Talk:Autodesk Maya

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External Link

Please Add these useful link to external links -

CGIndia New, Maya Scripts, tutorials, Free 3d Models and Textures!
AREA Autodesk's Official CG Portal for 3ds max and maya !

--Wiki187 16:09, 22 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I dont think the CGIndia site is relevant enough, EL and SPAM issues aside. AREA is far less questionable, but I'm still for keeping it off since it's a portal rather than a specific article or resource. --Ronz 20:47, 22 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

RonZ - please explain "relevant" ???

And let me tell you something about the point of view from the users side, I am least interested in knowing your 5 pillars etc.... but the link I suggested was totally relevant.....Beside using your moderation power and your pride,… Consider logic and common sense as your first tool......The both the link ( CGIndia and AutoDesk’s “AREA”) are relevant for following specified section - visual effects (VFX), Computer Graphics , Maya (software), 3ds Max.....You may invite Wiki users for voting and host a poll :) ..........................May Be some1 above you look into your matter.....Please stop repeating or may i say pasting same old comments on every once post. --Wiki187 11:21, 24 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

The burden is on you is to demonstrate the value of your edits. Also, your personal attacks against me are not appreciated. --Ronz 15:47, 24 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I agree with Ronz on this one. The CGIndia link is just not relevant enough. It is not Maya-specific. There are dozens of websites that provide content similar to that one. I don't see why it merits a link from the Maya page, unless you want to see screenfulls of links here. The Area is more relevant I agree... Martinpw 20:39, 25 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Bias?

The "Select Features" section sounds like an advertisment, in name and content

Kingoomieiii 15:40, 15 May 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I swear--It's like reading the back of the box... If no one wants to improve and expound on it, it would probably best be deleted. --DMAJohnson 17:38, 17 May 2006 (UTC)[reply]

The entire article sounds like an advertisement.

And I'd have to say, no encyclopedia writer would repeatedly refer to the product as "Alias(R) Maya(R), Alias(R) Maya(R), Alias(R) Maya(R)..." A Pattern O 18:30, 10 January 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Cleanup

Here's the kind of thing I think needs cleaning up (I didn't add the tag though).

Forward Kinematics: The reverse of Inverse Kinematics.
Inverse Kinematics: The reverse of Forward Kinematics.
Lighting: In the real world, when light shines on a surface, the parts of the surface facing toward the light source appear illuminated, and the parts of the surface facing away from the light source appear dark. If one object is located between a second object and the light source, the first object casts a shadow onto the second object.

These are some of the most pointless examples, but much of the article seems to be nothing more than an enumeration of features with a brief description of each. I don't think so much detail is of general interest and many of the features listed aren't Maya-specific so don't deserve more than a pasing mention. I think most of it could be condensed to a couple of paragraphs (Maya offers the usual features of 3D modelling programs, such as x,y,z and [ is notable for / is unique in / pioneered ] support of a,b,c). Is all this chaff the result of expansion of the "Select Features" as suggested above under Bias? --Mollymoo 15:54, 29 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

The article uses 'you' a lot; second-person instructions are not encyclopedic. Also, the paragraph in the scripting section is very poor. The example is too specific, and would confuse many readers; and the inclusion of script macros on toolbars is explained too verbosely.--Jeffro77 01:24, 31 December 2006 (UTC)[reply]

The definitions of FK and IK sort of remind me of that classic definition of recursion:

Recursion: noun. See recursion

(Sorry, couldn't resist...) - Skaraoke 07:59, 12 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I removed the descriptions of the modelling features (NURBS details, etc) but forgot to set the description, so I thought I'd post a note here since it was reduced to one sentence. 4.242.132.95 21: 06, 19 March 2007 (UTC)

Maya this, Maya that...

Anyone else annoyed at the amount of times a sentence starts with Maya? Yes, the article is about Maya, we don't have to refer to it every single time; we know it's about Maya.

-G

Clean-up tag?

I think this article is awful. Combined with what's been said above (particularly the 'Maya this, Maya that' and the other 'clean-up' heading), this article contains lots of buzzwords (already tagged), and most of it appears to be copy-and-paste (especially where it refers you to somewhere that isn't in the article). I've found a few places with incorrect grammar as well.

