3D Modeling and Texturing an X-Wing in Maya

Visit my website to enroll in this extensive course. I'll cover how to model each major section of the x-wing, as well as unwrapping the UV's and finally painting some of the necessary textures for the model. There are a lot tips and trick packed into this course: www.howtomaya.com

3D Modeling at Lego Minifigure in Maya

Head over to my new teachable website to purchase the rest of the videos in the lego minifigure series: www.howtomaya.com

Cartoon Penguin Tutorial in Maya 2016!

Learn how to model a cartoon penguin in just 30 minutes:

The Karate Kiss - My Latest Animation!

Check out this micro short film I just finished!

How to Become a Filmmaker - Part 6: Reflection and Future Plans

So you’ve finished the animation in your project. Give yourself a huge pat on the back, you should be proud of your accomplishment. You are now a filmmaker! No one can take that away from you.

When you finish your film there can be a range of emotions. Some people feel great satisfaction in finishing. Some are disappointed that it didn’t turn out the way they wanted. Both of these emotions are totally normal. I hope that you feel joy and satisfaction when you’re done. If you don’t, I’d like you to think about why you don’t feel satisfied:

1. Did you do your best?
2. Did your skill set not match up with your vision?
3. Did you get tired and take a bunch of shortcuts?

If you did your best and you tried really hard you should be very proud even if the movie doesn’t turn out exactly as you thought it would. A lot of people never finish a film so you should feel satisfaction that you DID finish. That takes discipline, hard word, and dedication. You deserve some serious praise.

If your skill set doesn’t match your vision for the project you’ll have to learn to be patient. It takes time to learn a new craft. We increase our skills slowly, over long periods of time. If you are feeling impatient try and understand that NO ONE is a brilliant filmmaker when they start. It takes 5 or 10 years to get really good.

If you got tired and took a lot of shortcuts consider taking some breaks. Work at a slower pace and just keep working until you get it right. It doesn’t need to be perfect but do the best work you can at this time. The film doesn’t have to be done tomorrow. Take the extra time to make the film the best it can be. Even if it’s just stick figures.

The most important thing to remember is your first film is just a single step on the road to becoming an accomplished filmmaker. When a novice painter begins her first painting no one expects that first painting to be good. Probably it will get thrown away. It might take 10 or 20 paintings before she gets one that she really likes.

Learn from your mistakes! Listen to feedback from others. Ask them what they like and what they don’t like. Then ask yourself what you like and what you don’t like. Remember what didn’t work so that you can address those issues in the next film.

Each time you create a film give yourself a new challenge. Start with a 10 second film. Then make a few more of those. Then increase the time to 20 seconds. Do several films at that length. Then maybe you do a film that has dialogue. Give yourself little challenges. Don’t jump from a 20 second film to a 5 minute film. That’s too big of a step. Work your way up slowly.

Think about what you love about other people’s films. Look at them closely. Study them like a scholar. Become an expert in that filmmakers work. This will help you when you get stuck on your own film projects. You can think back to certain films to get inspiration.

Think about what kind of films you would love to make in the future and slowly work towards that goal. Stick to your schedule. Stay positive. Give yourself rewards when you finish something.

I hope this series was helpful. I’ve tried to pass on everything I learned over the last 10 years so that you don’t run into the same problems that I did. I know it’s hard but it’s also very rewarding so I wish the best as you become a filmmaker! And please send me links to your films so I can see them!

How to Become a Filmmaker - Part 5: Staying Motivated During the Animation Process

Okay so you have a completed animatic and it looks good. You’ve shown it to a few people and they understand what happens in the story. This means you’re ready to begin working on the actual animation in your project. This next step is going to be difficult so it’s really important to get yourself into the right mindset because finishing your film is actually a mental game. If you can get your thought process right, you’ll finish no problem.

Now some of you may not have any problems with staying motivated. If that’s the case consider yourself very lucky. If you’re someone who can just complete a large task without any trouble then this video probably won’t be necessary for you. Now for others competing a big task can be intimidating:

1. You may feel insecure about your abilities.
2. You might get stuck or become frustrated and decide to quit.
3. You might feel like there is too much work for one person to finish.

For some people their mind starts filling up insecure thoughts that ultimately cause them to stop working on their project. Unfortunately, this is very common with artists. They second guess their ability when they are in the middle of a task. This is not helpful. If you quit you don’t grow and learn. Your goal should be to finish no matter what. If you finish and you don’t like the final product, that’s okay. It’s just practice. In fact each mistake is an opportunity to learn something new. It’s important to understand this pattern of self doubt, recognize that it’s something that happens often, so that you can IGNORE THAT FEELING that tells you to quit.

Now if you get frustrated as you’re working it’s fine to take a break for an hour or a day. The trick is to make sure you come back to the project and try again after the break. At some point it might feel like there is no solution to the problem you’ve encountered. That’s just another insecurity. THERE IS ALWAYS A SOLUTION. Your mind is a problem solving machine. Give it time and you’ll come up with something new.

For those of you who get intimidated by large tasks just work on it a few hours at a time. Set a goal for the day and when you’re done give yourself a pat on the back. Don’t worry about the whole project, just work on one tiny section for the day. Working 1 hour each day is just as good as working 7 hours on a Saturday. Find a system that works for YOU. If you are persistent, if you refuse to give up, you can get your project done one small step at a time. You might get behind schedule. Projects always take longer than you think. Just keep going. Finish it even if it’s two months past the projected completion date.

Superfly Part 2!

This is a continuation of an ongoing series of animated shorts that I'm producing. This type of frog vs. fly animation project is great for beginners. Its easy to animate the fly and the frog movements are usually brief bursts of motion. This translates to less overall work for the beginning animator.