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How to Shatter Glass in Maya and Bullet Physics Simulation – Bottle Shattering Animation

In this Maya – we will be creating a shattering animation of a wine bottle using Maya 2018 and the powerful bullet physics engine, first we will start by creating the pieces of the bottle so this way we ca use them for the simulation, we will use the Maya effects shatter to help us achieve that so we don’t have to do manual modelling work.

Once the pieces are separated we will start working with bullet engine to create the shattering simulation and animate the shattering to behave like expected including to adjust the timing of the simulation to start when the bottle hot the ground, once completed we will do the final tweaks on the simulation to stabilize it. its gonna be a quick tutorial filled with great tips and tricks to work with the bullet physics eying in Maya.

Click on the link to download: Wine Bottle Green 3D Model

We hope that you will benefit from this tutorial, if you have any questions please feel free to ask us in the comments below and we will be happy to answer them.

How to Render Arnold Zdepth AOV Pass in Maya and Composite in After Effects Tutorial

In this Maya – Arnold tutorial we will be creating a Zdepth AOV pass in Arnold for Maya 2018 we will go through the steps of creating a Zdepth pass and then render image sequence using .exr extension.

Once the Maya part is over we will go to After Effects and import the image sequence and then extract the Zdepth information from our image sequence and then apply the Zdepth pass back to our comp for creating depth of field effect. this tutorial is full of valuable information for anyone want to create Zdepth in Arnold and struggling to do it, we will cover all the important topics in Maya and in After Effects as well.

Click on the link to download: USS Oliver Hazard Perry 3D Model FFG7

We hope that you will benefit from this tutorial, if you have any questions please feel free to ask us in the comments below and we will be happy to answer them.

Maya Bullet Physics Simulation Tutorial Wrecking Ball Animation Active and Passive Rigid Body

In this Maya bullet simulation tutorial we will be creating a wrecking ball simulation animation from start to finish using the Bullet Physics Simulation for Maya 2018, this tutorial will also apply to the previous generations of Maya that have bullet as well.

We will start by activating the plugin form the Maya plugin manager then we will start modelling the chains and the wrecking ball, once the modelling part is done we will create the active rigid body for the chains and the wrecking ball and adjust the settings so the colliders will work without any unexpected results.

Finally we will create a simple wall made of polygon cubes and start adjusting the simulation to create the destruction from the wrecking ball animation. this tutorial will be fun one with lots of tips and tricks for have a nice and stable Bullet Simulation in Maya.

We hope that you will benefit from this tutorial, if you have any questions please feel free to ask us in the comments below and we will be happy to answer them.

How To Create Light Flickering In Maya and Arnold – Neon Flicker Animation

In this Maya and Arnold tutorial we will be creating light flickering animation like what you see in fluorescent lights that gone bad, the light flickering animation will be driving by Maya procedural 3d textures to simulate this effect.

We will be using Volume noise to create the animation and then apply the volume noise 3d texture to the mesh light intensity so this way all the animation of the light will be generated dynamically without using any keyframes.

The methods that will be taught in this tutorial will apply to multiple situations like what we did in the pervious tutorial for creating camera shake in Maya. its just a matter of adjusting the settings of the noise to behave correctly and simulate the desired effect in 3D. 

Assets used in this tutorial:
Click on the link to download the Cern Large Hadron Collider 3d Model

We hope that you will benefit from this tutorial, if you have any questions please feel free to ask us in the comments below and we will be happy to answer them.

Creating a Hologram Animation In Maya and Arnold – Holographic Projection

In this Maya tutorial I will show you a step by step on how to create a hologram animation in Maya and Arnold from start to finish this tutorial is really fun and packed with tips and tricks on creating such cool effect in Maya we will be using Maya 2018 and Arnold to create the holographic projection/ interface.

Click on the link to download Hologram Rig Maya 3D Model

First we will start by the creating the geometry of the hologram that will include the hologram cone in the centre and then we will move into the shader creation for the cone, once that is completed we will start working on the hologram rays modelling and placement and finalize the shader for the rays as well.

Once we are happy with the result lastly we will create the shader for the object that will be in the centre of the hologram and customize it to looks unique and cool. at the end of the tutorial I will be showing a rigged version of this hologram with a really cool control to automate the process and speed up the workflow and the result that you are looking after.

We hope that you will benefit from this tutorial, if you have any questions please feel free to ask us in the comments below and we will be happy to answer them.

How to Render Wireframe in Arnold and Maya – Tutorial

In this Maya tutorial I will show you a step by step on how to render wireframes on top of your 3d models using Arnold for Maya, this way you will be able to show the quality of your 3d models and the topology of your mesh, this tutorial will be pretty quick and fun to learn we will be using the Arnold aiWireframe shader I will be showing you the basics of it and how to quickly use it.

Once the basics of the aiWireframe shader is cover will have fun by start customizing the look of the wireframes and also start to create a stylized look as well, make sure to watch the tutorial until the end so you don’t miss some of the stylizing effects that we can do using the Arnold aiWireframe shader.

Assets Used in this Tutorial:
Boeing Vertol CH 46 Sea Knight 3D Model

We hope that you will benefit from this tutorial, if you have any questions please feel free to ask us in the comments below and we will be happy to answer them.

How to Create 3D Pebbles from Photos and Render in Maya and Arnold – Quickly

In this Maya tutorial we will be creating 3d pebbles from photo/texture map first we need to import the photo into Crazy Bump software and convert the pebbles photo into displacement maps and other maps as well.

