Architectural modeling tutorial for MAYA

[Martin Day]

Hi everyone,

 

I have to switch from MAX to MAYA because of my new job.

 

Do you know any good architectural modeling tutorial for MAYA.

I was unable to find it with google.

There are thousands of tutorials but 99% are heads, characters, cars etc

Nothing about architecture

 

 

Regards

Marcin

[Iain Denby]

I was told that Maya was great fro organic modelling, but dreadful for architecture.

[Martin Day]

I was told that Maya was great fro organic modelling, but dreadful for architecture.

 

 

I can see that but I have to master Maya for architectural renderings so I'm looking for a tutorial.

 

 

 

Regards

Marcin

[Ernest Burden III]

I have almost zero experience with MAYA, but I have noticed that it is very similar to Cinema4D. My 10 y.o. son is a 3D genius, and wanted to get ahold of my Cinema. But I cannot put it on another machine even for non-commercial use (EULA sucks). So I got him a copy of MAYA Personal Learning Edition. I watch him create and animate amazing stuff with it. And looking over his shoulder I keep seeing familiar icons, methods.

 

The vector brushes are amazing, by the way. Paint-on goemetry.

 

So if you can't find much for architecture for MAYA, look for some beginner stuff for C4D and do a quick read. You will get a head-start for MAYA I bet.

[derijones]

Martin

I use Maya, but do almost all my modelling in other programmes - Rhino or Solidworks generally. This is mainly because I come from a CAD/engineering background and find entering values quicker than pulling polygons to shape (and Solidworks is light years ahead in terms of UI and modelling prismatic shapes, but a bit of overkill as a simple polygon creator!) Whenever I try to do something in Maya such as bevelling edges, filleting etc, it does seem to be a hell of an effort - I've tried the demo of Silo and that seems a hell of a lot more intuiative. As the other post said - it's cool for organic shapes and freehand modelling - using a tablet and stylus to be able to mold shapes is pretty powerful, but not massively useful for producing architecture...

Texturing and rendering is now fairly intuiative (although sometimes frustrating - UV planar projections always seem to be 90 degrees out etc), but I haven't used other programmes to compare. Being able to use Photoshop nodes is great - load up your UV map and have layer sets correctly laid out and mapped back to the corresponding bits of your material is cool.

There isn't much about on how to use Maya for someone wanting more than just the basics - it seems to jump from "this is how you create a box and add texture to it....." to "Just write yourself some MEL code and you can do all these amazing things..." -

If you've used Mental Ray with MAx, then you're probably on a head start with getting it to work with Maya - there's a fair bit of stuff on CGnetworks, Deathfall and Highend3D. With Maxwell, Vray and Finalrender offering or promising plugins, the possibility for output should be better, but only if they are better integrated than Mental Ray - it all feels a bit raw.

 

If you're in to writing code (I'm alergic to it in a big way!) then you might well really enjoy it, but it's slow to set up a decent method for producing good architectural images quickly - it's more a box of bolts, bearings and hinges, from which you can assemble yourself a machine to do just about any CG job than a ready to go machine with a "create cool images" button on the front.

I'm not sure if I'd go down the same route if I was starting again - why do you "have" to move to Maya?

Hope this helps and best of luck with it - there are some awesome things produced with it so I guess it's a case of bad workman blaming his tools!

Cheers

Deri

[ihabkal]

it's a case of bad workman blaming his tools!

Cheers

Deri

not necessarily. imagine giving a wood cutter a dull kitchen knife, and telling him to cut down a tree with it...or give a carpenter a fork instead of a chisel.

to each profession its tools.

[evian]

i would say that maya is very important for the architecture nowdays. it is not so much different from 3ds max, which is very often used for architecture renderings. but it offers a serious of - at least as far as i know - more advanced dynamic features, which are very important for the digital design methods (think of NOX, greg lynn etc..) - means it is great for organic and free forms.

