Beginning VFX with Autodesk Maya : Create Industry-Standard Visual Effects From Scratch

Dive into the nuances of visual effects (VFX) design, from planning to execution, using Autodesk Maya. This book introduces the methods and techniques required for your first foray into 3D FX generation from scratch. You will start with the fundamentals of visual effects, including a history of VFX, tools and techniques for creating believable visual effects, and popular tools used in the industry. Next, you are introduced to Autodesk Maya and its various components that make it a favorite among professionals. You will learn how to create rigid body collisions and simulate realistic particles such as dust, fire, water, and more. This book also presents strategies for creating a vortex, rain, hair, fluids, and other soft body simulations and also demonstrates nature element simulations for computer-generated production. At the end of the book, there is a capstone project to make your own visual effects scene in a practical way. After going through this book, you will be able to start building computer-generated visual effects from your imagination through to production. What You Will Learn Understand the basic physics behind effect creation Create 3D visual effects scenes from scratch Know the details of dynamic simulation in the computer generation space using various functionalities available in Autodesk Maya Who This Book Is For Beginning-level users; students from the field of visual effects design, 3D modeling, and simulation; game designers; those creating computer graphics; FX artists and aspirants looking for a career in the field of 3D Table of Contents About the Author About the Technical Reviewer Acknowledgments Chapter 1: Introduction to Visual Effects (VFX) The Importance of Visual Effects The Need to Create Visual Magic What’s in this Book? Chapter 1: Introduction to Visual Effects Chapter 2: History of Visual Effect Chapter 3: Industrial Application for VFX Chapter 4: Introduction to FX in Maya Chapter 5: Working with nParticle FX Chapter 6: Creating Effects with Particle Emissions and Fields/Solvers Chapter 7: Maya’s Rigid and Soft Body Systems Chapter 8: Working with Maya Fluids Chapter 9: Magical FX Using Maya Chapter 10: Playing with Maya nCloth Chapter 11: Maya Hair FX Simulation Chapter 12: Technical Fluid Simulation with Bifrost Chapter 13: Procedural Animation FX and Live Action Integration Chapter 2: History of Visual Effects The Early Years (1829–1959) The Optical Years (1960–1976) The Glorious Years (1977–1982) The Digital Realm (1983–1988) The Fall of Optical (1989–1993) Going Mainstream (1994–1996) Every Man and His Dog (1997–1999) The Coming of Age (2000–2003) No Going Back (2004–2009) Beyond the Impossible (2010–2013) Oscars for Best VFX Movies (2014–2020) VFX in Games Chapter 3: Industrial Applications of VFX Visual Effects and Special Effects Planning for a Visual Effects Shot Industry Practices for VFX The Gaming Industry Software, Tools, and Techniques Used to Render Visual Splendor Onscreen Effects Autodesk 3Ds Max Autodesk Maya Houdini Unreal Engine (For Real-Time FX) RealFlow Blender Visual Effects Plugins Thinking Particles FumeFX Krakatoa RayFire MultiScatter Pulldownit Fracture FX Miarmy Golaem Crowd Ziva VFX Phoenix FD Shave and a Haircut Chapter 4: Introduction to FX in Maya Maya’s User Interface (UI) Menu Sets Menus The Status Line The Shelf Sidebar Icons The View Panel The Channel Box The Layer Editor Tool Box Quick Layout Buttons The Time Slider The Range Slider Playback Controls The Animation/Character Menus The Command Line The Help Line Maya’s Viewport Configuration How to Navigate in the Viewports Perspective View Navigation Orthographic View Navigation Getting Started with Visual Effects Simulation in Autodesk Maya The Maya Nucleus System Chapter 5: Working with nParticle FX Fun with the Emitter Using the nParticles Tool and Instancer Chapter 6: Creating Effects with Particle Emissions and Fields/Solvers Real-Life FX Simulations with Solvers and Fields Creating Galaxy and Particle-Based Effects Chapter 7: Maya’s Rigid and Soft Body Systems Introduction to Rigid Bodies Rigid Body Simulation with Dominoes Using the Bullet Solver Bullet Rigid Body Constraints FX Simulation with Soft Bodies Chapter 8: Working with Maya Fluids Understanding Fluid FX Fluids Containers in Autodesk Maya Working with the Emitter and the 3D Container Fluid Emitter Types Maya Fluids Container Details Density Velocity and Turbulence Temperature Fuel Emitting Fluids from Point Emitters Emitting Fluids from Volume Emitters Emitting Fluids from Polygonal Surfaces Emitting Fluids from Textures Emitting Fluids from Particles Emitting Fluids from Curves Chapter 9: Magical FX Using Maya Creating Fire, Fireworks, Lightning, Shatter, and Smoke Effects The Get Effects Asset Library Collision with Effects Chapter 10: Playing with Maya nCloth Creating nCloth Working with the Passive Collider Play with nCloth Attributes The Power of nConstraints for Effective and Efficient Simulations Chapter 11: Maya Hair FX Simulation Foundation Concept for Hair Creation Grooming Hair Creating and Simulating Long Hair Using the Maya Hair Library Chapter 12: Bifrost Simulation Importance of Bifrost Fluids Computing and Executing a Water Simulation Shot Working with the Bifrost Library Chapter 13: Procedural Animation FX and Live Action Integration Integrating 2D and 3D Worlds Creating 3D Visual Effects with MASH Conclusion Index "Is one of few books available for beginners on visual effects (VFX) Helps you get comfortable with the complex and dynamic interface of Autodesk Maya Covers photorealism in Particle Fx, rigid body animation, cloth simulation, fluid dynamics simulation"-- Provided by publisher