Maya Tips and Shortcuts

Master post - updated as I go. 

View on desktop - formatting is bad on mobile :(  

> Never use Maya Binary, always Maya ASCII! < 
It's easier to fix ASCII.

 

    Navigation

Rotate view                      alt + left click

Pan view                         alt + middle click

Truck (not Zoom)                 alt + right click, or scroll

Toggle Four View/change view     press spacebar

Hotbox menu                      hold spacebar

                                 then click and hold a menu 

    Tools

Select                           q

Move                             w

Rotate                           e

Scale                            r 

Repeat Previous Tool             g 

Activate incremental snapping    hold j

Snap to grid                     x 

Snap to curve or edge           c

Snap to vertex or pivot point    v

    (see also magnet icons that can be toggled at the top) 

 

Undo                             ctrl + z, or z

Redo                             shift + z

Incremental Save                 ctrl + alt + s

Parent                           p

Unparent                         shift + p

Isolate                         ctrl + 1

Increase Selection               shift + .

Decrease Selection               shift + ,

Extrude                         ctrl + e

Bevel                            ctrl + b 

Circularize                      edit mesh > circularize

    (select 4+ edges/vertices. if too simple, add divisions)

Soften/Harden Edge               mesh display > harden/soften edge

Reverse Faces                    mesh display > reverse

Create Group (w/ selected)       ctrl + g

Focus                            f

    (center view on selected object)

 

Move Pivot Point             hold d

    (Pivot Point works like an Anchor Point)

    Recenter with: Modify menu > Center Pivot

 

Duplicate (copy & paste)         ctrl + d

Smart Duplication                hold shift w/ transform tool

Duplicate Special is in: 

    Edit menu > Duplicate Special > Option box

    To create a linked, mirrored copy: centre pivot point, set the scale x value to -1, check "instance".

 

Change Component Mode            hold right click

    (i.e. object, faces, edges, vertices) 

 or Object                       f8

    Vertex                       f9

    Edge                         f10

    Face                         f11

 

    Multi Cut Tool

Snap to segments                 hold shift

Start over                       esp

Complete Cut                     enter

Undo Last Placed Point           backspace, or delete

Edit Last Placed Point           click hold and drag

Quick Slice                      middle click and drag

Insert Edge Loop                 hold ctrl

Centered Edge Loop               hold ctrl + middle click

Alternatively: Edit Mesh > Insert Edge Loop Tool

    Bridge Tool

Edit Mesh > Bridge

Connects two spots. Good for creating arches and curved pipes.

Increase "Divisions" to increase number of segments.

Note "Curve Type" - "Blend" for curves

If the bridge is inverted, adjust the "Direction Source", or "Target"

    Append to Polygon

Edit Mesh > Append to Polygon Tool
Similar to Bridge Tool. For filling holes, polygon by polygon.

    Target Weld

In vertex component mode: Mesh Tools > Target Weld

Click and drag one vertex to another to merge them. 

Middle click and drag to merge to center.

    Booleans

Use sparingly as they create messy topology.

Union merges two objects.

Difference subtracts one object from another.

Intersection keeps the geometry that is intersecting.

Line up edge geometry ahead of time to make topography cleanup easier.

Delete History to finalise a Boolean operation.

    Connect Tool

Inserts additional edges between selected edges

Slide: defines where the edge is inserted. 0.50 (default) - edges are inserted in the middle.

Segments: defines the number of connected segments that are inserted into the mesh.

Pinch: defines the distance between the outer edges and the connected segment.

    Combine/Separate/Extract

Different from boolean "Union"

Combine selected objects: Mesh > Combine

Separate combined objects: Mesh > separate

Create a separate, individual object from selected face: Edit Mesh > Extract

    Display Modes

Keys 1 to 3 allows you to preview how your object is going to look like when smoothed.

• 1 - Displays the original mesh/object
• 2 - Displays original mesh in wireframe mode and the smoothed preview of your object
• 3 - Displays only the smoothed preview of your object

Keys 4 to 7 offers you modes that can help you in modelling, UV editing and rendering.

• 4 - Wireframe mode. Very useful when you need to be precise or if you overlapping objects in your scene.
• 5 - Shaded mode. This is the default display mode. Objects are displayed based on their shader (usually a lambert).
• 6 - Shaded mode. Objects are displayed based on their shader plus the textures available in their UV map.
• 7 - Lighting mode. Objects are displayed with lights on or off. Objects are displayed "black" if there are no existing light in the scene.

    Naming Stuff

Files and objects within Maya need to be names only with letters, numbers, and underscores. No spaces.

No two items can have the same name.

Name by least specific aspect to most specific, i.e. "geo_chair"

 - "geo" = geography

 - "lyr" = layer

 - "jnt" = joint (then number down the chain)

 - then, object description

    Project Folders

 - save on the network drive (P: drive) 

 - "images" folder are for images created in Maya (for export), not for images to import in.

 - Use "sourceimages" for imported images, i.e. ref images.

    Reference Images

Simpler method: 

1. Place image files into "sourceimages" folder. 
2. Import images through: View > Image Plane
3. If the lines are unclear, try: Attribute editor > [change] Texture Filter

Better(?) method:

1. Create a plane that is proportionate to the reference image (to avoid stretching).

2. Set subdivisions to 1. 

3. Create a shader for the plane: Windows > Rendering Editors > Hypershade (or shortcut icon)

4. Open "aiStandardSurface" under Arnold materials.

5. Remember to rename your reference image shaders. 

6. Open "File" under 2D Textures.

7. Select the File node, then under File Attributes open the file browser and select the reference image.

8. Connect File "Out Color" to aiStandardSurface "Base Color".

9. Middle mouse drag and drop the shader onto the plane.

10. Fix the image scale: turn "Normalizing" off, in Channel Box > Inputs > Create UVs 

11. Duplicate the plane and the shader to create the other views.

12. When all reference images are placed, select them all, create a layer with selected, and change the layer view to Reference.

13. Ensure the base of the references is on the base of the grid.

 

    Custom Shelf is for regularly used tools

Add a tool to custom shelf with: ctrl + shift + middle click

> Copy this to use on other devices. In file explorer: Documents > maya > [year] > prefs > shelves

 - History
 - Freeze Transform
 - Multi Cut
 - Insert Edge Loop
 - Append to Polygon
 - Bridge
 - Connect
 - Circularise
 - Combine
 - Separate
 - Extract
 - Target Weld
 - Booleans
 - Soften/Harden Edge
 - Reverse Faces

    Layer Editor

 - Toggle visibility in Viewport (V) and during playback (P)

 - Change object view to Template (T) or Reference (R)

    > Template: displayed in wireframe and can't be selected

    > Reference: displaced in current display mode and can't be       selected

    Outliner Window

 - Click and drag selects multiple

 - Middle click and drag moves items

 

    Viewport

Stick to Viewport 2.0 when modelling - better performance.

Arnold is for a rendered view. 

Switch between these in the Renderer menu. 

 

    Other Tips

Hide the View Cube to avoid changing default views.

Always go back and forth between smooth preview and not, to check for errors