Maya Shortcuts and Notes

I’ll be adding to this page with tips as I pick them up:

Maya Shortcuts:

*use the arrows keys (apostrophe and period) to jump to the previous and next key frame

*hit g to open up the graph editor (on AM shelf)

*shift L on the time slider to select a key.  Shift L and drag to select multiple keys (they will turn red).  These can then be moved around or scaled.

*If scaling keys, you can snap them to the nearest frame by right clicking selecting frames and selecting “snap.”

*to copy a pose to another key, middle click drag the pose you want on the timeline to the designated frame, then hit “s” to set the key.

*to scrub time, hold “k” and move your mouse across the timeline.

*to lock directions on the manipulator tool, hold control click on one of the directions.  To reset it, hold control and click once between all of the directions.

***use the tween key!!! on the AM shelf.

 

Channel Box Expressions
In the channel box, you can quickly change the current value with the following:

Type +=n to add
Type -=n to subtract
Type *=n to multiply
Type /=n to divide
% as a suffix indicates a percentage-based operation (For example, +=10% adds 10% of the current value to each selected value).

 
Getting ready for animation:

*select object mode drop down menu -> turn off all objects -> click the backwards “S”. This makes it such that you can only select control curves.

*Create buttons of your selections to make selecting entire characters faster.  Click selects, open up window -> general editors -> script editor.  Copy the lines of the selections and then middle click drag them to the shelf to create a custom button.

*Set your cameras, then go to panels -> tear off copy. Move the copy to the side of the main viewport. That way you can see multiple camera angles while you work in your viewport.

 

for the Stu Rig (AM students):

* To see extra shoulder controls, execute the following script in the script editor:
setAttr “stu_ac_R_shoulder.visibility” 1;
setAttr “stu_ac_L_shoulder.visibility” 1;

*  One arm is FK and the other is IK; there is no switch!  Do not mess with the rig because it is built this way to teach the difference between IK and FK.