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Tutorials to Becoming the Best Level Designer and Game Environment Artist (since 2008)

Maya Beginner Tutorial Series 6/17: Component Mode and How to Work with Polygon Vertices, Edges, Faces

Category: Maya
January 17, 2025

The following tutorial series is directly from Module 1 of 3 of "Maya Foundation: Home-Study Course" tutorial course.

I've released this entire first Module completely free. It is focused on teaching you how to get started learning Maya completely from scratch in just 4 hours.

The full "Maya Foundation: Home Study Course" contains 3 Modules and 18+ hours of tutorials.

  • Module 1 is focused on interface overview for game environment modeling.
  • Module 2 is focused on environment modeling techniques (27 videos, 8+hrs).
  • Module 3 is focused on UV mapping and UVing (21 videos, 5+hrs).

In this tutorial you will learn how to work with object's Component Mode. Be able to manipulate/change vertices, edges, faces and more.

Video Tutorial

Component Modes

Component Mode: allow you to manipulate vertices, faces and edges. This is where more direct modeling control comes into play. Majority of your time modeling will be using the component mode and shaping your polys.

To access Object Component Mode, select it first then:

  • Right Mouse Click and Hold on Select Object = Enable Component Mode

Then switch to vertices, edges or faces:

As a beginner, ignore everything except vertices, edges and faces.

Here are 5 useful hotkeys for Object Component Mode. Select the object and press:

  • F8 = object selection
  • F9 = vertex
  • F10 = edge
  • F11 = face
  • F12 = UVs

Modifying Objects at a Component Level

Once you've enabled any of the component modes (vertices, edges or faces), you can then modify the object by switching to Move, Rotate or Scale.

For example, if you select a set of vertices together, you can move them, rotate them or scale them.

This goes for edges and faces.

This is where more direct modeling and object modification comes in. This is how you will begin modeling objects in Maya. By switching to a specific component mode and changing its shape.

Next Tutorial in the Series

Maya Beginner Tutorial Series 7/17: Axis Orientation and Important Tool Settings for Move, Rotate, Scale

Maya Foundation: Home-Study Course

Learn environment modeling. Pick Maya go all in. Learn how to model and UV with it better than anyone else. Become a modeling master with it. In "Maya Foundation: Home Study Course" I will show you how.

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About World of Level Design

My name is AlexG. I am self-taught level designer, game environment artist and the creator of World of Level Design.com. I've learned everything I know from personal experimentation and decades of being around various online communities of fellow environment artist and level designers. On World of Level Design you will find tutorials to make you become the best level designer and game environment artist.

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