Should this article be flagged? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Marshmello (talk • contribs) 21:36, 7 February 2007 (UTC).[reply]

I don't really know how editing works but I just wanted to point out that this article is awful, one of the worst I've ever read. As someone who knows nothing about Maya I think I can deliver an outsider viewpoint here. My suggestion is to just delete the Scripting and Plugins section as well as the Official Maya Learning Tool sections. The Modeling section at least contains some useful details but it should be a couple of paragraphs at most instead of a list of features. Generally I found it useful to know that Maya has a lot of built-in tools to perform otherwise complicated and lengthy tasks such as animating water or hair or whatever. I could really do without having to read through a bunch of crap about Native Mental Ray Renderers. The entire Modeling section reads like I imagine the Maya manual would and I agree completely that it seems to have been copy-and-pasted from somewhere. It's absolutely terrible, it really is. I've been reading articles on Wikipedia for about two years now and this is the first time I've felt the need to comment.

I'd like to second this. Seriously, this article sounds like a damn advertisement you'd find on their site, not an encyclopedic article. Just read "Overview", and you'll see it. --Joshua Boniface 17:59, 21 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Stop argueing...

If you dont like this software please stop. -JM

south park

should it be referenced somewhere that south park is made with this program? Shadowcelibi 16:00, 4 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Why? - Skaraoke 07:53, 12 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

The best location for the reference were to be in the south park article itself. --194.247.234.182 15:16, 1 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Maybe we could make a List of TV Shows using Maya Article? --65.30.72.135 (talk) 04:43, 13 November 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Some other useful Maya links

Highend 3D Lot's of free downloads for Maya and 3D Studio Max.

Infinitee Designs Hundreds of tutorials for Maya and 3D Studio Max as well as other 3D programs.
3D BuzzV ideo tutorials for Maya and 3D Studio Max and others.

Learning Maya Lot's of tutorials and other infomation.

69.19.14.40 14:48, 12 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

They all are inappropriate for the article. See WP:EL and WP:SPAM. --Ronz 15:37, 26 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Highend3d (nee Lumis) is a fairly respectable Maya resource. It may look like a mess but it's been around as long as Maya has. I don't personally like the site but it's to the detriment of the already shambolic article that it is omitted. 87.194.196.118 01:12, 3 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Citations

i think the history section is completely based on this paper by Casey Alt, so it should probably be cited somewhere:

"The Materialities of Maya: Making Sense of Object-Orientation" (2002) in Tim Lenoir, ed., Makeover: Writing the Body into the Posthuman Technoscape, Two-Part Special Issue of Configurations, Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2003-2004, Part I, Configurations, Vol 10, Number 2, Spring 2002, pp. 203-220.

from [1] at the bottom of the page.

NPOV seriously lacking

This article reads more like promotional literature than an encyclopedia entry. Other computer software articles have been chopped down to almost nothing on this basis, why does this software merit favorable treatment? Information presented can be found on the company's website, the stated reason for truncating other articles.

The discussion of Maya features isn't well done. Some things (such as IK and FK) are common to almost all 3D software and would be better served with a simple link to the corresponding Wikipedia entry rather than suggest these are unique to Maya. Overall, a simple external link to the company's website's feature list would provide better explanations for the reader.

Judgemental words like "appealing", "powerful", "popular"... suggest that this article is the work of a biased advertising copywriter.

Furthermore there seems to be no coverage of well-known drawbacks and faults with the software.

QUESTION

I heard the ff7 was made by maya,is this it?

probably 67.173.245.215 06:44, 15 September 2007 (UTC)[reply]
from what i've read ff7 used a program called power animation which evolved into maya today. You can notice Mayas UI in the behinds the scenes of many movies. two of which are final fantasy: the spirits within and final fantasy 7: Advent children. --69.234.205.36 (talk) 07:32, 2 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Fair use rationale for Image:Autodesk Maya 2008 Mac.jpg

Image:Autodesk Maya 2008 Mac.jpg is being used on this article. I notice the image page specifies that the image is being used under fair use but there is no explanation or rationale as to why its use in this Wikipedia article constitutes fair use. In addition to the boilerplate fair use template, you must also write out on the image description page a specific explanation or rationale for why using this image in each article is consistent with fair use.

Please go to the image description page and edit it to include a fair use rationale. Using one of the templates at Wikipedia:Fair use rationale guideline is an easy way to insure that your image is in compliance with Wikipedia policy, but remember that you must complete the template. Do not simply insert a blank template on an image page.

