Maya First Experience

     My first experience creating a 3D object was fun but confusing. I was able to create the bed but I couldn't figure out how to make the pillows and the cover. They wouldn't come out the way I wanted them. I would also get confused when it came to Duplicate Special. Changing settings in the Tool Settings window was hard because I didn't know what numbers to change to modify the object.

How To Create Shapes

Note: [] represents the Tool Settings.

Mattress (First)

1. (Menu Bar) Create -> Polygon Primitives -> Cube -> []
2. Edit -> Reset Settings -> Create
3. Channel Box Details:
1. Translate: 0 , 0.4 , 0
2. Rotate: 0 , 0 , 0
3. Scale: 5 , 0.8 , 6
4. Name: mattress1
5. View: Front & Left edge

Mattress (Second)

1. Select mattress1 -> Edit -> Duplicate Special -> [] 
2. Edit -> Reset Settings -> Translate Y: 0.8 -> Duplicate Special
3. Channel Box Details:
1. Translate: 0 , 1.2 , 0
2. Rotate: 0 , 0 , 0
3. Scale: 5 , 0.8 , 6
4. Name: mattress2
5. View: Front & Left edge

Mattress Separator

1. Select mattress1 -> Edit -> Duplicate Special -> []
2. Edit -> Reset Settings -> Duplicate Special
3. Channel Box Details:
1. Translate: 0 , 0.8 , 0
2. Rotate: 0 , 0 , 0
3. Scale: 5.02 , 0.1 , 6.02
4. Name: mattressSeparator
5. View: Front & Left edge

Mattress Frame

1. (Menu Bar) Create -> Polygon Primitives -> Cube -> []
2. Edit -> Reset Settings -> Create
3. Channel Box Details:
1. Translate: 0 , 0.1 , 0
2. Rotate: 0 , 0 , 0
3. Scale: 5.1 , 0.2 , 6.1
4. Name: mattressFrame
5. View: Front & Left edge

Select all of the object and group them.

      (Edit -> Group)
Select the grouped object and Translate Y: 0.1

Stumps

1. (Menu Bar) Create -> Polygon Primitives -> Cone -> []
2. Edit -> Reset Settings -> Create
3. Channel Box Details:
1. Translate: -2 , 0 , 2.5
2. Rotate: 0 , 0 , 180
3. Scale: 0.2 , 0.2 , 0.2
4. Name: stump1
5. View: Front and Bottom
4. Select by component type -> Select the CV at the tip of the cone -> Move Tool -> Move it up the Y axis until the tip touches the top of the grid.
5. Select the CVs along the flat part of the cone -> Move Tool -> Move it down the Y axis until it touches the bottom of the Mattress Frame.
6. Select stump1 -> Edit -> Duplicate Special -> []
7. Edit -> Reset Settings -> Translate X: 4 -> Create
8. Channel Box Details:
1. Translate: 2 , 0 , 2.5
2. Rotate: 0 , 0 , 180
3. Scale: 0.2 , 0.2 , 0.2
4. Name: stump2
5. View: Bottom

Headboard

1. (Menu Bar) Create -> Polygon Primitives -> Cube -> []
2. Edit -> Reset Settings -> Create
3. Channel Box Details:
1. Translate: 0 , 1.5 , -2.95
2. Rotate: 0 , 0 , 0
3. Scale: 5.12 , 3 , .21
4. Name: headboard
5. View: Left and Front

3D Proposal

Building A Bed

5 Cubes
2 Cones

Template and Component Questions

Template Display

1. When do you use template display?

You use template display when you want to work with certain parts of your project and not have to deal with other parts of your project.

2. What does templating the display allow you to do?

Templating the display allows you to work with specific parts of your project without accidentally changing other parts of your project.

3. How does the object change when you template the display?

The object that is templated is not selectable, therefore you can't accidentally select it and change its properties. The wire frame is also changed to a gray color.

4. How does the template display help you?

The template display helps you by "separating" parts of your project so that you can work more easily.

5. How do you change the display of objects to template mode? 

Select the objects that you want to display in template mode. Go to Display in the Menu Bar, go down to Object Display, and select Template. 

6. How do you untemplate a templated object?

Go to Edit in the Menu Bar and then down to Select All. Go to Display in the Menu Bar, go down to Object Display, and select Untemplate.