Then we will create the poly plane in Maya 2018 and work into creating the shader in Arnold using the aiStandard surface and connect the displacement maps to the pebbles poly plane and work on the settings of the displacement to get it to look correct and accurate, this tutorial will help a lot if you are in a hurray and want to create a pebbled 3d effect when you are on a budget and want to create something quickly.

Link for the assets used in this tutorial:
Crazybump: https://www.crazybump.com/
Pebbles Texture: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/77/Pebbleswithquarzite.jpg

We hope that you will benefit from this tutorial, if you have any questions please feel free to ask us in the comments below and we will be happy to answer them.

How to Create 3D Timer Digital Clock Counting Animation in Maya and Arnold Tutorial

In this Maya tutorial we will be creating and animating a digital clock / timer in Maya and Arnold, the approach for this tutorial will work with any Maya version without any problems, we will not rely on Mash so this way any Maya user can replicate the same result achieved in this tutorial.

First we need to download the font online from free website and then we will use Adobe Illustrator to create the digital font and export it to Maya using the adobe illustrator object. after that we will start working on creating the numbers in Maya and work on the clock rig.

In this tutorial we will cover a lot of helpful tips and trick for creating animation cycles for repeating numbers and how to leverage one setup and use it multiple times to speed up the process and have great amount of control as well.

We hope that you will benefit from this tutorial, if you have any questions please feel free to ask us in the comments below and we will be happy to answer them.

Maya Tutorial – How to Create Unique Custom 3D Text in Maya All Versions

In this Maya tutorial we will be creating a unique and custom 3d text in previous generations of Maya and we will show you how to have full control over the typography in Maya no matter what Maya version you are using.

First we will give a quick intro about creating text and typography in May 2018 and then show how Maya now does great job for creating and customizing the text, however the previous generations in Maya lack this options and doesn’t give you great results. so this tutorial will be focusing on the previous generations of Maya and how you can still create great looking text using them.

We will use Maya 2015 as an example and we will use Adobe illustrator as well to create the text and then export it to Maya using a specific settings to get the file transfer to Maya correctly.

In maya we will import the file and start customizing it and generate great looking text in non-destructive way so we always can replace it if we need to. I will be showing lots of tips and tricks along the way so make sure to watch until the end.

We hope that you will benefit from this tutorial, if you have any questions please feel free to ask us in the comments below and we will be happy to answer them.

Maya Tutorial: How to Animate Day to Night Transition Earth 3D Animation in Maya and Arnold

In this Maya tutorial we will be animating a transition between day time and night time in Maya 2018 and Arnold rendering engine, this tutorial will be very fun and have pretty good tips and tricks on how to approach the earth transition animation in Maya using the layered texture approach while maintaining a realistic scale and believability to the animation.

We will first start by creating Arnold ai-standard surface and then create a layered texture that will have a earth day time texture map and also earth night time texture map as well, after that we will start working on the transition between the two maps by creating a ramp texture within the layered shader day time map, and do some tweaks and adjustments to it and finally animate it.

Finally we will animate the earth rotating consistently to simulate scale while transitioning from day time to night time then we will finalize the animation of the transition in Maya 2018 and render the final sequence in Arnold.

Assets used in this tutorial:
click on the link to download: Solar System 3D Model

This tutorial is for all Maya skill levels, the topics we will cover in this tutorial include the following:

1- Using Layered texture to combine 2+ maps.

2- Creating transition in layered texture using the alpha node.

3- Animating the alpha mask in Maya to create the animated transition.

4- Animate the earth rotating and transitioning from day time to night time.

5- Finalizing the earth shader to look more realistic and believable.

6- Tips and tricks for smooth animation to show scale and get more realistic results. plus much more!

We hope that you will benefit from this tutorial, if you have any questions please feel free to ask us in the comments below and we will be happy to answer them.

How to Create Gold Metal Shader Using ARNOLD in Maya 2018 HDRI Lighting

In this Maya tutorial we will create a gold metal – shader using Arnold in Maya 2018 the shader creation will be pretty straight forward, but to achieve a realistic look we will be doing some extra steps to get the look of the shader to behave correct and also we will discuss some tips for rendering the gold to feel more realistic.

We will be looking at reference images so this way we can understand what you are looking for, The approach in this tutorial will work for creating different type of materials as well mainly metal shaders in Maya 2018 and Arnold, whenever you want to create a metal shader its always best to create a lighting setup that utilize the sky-dome in Arnold and make sure to have an HDRI image plugged into the color swatch, this way you can get a better idea of how to develop the shader in Maya and get more accurate/realistic results. cause its important to keep in mind that shading and lighting need to be developed at the same time in order to achieve the best results possible.

Assets used in this tutorial:
click on the link to download: Giordano Bruno Statue 3D Model

This tutorial is for all Maya skill levels, the topics we will cover in this tutorial include the following:

1- Creating Metal – Gold shader using Arnold AiStandard shader.

2- Walkthrough of the sky dome light / HDRI lighting setup using Arnold.

3- Tips and tricks for enhancing the look of the gold shaders using the specular ray depth

4- Using the coat property in the ai-standard surface to enhance the look of the shader and add extra reflections and much more…

Links for the HDRI images used in the tutorial:

1- Links for the HDRI library used in this tutorial: http://www.hdrlabs.com/sibl/archive.html

We hope that you will benefit from this tutorial, if you have any questions please feel free to ask us in the comments below and we will be happy to answer them.