 

now, since maya is not really meant for architects, there are unfortunately no tutorials made especially for architects, which makes it kind of a frustrating to learn this program - but you can look for books which focus on polygonal modelling.

many big offices use maya, so i would be careful with saying it's "dreadful" for architects ;-) I'm myself writing a master thesis in architecture now which is focused on digital architecture and especially on maya - the role of this software in architecture shouldnt be underestimated.

however, if you are building mainly "boxes" (not meant in a rude way) then there are surely more simple and above all cheaper programs. maya is everything else but really easy and fast to learn (at least not if you want to learn it really properly) but it offers very many possibilities.

 

maya was only in the very beginning focused on nurbs and free forms and had disregarded the polygons, which are more important for architects- in the meanwhile both features are very advanced and you can build great polygon models with it - also importing autocad files works perfectly.

 

also, i have realized that having some patience and going through a book focused on building a space ship helps a lot understanding of how to build your first architecture project i can really recommend the maya fundamentals series by new riders, i have the maya 4 edition and that one is focused on building a house (well a very cartoonish one but still and above all it offers videos for each chapter - means you dont really have to learn just by reading, but you can listen to the instructors and watch their every step on your screen.

[thanenbauk]

actually i use MAYA and Revit

 

just for pure architecture plan and section Revit is much more efficient even for render great 3d engine

 

this pictures is from a render with Maya 6.0

only polygones but its not the best actually

 

http://img154.imageshack.us/img154/7587/building21ky0zm.jpg

[richmondlu]

anyone still around ???

 

I have some good advise but i feel the max heads have weeded out the maya users here.

[tecton3d]

anyone still around ???

I have some good advise but i feel the max heads have weeded out the maya users here.

someone's always listening

fire away:D

[manta]

Hmmm...haven't heard from Martin since he switched to Maya, very strange indeed...

[richmondlu]

So is there anyone left that uses maya for arch viz?

 

I have a job doing it and i use nothing but maya and come up with very good results. I just wanted to talk to other people that are useing maya in the work place? here is a sample of work that you could q&c on.

So please lets get this form back on its feet.

[djimifett]

I was thinking of approaching some architect's offices with some examples of work (when i have some examples) for some freelance work. Richmondlu Three questions..

 

Do you think this is a valid way to go about getting a job?

Do you work in an architects office?

Could you tell me about your modeling workflow?

 

Here is what I have done so far..

http://www.cgarchitect.com/vb/17561-red-lodge.html

[richmondlu]

1.) That is how I started living in the midwest united states it is really hard to convince people this is the thing that is going to make their work better. So what i did is played the numbers. I wrote out a pro resume and put together a very nice mailer of about 20 works i did. Remember to send out work in all different stages. From wire frame to how you made shaders textures stuff like that, to the final images and then the post images. Then send them out everywhere you can find. I bet i sent over 200 resumes and portfolios out. By the numbers someone will call. I started out as a freelancer then was offered a full time job with all benifits so things worked out good. The only bad thing it took a year to do after graduating college.

2.) yes i work in an turn key office which does everything from demolition,design, contrustucion documentation to the final furniture that goes in it. So being an arch vizzer like our selves this was a perfect place to go.

3.) My modeling work flow goes like this. I usally start off with a clay render to make sure all the detail i want looks right and also that is how i start lighting things as well. Then i add textures and all that jazz. unwrapping and mapping everything. Then i do a couple more basic renders to make everything looks okay. Then i set up the mental ray stuff. Doing final gather passes, global passes to make sure that is all going to be alright then. I get the okay from the architects and designers then i render it production.

 

Well i hope i anwsered all your questions if not let me know i would like to keep this maya form going.

[djimifett]

When I said 'modeling', meant how do you arrive at the clay render, so do you import CAD files, and then use curves....etc. and what is a clay render; just a plain lambert shader?

 

I've been making my own plans in illustrator and using the create polygon tool, then extruding..

 

Thats the thing about teaching yourself 3d, you have a method of working and then you'll find there's a way to do it ten times faster.

[richmondlu]

sorry it took so long to reply!

