From the course: Maya 2022 Essential Training

Basics of NURBS curves - Maya Tutorial

From the course: Maya 2022 Essential Training

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Basics of NURBS curves

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- [Instructor] In Maia curves can be used for a lot of different applications, including modeling and animation. So let's take a look at how to create some basic curves as well as the components that comprise those curves. We can create curves in Maia in a couple of different places. If we go to curves surfaces on our shelf, you'll see we have a number of tools here to create curves. Also under the create menu we have curved tools as well as nerves primitives. Now a lot of these are what are called nerve surfaces which are patch based surfaces comprised of curves but we're just going to focus on the curves themselves. So we have, for example, a circle, which we can also use. So I'm going to switch on interactive creation and select a nerves circle. And let's go ahead and left-click and drag and drag out a circle. Now this circle is essentially just a shape. It will not render in Maia but it will show up in the view port and you can use it to help define other types of objects. Now we can manipulate our nerves curve. So if I right click above it, you'll see we get a marking menu. Now this marking menu is different than the polygonal modeling menu we had which would have things like vertices edges and faces, but for a nerves curve, we have what's called a control vertex, curve points and hauls. So let's take a look at some of these. I'm going to start with control vertex and that's really where this particular curve is defined. Now, when I do this notice how all of these little vertices pop up. Now, most of these are just kind of little dots but we also have a couple of special ones. This one shaped like a square is what's called the first vertesi. Okay, so in other words, it's the beginning of this curve. We also have one that is marked with the letter U and that's the second vertesi. So in this case, this particular curve goes from here to here and then all the way around now that means that this particular curve is moving counter-clockwise in this example. Now, if I want to I can use these control vertices to reshape my model. So if I select this one and move it this way, I'm reshaping that particular curve. So I can move these around however I want. Now, in addition to control vertices we also have what are called halls. Now these are probably more important for nerve surfaces and essentially for curve. They'll just show you kind of the outline of the vertices of the curve. And if I right click again, you can see we also have curve points. Now a curve point simply defines a place on the curve where we will do something. So once I have curve points selected, I can and left-click and notice how I can move this point anywhere I want on the curve. And once I have that point I can then do an operation at that position on the curve. Now, before I do this, let's take a look at this. So if I'm going to right click here notice how I have a control vertices here, here, and here, you might be able to see them a little bit better if I turn on hall, you can see I've got one, two, three and that defines this portion of the curve. We can use curve points to insert a place where we will change that curve. So I'm going to go ahead and put a curve point right about there and then make sure I'm in my modeling menu set and under curves, I'm going to insert a non and that essentially inserts another control Vertex. So when I do that and right click and go to control vertex notice how I have this additional point where there were three, there are now four. So I have this additional point that I can use to modify my curve. So essentially I've just inserted detail into that curve. I'm going to right click and go into object mode. So those are some of the basics of nerves curves. We have control vertises, which define the shape of the curve. We also have control points, which allow you to do operations at specific points on the curve.

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