7. How did you work with template display in the last lesson?

In the last lesson, I used template display when I was creating the dome. I used it so that I can create the dome and not accidentally mess with the columns.

Components

1. What is a component?

A component is a section of an object that you can manipulate.

2. Give three examples of a component.

   - The side of a square.

   - A triangle in an octagon.

   - A rectangle in a circle.

3. What does a component allow you to do in Maya?

A component is used when you want to manipulate a specific section of an object and not the whole thing. This is normally when you want to change the shape of the object.

4. What are the steps to select a component of an object?

You select the object and then go up to the Status Line, then to the Selection Mode section, and pick Component Selection Mode. In this mode, you can select a component and a component vector.

5. How did you work with components in the last lesson?

In the last lesson, I worked with components to make the bottom of the dome stretch out a bit.

Problems in Friday

What problems did you face on Friday? One problem that I faced was the fact that I didn't know how to right-click. When I did learn how to right-click, I couldn't find the proper menu to do the task I was supposed to do next.
What did you learn? I learned how to right-click and I learned how to use the Track tool.

Rotate & Position the half sphere on the pedestal

Change the view to the side view instead of perspective view. Select the half sphere and go to the Channel Box. To make it lay flat, go to Rotate X and put in the value 270. If you put 90 degrees, the half circle lays flat but the top is underneath, so instead you subtract 90 from 360 degrees. Once you do that, go to the Channel Box and go to Translate Y. Put in the value 2.6, you do this because the pedestal is at 2.3, so you want to put the half sphere .3 higher.

3 Maya Questions

1. How do I combine or mold objects to create a character?
2. How do I use the Joint Tool to make the character move?
3. How do I properly animate an object?

Maya 5 Things

1. How to add hair to objects - I went to the Fur tab and then I selected the object. I clicked on a type of fur and it added the fur to the object.
2. How to eminate gas from an object - I went to the Dynamics tab and then I selected the object. I clicked on the symbol with an object on fire.
3. How to animate the objects - Happend by chance, not sure how I did it.
4. How to move objects - I selected the object then I went to the sidebar on the left and picked the buttons that correspond to how I want to move it. Then I moved the object using the y, x, and z axises.
5. How to add crystals, etc. - I went to the PaintEffects (I think that's what it's called) and chose a type of object from the list that I want to add. I clicked and dragged where I want the line of objects to appear.

SMART Goals

Goal:  Lose weight.
Specific -> Lose approximately 15 pounds of weight. Not too much.
Measured -> Keep a planner and record my weight every week or so.
Action -> Set a specific time every day for exercise; about 30 minutes. Eat properly and more balanced. (Eat more fruits and vegetables.)
Reasonable -> I am a bit overweight...
Timely -> Exercise 3 days a week (or a pound or two per week). Would take about 10 weeks.


      My SMART goal is to lose about fifteen pounds of weight. In order to keep track of my weight, I am going to keep a planner and record how much time I exercised and how much I weigh by the end of the week. I am going to set aside about thirty minutes of time, three days a week in order to exercise and I am also going to eat more fruits and vegetables. I chose this goal because I am not in very good shape. I chose to lose about a pound or two per week, which would take me about ten to fifteen weeks to lose all fifteen pounds.

9-Day Timeline

1st Day - Finish Animation Plan
2nd Day - Start making the characters and/or backgrounds.
3rd Day - Finish making characters.
4th Day - Start animating.
5th Day - Input sound and continue animation. Focus on complex parts of animation.
6th Day - Fix any bugs.
7th Day - Add any more spontaneous ideas. Finish if not done.
8th Day - Finish if not done. E-mail to Mrs. Goeldner!
9th Day - Enjoy!

3 Potential Problems

Problem #1 - I may get lazy...Seriously, I might.

     Solution - I will force myself to not get lazy. Possibly put sticky notes around my room to remind myself to finish my animation.

Problem #2 - I want to put sound but I don't have specific sound files that I want to use in my animation.

     Solution - I can get my siblings to record some sounds for me.
Problem #3 - Some animations might not work the way I want them to and I may get frustrated. Therefore, I will possibly give up if that happens.

