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Introduction to Maya 2023: Volume 2

Building & Animating 3D Models in Maya With Eric Keller

Lessons

Description

Eric Keller returns with the second volume in our Introduction to Maya 2023 series. Following on from Introduction to Maya 2023: Volume 1, Volume 2 consists of 14 short chapters which focus on introducing the primary tools that you'll be using to build and animate models in Maya. 


The goal of this workshop is to help you establish a foundation of understanding of the Maya polygon workflow and the various approaches to animating your models. You'll learn about the Modeling toolkit, the UV toolkit, the GraphEditor, improvements to deformers, and animation visualization tools and animation layers. The skills that you develop in this workshop will help you tackle many of the more intermediate and advanced tutorials available at The Gnomon Workshop.


A number of helpful assets are available to download as project files with this workshop to help you with examples and to follow along with the workshop. Plus, a bonus chapter describes some of the new tools and updates recently released in Maya 2023.


If you haven’t watched Volume 1, be sure to take a comprehensive tour of the Maya interface, covering navigation along with the many editors that you'll need to use when building 3D models and scenes in preparation for this second volume. In Volume 3, Eric will introduce lighting shading and reveal how to export assets for use in real-time game-editing software, like the Unreal Engine development kit.


Duration: 4h 24m

Format: HD 1920x1080

Lessons

Eric Keller

CG artist

Eric Keller is an Emmy-nominated CG artist with over 25 years of experience crafting high-quality models andanimations for feature films, television, scientific visualization, planetarium shows, VR, AR, 3D printing, and jewelry design. A dedicated educator, he has created training content for The Gnomon Workshop and has taught ZBrush, Maya, and creature design at GNOMON in Hollywood.


Since beginning his career, which started in 1998, Eric has worked extensively in both the entertainment industry and scientific visualization, contributing to commercials, games, and blockbuster films. His expertise in ZBrush and Maya has led him to author several highly regarded books, as well as numerous tutorials and articles for industry-leading publications, including 3D World and 3D Artist. 


In 2023, his work on Netflix’s Wednesday earned him an Emmy nomination for outstanding title design. His extensive VFX credits include 10 Cloverfield Lane, Star Trek: Beyond, Aquaman (1 and 2), John Wick (3 and 4), HBO’s Raised by Wolves, Dune: Prophecy, Netflix’s The Haunting of Hill House, Wednesday, and One Piece, as well as the Signs of Life planetarium show at the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles. 


As an instructor, he has taught at Harvard Medical School, the Los Angeles Figurative Art Academy, and the Smithsonian Institute. Eric is an active member of the ZBrush beta-testing community and a Maxon ZBrush Master Trainer. He shares his knowledge regularly through weekly sessions on the Maxon ZBrush Live channel, always inspiring and educating the next generation of digital artists.

  • "Eric Keller is an Invertebrate lover, an animator, an author, ,artist, and the list goes on! His knowledge of all aspects of 3D and his love of the natural world has in my mind made him one of the go to guys in the industry. His passion is what makes him one of the best authors and teachers out there! Eric approaches his work seriously but with a sense of humor and a zest for knowledge. I am constantly surprised and inspired by Eric's ability to make any topic interesting and fun. His new tutorial will definitely be one I will watch over and over! "

    - Mark Dedecker
    Asset lead at Deluxe Entertainment

  • "Eric Keller is a Renaissance man. By combining his artists eye, his passion for natural science, and his skill as a teacher he has brought this fantastic tutorial to life! Eric easily shifts from exceptional sculpting, to finessing the intricacies of Vray and Maya, to explaining the nuances of the Arthropoda Insecta Hymenoptera. Its that kind of attention to detail that makes great artists freakin amazing. I am constantly in awe of Eric's breadth of knowledge and skill. We are all fortunate he has chosen to share some of that in this tutorial! "

    - Scott Spencer
    Weta Workshop NZ

  • "Eric Keller is a master ZBrush artist. Anyone who wants to know ZBrush in depth should buy this tutorial! For an in depth understanding ZBrush, look no further than Eric Keller's amazing works. I wish I could Crtl+C, Crtl+V what Eric Keller knows directly into my brain!"

    - Jared Krichevsky
    Creature Designer at The Aaron Sims Company

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