50 Mind Blowing Maya Tutorials

True to form, and as promised, I have gone and prepared a variable feast of delicious Maya morsels for all you starving Maya users out there. The table is set and the plates are full…so what are you waiting for…dig in!

Creative Cow – Creating a Logo



Model a logo from vector artwork. Part 1 Part 2.

How to Rig a Computer Mouse



Learn how to create bones, ik handles, rig controls, and paint weights. Also learn how to use some MEL scripts.

Creating a Realistic Light Lamp



Create a believable lamplight by using multiple lights to achieve the final effect.

Creating Realistic Candle Flames



Make realistic candle flames by using different shaders and multiple point lights.

Paint Effects – Modifier



Explore how to use the modifiers with paint effects.

Paint Effects – Select By Name



This video will walk you through selecting by name with paint effects.

Paint Effects – Share One Brush



This video will walk you through Paint Effects – Sharing one Brush.

Modeling, Texturing, and Rendering a Believable Eye



Model, texture, and render eyeballs. Note: You must have an account, so fill in the form that pops up, confirm your account, and click the link again to access the tutorial page. Existing Gnomon users can login here: Login. Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4.

Controlling Fog Density



Learn how to control Fog Density and use it to create certain effects for your scenes. Note: This is a Gnomon tutorial, and uses the same accessibility method as above.

Realistic Candle Flames with Shaders



Another candle flame tutorial, but with a different approach to achieve amazing results. Note: This is a Gnomon tutorial, and uses the same accessibility method as above.

Particle Emission When Objects Collide



Use dynamics to make particles emit from objects or surfaces when they collide with each other. Note: This is a Gnomon tutorial, and uses the same accessibility method as above.

Arm Set-Up with IK/FK



Rig an arm with IK/FK rigging. Note: This is a Gnomon tutorial, and uses the same accessibility method as above.

Irradiance Particles in Mental Ray



Learn to work with Irradiance Particles and lower your render times while balancing out the render quality of your image using custom techniques and settings.

Sub Scattering of Particles



Use sub scattering of particles, or set up lights that are sufficient enough to shine through flesh or other objects.

UV Mapping Techniques and Workflow



Learn some handy UV mapping techniques from Semir Saleh.

UV Sets in Maya



Some great techniques on how to create UV Sets.

Creating Realistic Glass



Explore how to create realistic looking glass with 3 different materials.

Next Gen Vehicle Creation



Check out the making of this awesome next-gen vehicle, including high and low res modeling, UV layout, and texture creation and baking.

Building for Speed



Learn some techniques to speed up your modeling workflow.

UV Enhancements: Unwrapping a Head



In this video we take a look at Maya 2009′s UV enhancement features, and how they can help to unwrap the UVs on a human head.

Understanding Level of Detail Groups



This video covers how to create LOD (Level of Detail) groups inside of Maya.

Easy Normal Map Creation



This video examines how we can easily export a normal map from high poly geometry using Maya 2009′s new render pass features.

Face Modeling



Instructor Ryan Kittleson shows us how he polygon models the face in this step by step tutorial.

Creating a Stormy Ocean



Learn how to create an ocean surface, set the stormy ocean characteristics, add a camera and fog, and then render the whole scene.

Create a Spaceship Fleet using Particle Instancing



Bogdan Amidzic shows you how to use the particle instancer to create a fleet of spaceships flying across the planes.

Creating an Old Farm



Learn how to model, texture, and render a realistic looking farmhouse property.

Modeling a Sunbathing American Alligator



Model a highly realistic sunbathing American Alligator.

Human Anatomy UV Coordinates Setup for Texturing



Learn how to create your UV texture maps correctly so they don’t blur or stretch.

Making of Varga



See how this amazing piece of art was created using reference artwork, normal mapping, and a lot of time.

Creating and Modeling a Character – Mad Eye Moody



If you like Harry Potter, you will like this. Even though it looks nothing like Mad Eye, the tutorial takes you through modeling and rigging a head.

Box Modeling the Male Body



Learn how to model a full male body from the starting point of a box.

Head Poly Modeling Tutorial



Learn how to poly model a monster head.

Making of Cheese Platter



Using lots of reference images, learn how Hau Ming created an awesome still life 3D render.

Texture Maps NURBS Dragon



Learn how to 3D paint texture maps onto a NURBS dragon model.

Making of Trapped



Recreate a picture of a parrot biting at its cage by modeling it in 3d.

Object Spreading Methods



Learn how to paint an object onto a surface, use a map driven spreading method, and use a particle instancer. You will also learn about animation driven spreading and Melscripting issues.

Making Car Rims



Make some realistic chrome car rims.

Model a Rocket with a Particle Trail



Explore how to create a rocket using NURBS, and then animate its movement using path curve and then make a simple smoke trail.

Growing Flowers



Learn how to create growing flowers from a surface. The flowers will gradually and randomly grow, and will retain their original status when they reach to growing limit.

Bone Based Mouth Setup



This is a tutorial for advanced Maya users, and provides an alternative to the standard facial setup using blend shapes.

Model a Screwdriver and Render with Mental Ray



This tutorial will teach you how to make a screw-driver and render it with Final Gather, Global Illumination, HDRI, and Depth of Field.

Setting Up Studio Lighting



Alejandro shows you how to setup basic studio lighting in Maya 2008 using Mental Ray.

Paint Geometry Tool



This tutorial covers the basics of Maya’s Paint Geometry Tool. This can be very useful when adding anything that needs to be duplicated and randomized across a given surface.

Create a Double Sides Shader



In this tutorial Alejandro shows you two ways of creating double-sided shaders in Maya.

Mental Ray’s Physical Sun and Sky



Here Alejandro shows you how to set up Mental Ray’s Physical Sun and Sky and explains it’s main attributes.

Raytraced Shadow Fix



When rendering raytrace shadows through alpha channels you might get an extra unwanted shadow. Here Alejandro shows you how to get rid of that.

Talk about Fluid Transparency



This is a nice talk on how to understand fluid transparency.

Fluid Rendering Optimizations



Learn a bunch of key techniques for speeding up fluids renders.

Overburn Techniques



Check out this awesome tutorial on creating a metor from scratch and using Peter Shipkov’s Overburn Technique. Overburn Script.

Pose and Render an Image



Learn how to pose and manipulate a rig for rendering images.

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