If there is other fair use media, consider checking that you have specified the fair use rationale on the other images used on this page. Note that any fair use images uploaded after 4 May, 2006, and lacking such an explanation will be deleted one week after they have been uploaded, as described on criteria for speedy deletion. If you have any questions please ask them at the Media copyright questions page. Thank you.

BetacommandBot 05:13, 27 October 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Fair use rationale for Image:Maya2008Screenshot.png

Image:Maya2008Screenshot.png is being used on this article. I notice the image page specifies that the image is being used under fair use but there is no explanation or rationale as to why its use in this Wikipedia article constitutes fair use. In addition to the boilerplate fair use template, you must also write out on the image description page a specific explanation or rationale for why using this image in each article is consistent with fair use.

Please go to the image description page and edit it to include a fair use rationale. Using one of the templates at Wikipedia:Fair use rationale guideline is an easy way to insure that your image is in compliance with Wikipedia policy, but remember that you must complete the template. Do not simply insert a blank template on an image page.

If there is other fair use media, consider checking that you have specified the fair use rationale on the other images used on this page. Note that any fair use images lacking such an explanation can be deleted one week after being tagged, as described on criteria for speedy deletion. If you have any questions please ask them at the Media copyright questions page. Thank you.

BetacommandBot (talk) 23:11, 22 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Input From Nobody

I'm just a guy who understands Maya - not a Wikipedia bigwig, if there is such a thing. I'd agree that the article is kind of a mess - I suspect some of that is the "writing by committee" nature of Wikipedia, but it certainly could be improved a lot. I don't agree that there's too much content, though. To me an encyclopedia should instill a fair understanding of the topic. Yes, some could be internal links. Maya is one of the most complex programs on Earth, and it's difficult to pin down in a few words. It is also fast becoming the industry standard for computer animation. Just some comments. No, it's not one of the great articles, but I do not agree that chopping it down to "It's yet another 3d program" is appropriate, either. Scripting is a unique and powerful feature, for instance - you're not just "running a script" (as Photoshop, for instance). Mel script, as it's called, can alter the behaviour of the program itself - incredibly powerful. Anyway, it's just to say that Maya deserves space and illumination - it's one of the biggies of the industry.Jjdon (talk) 01:33, 8 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

PRICE

HOW MUCH DOES MAYA COST..? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 220.239.232.24 (talk) 02:03, 24 February 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Maya Unlimited 2008 cost US$4,995 according to this artical [2] --69.234.205.36 (talk) 07:47, 2 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Plagiarism

The following section appears to be plagiarized from a Maya instruction manual:

Skinning

‘‘Skinning’’ is the process of setting up a character's model so that it can be deformed by a skeleton. For more information on skeletons, see What are skeletons?. You skin a model by binding a skeleton to the model. You can bind a model to a skeleton by a variety of skinning methods, including smooth skinning and rigid skinning. Smooth skinning and rigid skinning are direct skinning methods. You can also use indirect skinning methods, which combine the use of lattice or wrap deformers with either smooth or rigid skinning."

Note the way that it refers the reader to a "What are Skeletons?" section, while no such section appears to exist in the wiki? As a technical writer, this seem like exactly the sort of thing that I would include in a set of instructions for a reader, but not something I would include on a wiki. We should double check the source of this information and make sure that the Wiki isn't using someone's copyrighted material without citation (noting that word for word copying, even with a citation, is plagiarism anyway).--199.125.45.10 (talk) 17:59, 2 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Founder of Maya

Who's brain founded this software. Who first introduced this very name?ceo 08:32, 13 April 2008 (UTC)

The name "Maya" was coined by Venu Venugopal sometime around 1992-1993.
Clith (talk) 15:31, 19 August 2008 (UTC)[reply]

A bit of insider information: Maya was originally just the codename for the product. The plan was to come up with a new name for the final release. But "Maya" proved so popular internally that it was retained as the released product name. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 99.231.142.105 (talk) 04:30, 25 September 2008 (UTC)[reply]

A fair (or I hope so) comment

At the moment the article sounds "promotional" and therefore doesn't still meet, in my opinion, Wikipedia's standards. However, a thorough cleanup should solve the issue. It also needs more references.Gaius3 (talk) 19:34, 17 April 2008 (UTC)Gaius3[reply]

Wiki article or promotional leaflet?

This part sounds rather promotional of the latest software release and just concerns the avalability of products. Shouldn't it be removed or appropriately rephrased? I'm asking as I'm still not that experienced but it sounds in need of rework to me.

