Physical Sun & Sky - Maya's "Make it Cool" Button

Above is a short video explaining how to use Maya's "Physical Sun and Sky" to light your animation. Physical Sun and Sky is the closest thing that Maya has to a "make it look awesome" button - it's a cheap and quick way to light your shots.  Here at Animation Apprentice we focus primarily on animation, not on lighting, but students still need to light their demo reels to make them look cool. Physical Sun and Sky is a great way to get a quick and polished result.

What if Physical Sun and Sky renders black in After Effects?
Sometimes you render your work with a physical sun and sky and, when you import the images into After Effects to create a video, the sky is gone, replaced with a black background.

To fix this, go into After Effects, and in the project panel right click on the imported EXR sequence, choose "Interpret Footage", select "Main..." from the list that gives and check the "Ignore" box on Alpha section of the window that pops up. The Physical Sun and Sky should now show.