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“I've watched Alex Alvarez's
training DVDs on Dynamics... and they are
amazing! I've learned so much from the lectures, they have
helped make me a better visual effects artist. I started
using Maya for effects animation when I joined Square USA
for the film "Final
Fantasy" about
4 years ago. I wish I had these DVDs then. Well, better
late than never. ”
- Andy Chen
Effects Animator
Dreamworks Feature Animation
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Deformers are intuitive and
interactive tools used to sculpt surfaces into new shapes,
circumventing the need to edit vertices one-by-one. Maya offers
a large suite of unique deformers which can be used in conjuction
with each other to yield complex effects. Whether you are rigging
a character or designing a crashing wave, a thorough understanding
of Maya’s deformers is crucial. Simple mistakes made
early on can cause big problems down the road.
Clusters and Blendshape are two indispensible deformers which you will find yourself
relying on over and over again. Clusters allow you to apply transform node functionality
to multiple vertices, while Blendshape is a morphing tool. We examine the application
of these deformers to NURBS, Polygons and Subdivision surfaces (including NURBS
patch models), with a focus on higher-level workflow techniques.
Product Code: DEF01
Clusters
Paint Select
Component Editor
Weight Tool
Edit Membership
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Blendshape
NURBS
Polygons
SubD Surfaces
Deformation Order
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 01:
Introduction
02: Clusters
03: Weighting
04: Relative Mode
05: Blendshape Basics
06: Organizing Targets
07: Poly / SubD
08: Patch Models
09: Inbetween
10: Credits
Click here to
view a sample clip from this DVD. Note that while this
clip is 640x480 the actual movie size is 720x480 with
higher quality compression. View the stills to the right
to see the actual resolution.
Alex is founder and director of The Gnomon Workshop
and of Gnomon School of Visual Effects in Hollywood. Alex has been published
in industry magazines, websites, and books - plus he has taught courses
at several major trade conferences. His character animation projects
have appeared on many computer graphics websites, on the cover of the ‘Maya
Character Animation’ book published by New Riders, and his 'Zufuhr'
project was commissioned by Alias for their Siggraph stage presentations.
Alex is president of the Los Angeles Alias Users Group and sits on the
Advisory Board for Highend3D.com. Prior to Gnomon, Alex worked for Alias,
as a consultant and trainer for studios in the Los Angeles area. Alex
is an alumni of the Art Center College of Design and the University
of Pennsylvania.
For more of Alex's work, visit:
www.alexalvarez.com.
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