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Introduction to Operators - Arnold for Maya

This short tutorial will cover how to use the set_parameter, collection, and disable operators to change the lights and self-shadowing of some teapots and alter the shading of the sphere. The scene contains two lights casting shadows on three teapots and a sphere with a simple utility shader assigned to it.

Tip:

Use the ignore_operators flag in Diagnostics> Feature Overrides to check what the render looks like without any operators.

The scene file can be downloaded here.

Note:

Information about how and where to create operators can be found here.

Collection

We will use the collection operator to reference a selection. This can be used to avoid writing a selection multiple times (optional in this case).

  • Create a collection operator containing two teapots. Under selection add the following (we will apply a set_parameter that will only affect these two teapots):
Teapot001Shape or Teapot002Shape

Teapot Collection

Set Parameter (Disable Self Shadows on the Teapots)

  • Create a set_parameter. Create the following expression:
self_shadows=false

Disable Light

We can turn off one of the lights by using the Disable operator.

  • Create a Disable operator and under Selection enter for the following Arnold light:

ArnoldLight001 disabled

Set Parameter: Sphere Utility Shader

Now we will change the overlay_mode for the spheres utility shader.

  • Assign a utility shader to the sphere and rename it to the_utility.
  • Create another set_parameter and under expression enter the following:
overlay_mode="wire"
  • Under selection enter the following:

Utility shader altered with Set Parameter

Final Operator Graph window setup

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