Book Image

Maya Programming with Python Cookbook

By : Adrian Herbez
Book Image

Maya Programming with Python Cookbook

By: Adrian Herbez

Overview of this book

Maya is a 3D graphics and animation software, used to develop interactive 3D applications and games with stupendous visual effects. The Maya Programming with Python Cookbook is all about creating fast, powerful automation systems with minimum coding using Maya Python. With the help of insightful and essential recipes, this book will help you improve your modelling skills. Expand your development options and overcome scripting problems encountered whilst developing code in Maya. Right from the beginning, get solutions to complex development concerns faced when implementing as parts of build.

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Maya Programming with Python Cookbook
Adrian Herbez
Jul, 2016 | 266 pages
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Table of Contents (17 chapters)
Maya Programming with Python Cookbook
Maya Programming with Python Cookbook
Credits
Credits
About the Author
About the Author
About the Reviewer
About the Reviewer
www.PacktPub.com
www.PacktPub.com
Preface
Preface
Free Chapter
1
Getting Started with Maya
Getting Started with Maya
Introduction
Using the script editor to investigate functionality
Running code from the script editor
Importing Maya's built-in Python functionality
Accessing documentation for a specific command
Understanding Create, Query, and Edit flags
Adding custom folders to your script path
Writing and running an external script
Calling a MEL script with Python
2
Creating User Interfaces
Creating User Interfaces
Introduction
Making a basic window
Simple controls – making a button
Retrieving input from controls
Using classes to organize UI logic
Using nested layouts
Using tabs and scrolling
Adding menus to your UIs
3
Working with Geometry
Working with Geometry
Introduction
Working with selected objects and checking node type
Accessing geometric data in polygonal models
Accessing geometric data in NURBS objects
Creating curves
Creating new polygonal faces
Creating new modifiers (noise)
Creating novel primitives (tetrahedron)
4
Giving Things a Coat of Paint – UVs and Materials
Giving Things a Coat of Paint – UVs and Materials
Introduction
Querying UV data
Laying out UVs with Python
Creating shading networks with code
Applying shaders to objects
Using shading nodes for non-shading tasks
5
Adding Controls – Scripting for Rigging
Adding Controls – Scripting for Rigging
Introduction
Creating skeletons with script
Setting up set-driven key relationships with script
Adding custom attributes and locking and hiding attributes
Setting up inverse kinematics (IK) with script
6
Making Things Move – Scripting for Animation
Making Things Move – Scripting for Animation
Introduction
Querying animation data
Working with animation layers
Copying animation from one object to another
Setting keyframes
Creating expressions via script
7
Scripting for Rendering
Scripting for Rendering
Introduction
Creating and editing lights
Creating GUI to control all lights
Creating cameras from code
Rendering a sprite sheet
8
Working with File Input/Output
Working with File Input/Output
Introduction
Using the fileDialog2 command to navigate the file system
Reading text files
Writing text files
Writing binary data
Reading binary data
Reading multiple types of files
9
Communicating with the Web
Communicating with the Web
Introduction
Opening a web page from script
Grabbing data from a server
Working with XML data
Working with JSON data
Sending POST data to a web server from Maya
10
Advanced Topics
Advanced Topics
Introduction
Wrapping Python functionality in MEL
Creating custom tools using contexts
Using script jobs to trigger custom functionality
Using script nodes to embed code in scenes
Combining script jobs and script nodes
Index
Index

About the Author

Adrian Herbez is an accomplished software engineer and educator with a background in virtual worlds and gaming. He has worked as a web developer at Linden Lab (the creators of Second Life) and a senior software engineer at Sony Computer Entertainment, America, where he developed games and interactive content for PlayStation Home. He also served as the lead gameplay engineer for KIXEYE's War Commander. Adrian has also taught at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco in a number of different departments over the years, covering Maya, web development, and game programming.

He is currently the cofounder and president of Jamwix, a game and media start-up. So far, Jamwix has released CineMagic: Hollywood Madness, a mobile game for iOS and Android as well as the first feature-length movie for virtual reality (The Banshee Chapter: Oculus Rift Edition).

Adrian holds a master's degree in Fine Arts from the University of California, Irvine, from the Arts, Computation, and Engineering department, and has served as a juror for IndieCade, the international festival of independent gaming, for a number of years.

I would like to thank my students for spurring me on to seek out the heart of every topic, and for always inspiring me with their enthusiasm and creativity. I have also been fortunate enough to benefit from a number of wonderful teachers, including Terry Calais, Randy Pausch, and Simon Penny, as well as my longtime friend and mentor, Frank Garvey. I've learned a great deal from each of them, and my life would be much diminished without their guidance and insight.

I'd also like to thank my business partners, Bill Booth and Blair Erickson, for jumping into the deep end with me in starting our company, and for being patient with me on those days when I came into the office bleary-eyed after a long night of writing.

And most of all, I'd like to thank my wonderful partner, Carrie, for being so supportive and for always helping me to go farther and to achieve more in everything I do.

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