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Week - 1
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Week 1: Introduction to Fundamental Concepts
Topic: Concepts of light, color, and rendering in 3D. Overview of the Maya interface and basic use of the Arnold render engine.
Application: Create a simple geometric object (cube, sphere) and render it with basic lighting in Arnold. |
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Week - 2
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Week 2: Fundamentals of Textures and Shaders
Topic: What is a texture? Different types of textures (color, normal, roughness, etc.). Basic parameters of Arnold shaders (AiStandardSurface).
Application: Apply a ready-made texture file (e.g., a brick wall) to a given object and examine the effects of different shader parameters. |
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Week - 3
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Week 3: Fundamentals of UV Mapping
Topic: The importance of UV mapping. Introduction to the Maya UV Editor, automatic UVs, and planar, cylindrical, and spherical projections.
Application: Students prepare a simple object of their choice (e.g., a glass or bottle) for texturing using UV mapping techniques. |
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Week - 4
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Week 4: Advanced UV and Introduction to Retopology
Topic: Tools for cutting, sewing, and arranging UVs. Organizing UV shells.
Application: Properly unwrap and arrange the UVs of a more complex object (e.g., a toy car) to apply a texture. |
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Week - 5
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Week 5: Understanding Surface Textures of Objects
Topic: Examining the properties of different surface types (metal, glass, wood, plastic) in Arnold. Roughness, specularity, and transmissive properties.
Application: Create different material shaders (plastic, metal, glass) for a given model, render them, and observe the differences. |
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Week - 6
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Week 6: Reflection & Refraction
Topic: The logic of PBR (Physically Based Rendering). Principles of how surfaces reflect and refract light. Reflection and refraction settings in Arnold.
Application: Render a water drop or crystal object model by adjusting its reflection and refraction properties. |
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Week - 7
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Week 7: Midterm Assignment
Topic: The midterm assignment will be explained. This will be an object modeling assignment that requires students to combine all the topics they have learned so far.
Application: Work on a sample object model (e.g., a coffee maker) together to make final preparations before the midterm. |
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Week - 8
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Week 8: Project Fundamentals and Concept Development
Topic: The post-midterm project assignment will be explained. Creating a concept or story for the project.
Application: Students will determine their project topics and begin working on story outlines or concept visuals. |
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Week - 9
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Week 9: Character, Vehicle, and Environment Lighting
Topic: Three-point lighting technique. Use of key light, fill light, and rim light.
Application: Experiment with different lighting scenarios by applying three-point lighting to a simple character model. |
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Week - 10
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Week 10: Advanced Lighting Techniques
Topic: Types of lights (Point, Spot, Area, Directional). Use of HDRI (High Dynamic Range Image) and the importance of Environment lights.
Application: Create realistic lighting for project models using HDRI. |
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Week - 11
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Week 11: Conveying Emotion with Light and Color
Topic: How light and color affect the atmosphere and emotion of a scene. Warm/cool color palettes.
Application: Use the project models to create an emotional impact with different color and light settings (e.g., day vs. night). |
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Week - 12
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Week 12: Render Settings and Optimization
Topic: Sampling and Ray Depth settings in Arnold. Methods to optimize render time.
Application: Students optimize the render settings for their own projects and take quick preview renders. |
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Week - 13
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Week 13: Render Layers (AOV)
Topic: What are AOV (Arbitrary Output Variables) and why are they used? Exporting render layers and preparing for post-production (in After Effects or Photoshop).
Application: Create separate layers for project renders using AOVs. |
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Week - 14
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Week 14: Project Presentation and Final Preparation
Topic: Students finalize their projects and prepare for the presentation. Feedback and final touches.
Application: Take the final renders of the projects and get them ready for class. |
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