 

well it depend on the project what i do if it is a short deadline then i grab models from CAD, but if i have time i will model them my self. I use strictly poly for arch. And yes a clay render is just a lambert colored a little lighter like clay then set the enviorment background to white and with my lights set up do a FG and GI test on the scene. Then i play around with the FG and GI setting to get the look i want then i start adding my materials and textures.

 

Any other questions please ask it looks like we will be maya buddies in this world of MAX have you tried cgtalk.com? pretty good stuff for maya users but not much on arch viz. I have been using maya for about two years now and still learn something new every day, damn near.

 

Peace out

[apprentice]

Nice to find out that there are some maya people her too.

I´m currently converting from graphic design to arch viz after a friend gave me a oppurtunity for work. I was told to learn maya for this job so I´m eager to get some advice along the way. Haven´t found much on maya and arch viz on the web. I´m currently getting my machine set up, so for now I`m just reading as much as I can. Starting to get the hang of poly modeling with Blender which I use on my mac in the meantime.

I really love going from 2d to 3d!!!

Do you have any links to good tutorials? I´ve already bought books (one render spesific and one general learning).

[richmondlu]

cgtalk.com is a really good site for maya user q & a as well.

Other then that digital tutors is a good dvd set.

 

good luck to you and if you have any questions never hurts to ask.

[silviapalara]

Unless you are talking of some specific plugin that is only for Max, I frankly don't see anything that Max does and Maya can't do too.

[DigitalBricky]

Hi there! I'm an animator and total newbie to Maya. I've used AutoCAD for aboot 9 years, max for about 2 years on and off and a while back did a few rudimentary tutorials for maya also, then decided I wouldn't have enough time to learn and use any 3D product for my final film and promptly returned to Flash as I felt more comfortable with it, anywho after working all summer as a CAD designer for a timber frame construction company I found the whole architectual viz thing very appealing as it combines many of my favourite interrests. My favourite visuals are the ones that involve showing the structure being built almost, layer by layer. I've got the 15 inch mac book pro running both max (through parallels) and maya and am on the look out for guidance on the issue. I've been researching for a few weeks now it appears that the criticism steered towards maya is with reference to it's ability to translate DWG's and DXF's. I've had a look around and located a plug-in called 'direct connect' which is supposed to help. Does anyone have any experience using this plugin?

[brentwatanabe]

MAYA has a dwg translator as one of its plugins. You just have to make sure it's loaded. Though, now that I think about it...it might be part of the bonus tools that you need to download from the Autodesk Site.

[norman619]

So is there anyone left that uses maya for arch viz?

 

I have a job doing it and i use nothing but maya and come up with very good results. I just wanted to talk to other people that are useing maya in the work place? here is a sample of work that you could q&c on.

So please lets get this form back on its feet.

 

 

Nice render. Only problem I have is the ceiling. It looks too blown out.

[Dave Buckley]

how bout model it in max, then export as fbx (download the right FBX plugin from Autodesk website) then import as fbx into maya to do your lighting and rendering. cheating but if it gets you results : p

[kalmarjan]

I know that there are a few tutorials on how to do Archi modeling for Maya. Simply Maya has a cool victorian house tutorial.

 

Sandeman

[shaneis]

Hello all, (another stray Maya user wanders in the door). Seems there are more of us on these forums than we thought!

 

I might add my $0.02, has anyone used Maya 8.0/ 8.5? There are a a few changes to the Maya polymodelling tools. after Autodesk snapped-up Maya, we have seen a few of the Autodesk tools appear - interactive poly creation, poly bridge etc.

 

My point being, that poly modelling is becoming very similar between the two main apps (MAX and MAYA). In general, the principles behind all hardSurface modelling are the same - clean even topology. Learn this, and you can model in any 3D app.

 

All that aside, there is a couple of training DVD's by Digital tutors.

 

http://www.digitaltutors.com/store/product.php?productid=2691&cat=64&page=2

 

These will get you up to speed in no time.

 

HTH,

 

Shane