The Only Beginner's Guide You Will Ever Need to Learning Maya LT/Maya for Game Environment Art

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I Tried to Learn 3D Software for Almost a Decade

In late 2002 I became obsessed with wanting to learn 3d modeling software. This was caused by the release of Unreal Tournament 2003 - version of the game which began using Static Meshes (3d models) as part of its level design creation pipeline.

Prior to Unreal Tournament 2003 I was learning to create maps for Half-Life and Counter-Strike. With original Hammer level editor you could design full playable maps without ever needing to model and import a 3d object. All was done with BSP brushes.

But before you import anything into a game engine, you have to know how to use 3d modeling software.

After the release of Unreal Tournament 2003, I became serious about learning 3d modeling. There weren't many video or text tutorials out there, so I went out and purchased over $300 worth of 3d software books. One of the books was "Maya 4.5 Bible". The book had over 1200+ pages and it attempted to cover EVERYTHING Maya had to offer. But as a beginner completely new to 3d, it was incredibly difficult to follow and learn Maya for any specific purpose. The amount of content inside all the books I purchased was so overwhelming that I gave up within a couple of weeks.

My learning process was then streamlined by projects with deadlines that I had to complete.

My first few attempts at learning 3d software. I didn't know what to do and if I were actually following the proper workflow for game environment art

Now, you do not need to attend college like I did to learn 3d modeling software. I still had to read books, watch online tutorials and go over paper handouts. Teachers would demo how to do something but then the class would be over, everyone would go home and I would still be staring at Maya's interface. I still had to perform from notes, handouts and online tutorial.

It is only now, in hindsight as I write this did I become aware of a very valuable lesson: "You have to learn and use Maya LT/Maya or any other 3d software for a very specific purpose."

I encountered a big issue when I attempted to work on game environment assets

Although I learned Maya for computer animation, I thought that my knowledge was transferable to game environment modeling but it did not. I had to go back to relearn tools and principles I missed or didn't know about. This took a lot of time. It did help that I was familiar with Maya than if I was jumping into it for the first time without any prior experience. But most of this could have been avoided and I could have saved a lot of time if I learned Maya LT/Maya for game environment art to begin with.

Maya LT/Maya is a very extensive and complex piece of software. You can use Maya to model, animate, UV, create shader, rig characters, render still shots, render full animations, create particle FX and dynamics.

The reason it is very difficult to learn Maya LT/Maya by yourself for any specific purpose is because you don't know what you don't know. Meaning that you are not aware of what you should learn first, what you should focus on and what elements of Maya LT/Maya you should ignore completely for game environment art or any other discipline.

So going out looking for tutorials is impossible because you don't know what you should be looking for.

Video Breakdown

Watch this video for in-depth tutorial series breakdown.

Maya LT or Maya

There are many 3d modeling programs used. The following two are game industry standard and have been for quite some time - Maya and 3dsMax. But others are used such as Blender, Modo and Cinema 4D.

In this case we are completely focused on Maya LT/Maya.

What is the difference between Maya LT and Maya and which one should you use?

Maya is a full version and Maya LT is an indie game developer version.

I began using Maya extensively since 2005. Eventually Maya became too expensive to continue paying for features I wasn't using. In 2014 I decided to switch to Maya LT but not before doing extensive research to see what I might have to give up. You see, I only want Maya for modeling and NOT for animation, shading, rendering, rigging, dynamics or particles. I need to model, uv and ability to export objects as .obj or .fbx.

I found that Maya LT offered same exact modeling tools as regular version of Maya. While UV & texturing workflow being almost identical between both versions. Only two things were missing from Maya LT UV/Texturing pipeline - transfer maps and PSD support. But that's ok. I'll take $ savings from Maya to Maya LT by not having these two features.

Maya LT was the perfect cheaper solution for me and modeling is identical to Maya. So after a lot of consideration and research I decided to completely switch to Maya LT.

If you are new to Maya, then I would recommend going with Maya LT. If you have used Maya before and you are going to be using it for more than just modeling, then take a look what feature comparison page here.

The series was filmed using Maya LT but it will also work with Maya due to the same modeling tools across Maya LT and Maya.

Detailed Video-by-Video Breakdown of All 3 Modules

Here is a list of all the videos included in this series. Click on the tab below to expand for more detailed info.

What You Will Learn

Following is an overview of what you can expect to learn in this tutorial series.

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3D Game Environment Modeling/UVing Foundation with Maya LT™/Maya®

FAQ

Frequently asked questions. Click on each tab to see more.

PS.

If you have spent some time visiting World of Level Design website, read and watched video tutorials then you know that each video and each tutorial I create is focused on giving you a lot of value and information in each one.

When I release a product, I make sure that you get your money's worth and walk away learning more than what you paid for.

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Creator of World of Level Design.com