Basics

The work you do in Maya LT generally falls into these categories:

• Creating models. Polygons, Non-Uniform Rational B-Splines (NURBS), and subdivision surfaces are different object types with different ways of modeling. Each has its own strengths, and different artists prefer working with different types.
  • Polygons let you model a surface by building up and reshaping a number of simple surface facets.
  • NURBS let you easily create smooth, curving surfaces with high-level control.
• Character rigging. Most animations involve “characters,” articulated models such as a person, an animal, robot, or anything else that moves by articulation. Maya LT lets you define internal skeletons for characters and bind skin to them to create realistic movement with deformation.
• Animation. Just about everything you can think of in Maya LT is keyable or able to be animated.
• Texture Baking. When you want to preview a still image of your scene or animation, you can bake textures using Turtle.