror it exactly.... and then combine and merge the body together....

Using cylinders to model torsos, arms and legs

Using cylinders to create a torso, arms and legs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZekghp78x8&list=PLR6NkeqscAx1G47ES3keltSaZi4DNOpXk&index=40

Autodesk proving useful for tool tips and hot key short cuts....

2D character front view to 3D Maya modelling

Great links for anatomy and modelling...

I'm using an overlay of anatomically correct arms, as reference for my image plane, when modelling in Maya. I can then adjust the model for more accentuation once it's in place

These anatomically correct arms are found on http://melsrefs.tumblr.com/

Giving her a shout out link, as they're great and readily available on line for animators...

Great youtube tutorial for Maya female modelling

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZekghp78x8&list=PLR6NkeqscAx1G47ES3keltSaZi4DNOpXk&index=40