Maya 2011 mia_material_x Tutorial Part 2 of 2 by Stuart Christensen

The mia_material_x is a mysterious shader that is intended for use within the Physical Sun and Sky system in Maya, it stands for "mental image architectural" and is a shading group that is optimized for the Physical Sun and Sky and replicates chrome, copper, water, and glass through presets which offer a starting point. This tutorial by Stuart Christensen will help de-mystify the mia_material_x and help you create a quick starting point for creating awesome copper, gold, brass, and shiny stuff with or without the physical sun and sky lighting node. This is part 1 of 2 that explores how to use the mia_material_x.

Category:

Film & Animation

Tags:

• Maya
• 2011
• mia_material_x
• Mental
• Ray
• tutorial
• Stuart
• Christensen
• Gold
• copper
• chrome
• glass

[NoFaithNoPain]

This Tutorial was great. My question would be, how did you bend the text around the central sphere? I can make the text, but I do not know deformers very well. IS there a very quick way of doing it? I tried a non linear deformer but it just created a green vertical line LOL

[deepfriedectoplasm]

@NoFaithNoPain There's several ways to do it. Check out my actual cahnnel page and scroll through all the tutuorials, there is one there called Basic Nonlinear Deformers tuotorial which should help. If you select the text and then attach a deformer, that green line just needs to be rotated 90 degrees to follow the text (x axis), and then you play with the bend1 curvature control to make it bend. Your almost there and you have the right idea.

[EmmiaVo]

Im beginer, please tell me how to create the big sphere to cover the object in this tut???????? thanks

[deepfriedectoplasm]

@EmmiaVo Go to the create menu and choose Nurbs or Polygon Sphere, click Right Mouse click and hold down on the grid and pull out a sphere. To make it really large, choose the scale tool and RM click hold on the center Yellow handle and pull it out to the size you need. OK?

[timaging]

yeah, what I do for the gradient background is to use a ramp. This way I can control not only the gradient and it's color on the fly, but also the values... so, under indirect lighting instead of using a file, I use a texture and select ramp... you can squeeze that and bump the white, or just use a regular gradient.

[deepfriedectoplasm]

@timaging Ah yes I understand! There's so many different ways of doing things in Maya, sometimes I try and pick one approach for a tutorial and it may or may not be the best or most efficient. I love the ramp shader and all it's uses, it's so versatile. Thanks for sharing, perhaps a Mighty Ramp Shader tutorial should be on the horizon! All the best!

[nancodisco]

your tutorial helps me very much.. thanks..

[NoFaithNoPain]

@deepfriedectoplasm Sorry - I can see "Deformer Basics For Creating and Animating Stuff" is that the one?

[PixelDroid]

Great job. Thanks so much.

[jsbenson99]

These are the best tutorials I've seen. I would very much like to see some 2hr tuts :-)

Keep 'em coming

Thanks

[shikamaru5608]

Hi there, great tutorial!! I was just wondering if there is a way to apply mia materials and lay a texture map on top of it. I'm trying to do glass, but there is a texture I made in Photoshop that I want to put onto that glass. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

[goodeldash]

is it possible to make chrome surface without mental ray (just maya software)?