"Official Maya Learning Tools" Along with the history of Maya the company has produced Maya learning tools which date back to the earlier Alias days. Beginning with an internally produced newsletter on Maya software techniques and workflows, the company continued with the internally produced Art of Maya book and training videos and tutorials. In response to strong user demand the company's education department further developed instructional books and video-based learning content referred to as learning tools. Autodesk continues to develop learning tools with content developed both by internal product specialists as well as industry professionals. The company's video-based learning tools have recently moved away from physical production and are now available as digital downloads.

The system requirements for Maya 2008 are as follows:

Windows and Linux: Intel Pentium 4 or higher, AMD Athlon 64, or AMD Opteron processor
Macintosh: Power Mac G5 or Intel-based Macintosh computers
2 GB RAM
2 GB hard disk space
Qualified hardware-accelerated OpenGL graphics card
Three-button mouse with mouse driver software
DVD-ROM drive.

Please your thoughts on the subject. Gaius3 (talk) 20:36, 17 April 2008 (UTC)Gaius3[reply]

Maya Fusion? Maya Composer?

I ran across an old Maya 2.5 demo CD-ROM and it mentioned four Maya products: Complete, Unlimited, Fusion, and Compose. But I don't see any info about Fusion and Compose in this entry. Can someone fill me in? --70.167.58.6 (talk) 15:40, 5 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Maya Fusion was basically Eyeon's Digital Fusion but bundled and branded with Maya, that is the impression I got when I used it. Not sure about the history of that. I don't know what Compose was.Lomacar (talk) 09:06, 16 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Maya composer was a compositing package. Typically this is done with packages such as nreal's Shake these days. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 87.194.173.55 (talk) 11:29, 18 July 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Which is now maya composite 2010. This is derived from Autodesk Toxic. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Darkfox404 (talk • contribs) 11:11, 2 December 2009 (UTC)[reply]

There is no link with Toxik, as this dates back Alias's SGI days. The product was called Alias/Wavefront Composer. It was an SGI-based compositing package that was never ported to other platforms and discontinued around version 4.5. Maya bundled a light version of Composer on SGI, and a light version of Fusion on Windows, as explained above. Alias Composer was used on many films like Starship Troopers and television including the compositing on South Park. Toxik is a new software started at Discreet and Autodesk years before they acquired Alias. --96.20.57.36 (talk) 05:03, 4 December 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Spiderman 2

It is hardly appropriate to use spiderman 2 as a refereance point:

The Maya Cloth toolset has been upgraded in every version of Maya released after Spider-Man 2

Wouldn't a version number be better?

~Like2program —Preceding unsigned comment added by 74.160.3.203 (talk) 17:10, 7 December 2008 (UTC)[reply]

No, it is important to inform readers with this landmark release. 67.232.193.190 (talk) 07:09, 27 December 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Article title as "Autodesk Maya"

Any opposed to moving this article from "Maya (software)" to "Autodesk Maya"? Not only is it the actual, official name of the program but software articles that officially have the company name in the title (such as Adobe Photoshop, Microsoft Word, etc.) do this as well. --Blackbox77 (talk) 14:06, 26 February 2009 (UTC)[reply]

But thoes other programs are called "Adobe Photoshop" and "Microsoft Word". NO ONE calls Maya "Autodesk Maya"

Maya PLE link should go

The link redirects to the trial version of Maya, so it's misleading. Chromecat (talk) 15:57, 20 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Removing the link. Put it back if PLE returns. Chromecat (talk) 13:52, 29 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Plane graphic, NPOV-erd

Previously, the caption of the plane render read "Along with mental ray, Autodesk Maya can create realistic renderings like this". I'm changing it to "An example render of a Maya scene.", as I feel that the previous one is blatantly not NPOV. Also, I could have sworn that I saw the graphic on the Maya site. According to the description page, it is the work of "Aaron1a12", but I highly doubt this. Can someone possibly look into this? I mean, yes, it is a good render, but I get the feeling that it's copyrighted material. James.Denholm^{Talk to me...} 06:14, 25 January 2010 (UTC)[reply]

First Mac Version?

According to this 2001 Wired article [3], the Mac version was released way before the 2006 date mentioned in this entry. What as the first version for Mac? --68.102.163.104 (talk) 04:53, 27 August 2010 (UTC)[reply]