INTRODUCTION

Maya along with 3ds Max is the biggest 3D solution in the visual effects industry, other applications such as XSI have a large and growing user base but none such more than Maya. Obviously this article will be aimed more at Maya’s modelling tools rather than its animation capabilities but Maya is an open package that some tools intended for one use also has another.

It would be hard to write this article without mentioning the recent acquisition Alias by AutoDesk, much to everyone shock and amazement I believe this is a good move for both Maya and 3ds Max. The future for both packages has never been so uncertain, maybe in a few years there will be one unifying package but for the time being AutoDesk will keep up with Maya releases and I’m sure they won’t let any hardcore users & studios down.

WHAT’S ON YOUR SHELF?

I thought Maya’s UI had mixed feelings across the board but mainly those who use it seem to understand how adaptive and customizable it is. There are a lot of aspects of the UI that are both common and unfamiliar but most if not all can be turned on or off, I don’t think you need the time slider when your modelling although I could find a use for it on a poly surface.
Maya UI isn’t spectacular or surprising though it shouldn’t be judged on face value but what you are given at default is more than enough when it comes to modelling. The shelf is probably the single most important element to the average modeller, it allows you to quickly setup presets, tools with minimal effort and remember the settings you last had for a specific tool (its not only tools you can put up, Mel scripts can also be dragged onto the shelf).

So the shelf is going to be the most common way to access your poly and Sub D tools, the other way of getting to your poly arsenal is the Marking Menu. Marking Menus in modelling terms is one of the most innovative features in Maya. These are menus that can be accessed anywhere in the viewport activated by a hotkey (of your choice) , then drag the cursor over the selected option/tool and now the tool is activated, again because Maya’s strong integration with Mel, scripts that have nothing to do with modelling, maybe a viewport preset etc can be selected in this way. Marking Menus are very fast and effective; you can disable every toolbar and UI element so that the viewport is the only thing visible and still be as fast and efficient than ever.

POLY PERSPECTIVE

Now onto the tools, Maya has an array of tools that cover the most complex operations to the most simple. Again workflow is key here, so little enhancements like re-invoking the Split Polygon tool by simply right clicking is invaluable. For organic character tools, the Sculpt Poly tool is something that every character modeller should use, its not Zbrush and in no way does it attempt to be, the artisan interface was engineered for multiple areas of Maya, from painting density in Fluids to drawing a stroke birthing a tree in Paints Effects to the obvious painting weights on a rig, this area of sculpting is controlled and yet graceful, you have the ability to smooth, pull, push and pinch, it performs this task very well even with polygon proxy models. Granted some tools need a little work, however minor sometimes they can slow down your workflow if only for a minute.

The bevel tool has always been surrounded by controversy, “a package as large as Maya should be able to develop a more secure bevel”, well this is true in earlier versions, but at the current time of writing this, it’s a stable tool, albeit not as fluid from the bevel in Wings3D or Silo. Maya accommodates all types of modellers, from the organic character modeller to the engineer who is only making models for print.





We are of course discussing poly tools here, but one other factor that may be of interest is the Sub D area of Maya. For a number of years Maya has a module specifically dedicated to this type of geometry, thankfully since version 4.5 you no longer have to purchase the unlimited version of Maya to use this module. The functionality of this area is very different from other Sub D elements from a given application, i.e. Silo. It gives the user the ability to break down polygons in remote areas so that the whole model doesn’t become densely populated with vertices and edges. This method of adding detail locally has its benefits but one major factor that Alias at this time cannot shake is the feedback quality of Sub D surfaces. Since its inception they were incredably slow, should you need them for animation you had to create elaborate rigs via wrap deformers and separate geometry to drive these surfaces, this has improved in the later years but it is still one of its greatest downfall.



PLUGIN BABY

Now I'm sure that many Maya users have custom scripts and Plugins that get them through the day faster and with less hassle. Many have complained that Maya is a great app but without users creating certain tools such as MJ Poly Tools it wouldn’t be their app of choice. This is an area which Alias has looked at and taken a bit of advice.
A while ago a small company created a set of tools for Cinema 4D known as Mesh Surgery. Many of the tools including the Edge Loop Split have inherited some of its attribute; the ability to see where a loop will go before you commit to it is a workflow that will no doubt speed you up.

The thing is Maya was made to cater for the masses, and not everyone will be pleased with Aliases decisions, but they still use it because of its openness and adaptability. It’s a stable app that serves many purposes not only modelling, so not everything is perfect, it has a great workflow and freedom that anything that is lacking can easily be made up for, and because of this most should be happy about the Mel community, I have yet to see a such a large scripting language for a 3d app community. Users are constantly pushing the boundaries not only in Mel but also with the API. I would not be surprised if AutoDesk adopts Mel into their family with open arms.

IN SUMMARY

What is it about Maya that makes it so widely used, not only for its animation, rendering, effects engine etc, but just for modelling alone? Well my guess is its versatility. The tools are there for you to model anything you want, but because there features such as marking menus, giving the user the ability to not even have a UI just a series of menus that appear and disappear with a quick gesture, with a shelf that has a stack of tools that you can use, either presets or your own personal selection and with Mel makes it one of the most versatile modellers out there.
Although this isn’t a coding review, because of Mel and its community there have been various tools created and continuosly developed tat would'nt have otherwise. Only a few days ago I seen a tool where when you create a primitive, the top right corner of the screen would have a few quick buttons where you could use the most common tool, these would change as your model changes states, this is only possible with Mel and if your currently a Maya user reading this, I highly suggest you get at least an understanding of it as it will help you in various situations.

But at the heart of it Maya is strong enough to stand on its own, it lacking in certain areas here and there but it more than capable in pulling off any model you attempt to create and with the recent acquisition by AutoDesk hopefully these areas will be looked at and pushed further.