Animate a Neon Sign in Maya - Free Tutorial

In this free tutorial we show how to animate a flickering neon sign in Maya. The idea is to create a personal logo for your demo reel, something that has more style and invention than a simple title card. 

Start by creating a logo for your animation reel, then import the logo into Maya, and use the technique described above to turn your logo into neon letters. Next animate the letters, render it, and create a movie file for your demo reel. 

Animate a Lamp Hopping With Pixo Jr.

In this tutorial we show how to animate a lamp hopping. It's an introduction to character animation, and also a nod to one of Pixar's first animated shorts - Luxo Junior. 

The rig we recommend for this exercise is the Pixo Jr rig - an excellent rig, free for student download at highend3d.com, and the perfect starting point to learn locomotion & mechanics.

Create a Starry Sky with the Arnold Skydome

In this short video tutorial (just five minutes long) we explain how to create a starry sky in Maya with just a few clicks, using the Arnold Skydome. Using an HDRI night sky texture map (Google one to get started), we can create a night sky effect with little or no effort, using the Arnold Renderer.  To see the step by step plan, follow the outline below. You can find the tutorial video at YouTube here.

Using AI to Make Better Animation

In the short video above we offer some suggestions on how to use AI to make better animation.  AI is a powerful tool for the creation of stories and ideas.  Watch the video above to see how to use Chat GPT to generate ideas to make our animation more interesting and inventive. AI represents the biggest technical advance in the animation & VFX industry since 3D animation began to replace traditional hand-animated feature films in the early 2000s. Artificial Intelligence is here to stay - so let's make the best possible use of it.

Export a Render Sequence in Arnold

In this super simple tutorial we show how to export a Render Sequence in Arnold, in Autodesk Maya. First watch the tutorials on basic lighting setups, such as Lighting in Arnold with Physical Sky, or Lighting in Arnold with Sky Shader, and then watch this video to see how to render out a series of images that can be imported into Adobe Premiere or Blender - or any editing software - ready to export as a movie file.

Basic Lighting in Arnold with Sky Shader

In this simple lighting tutorial, aimed at Autodesk Maya beginners, we explain how to achieve a basic lighting setup in Arnold using the Arnold Sky Shader. This is a simple lighting setup, only slightly more sophisticated than the Arnold Physical Sky tutorial - which is as simple as it is possible to achieve in Arnold, and gives good results for an outdoor scene with just a few clicks. 

Winter Animation Class Starts 6 Nov 2023

Animation by Robin Herrmann

Our Winter Animation Class begins on Monday 6th November 2023.

It's not too late to book a place; all you need to do is visit the main Animation Apprentice site and go through a few simple steps.

If you want to learn 3D animation to a professional level, and start your new career as an animator - your journey starts here.

Animate a Yellow Beetle In Motion

In this animation beginners' tutorial we show how to animate a yellow Beetle in Motion, using the free "Swappable Car Rig with Ubershockies - The AnyCar 3.1.4 for Maya", downloadable here from Creative Crash.  

This is a fun, easy to replicate tutorial that is aimed at beginners in Autodesk Maya. 

Maya Basics - Model & Texture a Cereal Box

In this super basic tutorial we show how to do very basic modelling and texturing in Autodesk Maya and Photoshop to create a Cereal Box. This tutorial is divided into two parts - the Maya part, where we create the box and UV it (above), and the Photoshop part (below), where we do the texturing. 

Basic Lighting in Arnold - Physical Sky

In this simple tutorial, for Autodesk Maya beginners, we explain how to achieve a super basic lighting setup in Arnold using the settings in Physical Sky. This is as simple a setup as it is possible to achieve in Arnold, and gives good results for an outdoor scene with just a few clicks.

How to Create a Shot Camera in Maya

In this introductory tutorial for beginners in Autodesk Maya we demonstrate how to create a shot camera.  If you were on a live action set, one of the first things you would do is set up your camera and decide what the shot was going to look like.  But in Maya, because we get a Perspective View for free, animators often forget to create a shot camera.  This is a mistake - we want to make an early decision on what the audience is going to see.  Watch this beginner's video tutorial above to find out how to create a camera in Maya and lock it off. 

How to Texture Dice in Autodesk Maya

 

In the free video tutorial above we tackle a super simple modelling and texturing exercise - how to create a die (single of dice), bevel it, and texture it, downloading a texture map from the web. The tutorial is aimed at complete beginners who have never used Autodesk Maya before. In addition, you can follow the steps outlined below, including - for extra sophistication - how to add a bump map (not covered in the video above).