     Solution - I will come up with a "Plan B" so that if my animation does fail, I have something to fall back to.

Purpose and Benefits of Storyboarding

1. Organizes your ideas.
2. Visual representation of what your animation should somewhat look like.
3. You're not wasting your time by guessing what you're going to do next.
4. You can edit scenes easily.
5. You can get feedback from people.

What Would You Create?

I would possibly create a police chase or maybe a game of dodgeball between a few kids. Maybe I can create a sort of battle between two characters. I do want to make my animation funny no matter what it is. I will most likely not include sound in my animation, mainly because I don't want to take the time to record it. I'm not quite sure which one to do though.

What I Learned Today

I learned:
1. How to make an interactive animation.
2. How to properly use Movie Clips with bone structures.
3. How to use Motion Tweens and Ease when using it on a bone structure.

What I Can Add To My Animation:
I can make my dog's tail wag by making the tail a Movie Clip. I can make the dog move by putting a Motion Tween on it. Lastly, I can publish it so I can interact with it.

What I Learned Yesterday That Helped Me Today

Yesterday, I learned about the bone structure. More specifically, I learned that some of the objects won't work properly if there aren't certain parts in between them. For example, the dog I made today worked perfectly from the front part of it (the head, the ear, and the front leg). However, the back part didn't work right because I didn't have a hip object. The tail would go far off from the body and the leg didn't look connected. When I put the hip in, the tail and the back leg worked better.

New Seating Chart

What I Can Gain
What I can gain from the new seating arrangement is more social skills. I normally only speak to a select few people so being in a new seating arrangement forces me to interact with people I don't normally talk to. It brings me out of my comfort zone, so that's a good thing right?

What I Can Give
What I can give to people in the new seating arrangement is assistance. I can help them in work that they can't do and possibly teach them something new.

Grades Below 50

I don't have any grades below a 50 but I do have one below an 80. Personally, any grades below an 80 are bad. I remember rushing through that assignment because I wanted to get two assignments done on the same day. I didn't finish one because I get very easily distracted while I'm reading so that made me have to finish two assignments in one day. Also, I vaguely remember being distracted during that assignment too, so that caused some problems.
About my distractions, it wasn't the students, I get distracted because I either stop reading and just stare at the paper or I start daydreaming randomly. The funny thing is that my brain does it automatically, I don't think about it. Strange isn't it?

Where I Would Put A Sound

I would put police sirens into my Catch The Burglar animation.

I would start by inserting a new layer. This layer would be named "policesound". I would import a police siren sound into my library, then click on the first frame of the policesound layer. Next, I would drag-and-drop the sound file onto my stage.
For a button
I would create the button. Next, I would edit the button by double-clicking it. Then I would create a new layer. I would name this layer "sound". I would insert a keyframe into the Down frame. Next, I would drag-and-drop the sound onto the stage. Then I would go back to the scene and test the movie.

Give Me 5

5 Things I Know
1. I know how to change the magnification.
2. I know how to display, collapse, and group panels.
3. I know how to test the movies.
4. I know how to change the document height and background color.
5. I know how to insert new layers.

5 Things I Forgot and Then Remembered
1. I remembered how to change the heighth and/or width of an object using the Properties panel.
2. I remembered how to add motion presets.
3. I remembered how to change the view of the Timeline.
4. I remembered how to properly use the Paint Bucket tool.
5. I remembered how to use the Align options on the Modify menu.

5 Things I Learned
1. I learned how to display a preview of the object thumbnails in the Timeline.
2. I learned how to publish movies.
3. I learned how to use the Rectangle Primitive tool.
4. I learned how to use the Ink Bottle tool.
5. I learned how to use the Object Drawing option.

What I Did Today & Important Things to Remember

     I created a button (stoplight) and I inserted the play action into it. I also inserted a stop action at the beginning of the animation and at the end. Lastly, I inserted the goto action into the reset button at the end of the animation.

Important Things to Remember

     When creating a button, you have to put in a Hit area in order for the button to work. When inserting an action into any button, you have to make sure you are in the correct frame and layer, but you also have to make sure that you select the button itself. To confirm that you have the button selected, look at the bottom of the Actions window; the name of the button should be displayed (it should be the name itself without any numbers at the end).