Imagine you're an animation professional, and a producer approaches you to create a short film. Where do you begin? Autodesk's new Maya Fundamentals module will walk you through the basics of 3D construction and animation, while at the same time enabling you to create a story that's entirely your own.
The Extreme Adventure of Ricky the Rat
(Or how an escaped rodent builds a thrill ride)
(Or how an escaped rodent builds a thrill ride)
Ricky is a rat, a domesticated pet with a wild side, who craves adventure. Running around on his exercise wheel isn't quite enough for him. He likes to get out of his cage and explore. This is not an easy task. He has only escaped a couple of times, and then it's back in the cage as soon as he gets caught. He likes to spend his afternoons pretending he's sliding down the stair railings and doing crazy things like the stunts he's seen in the movies (that no one imagines he has been watching).
Ricky may be a small rat, but he's got big ideas and lots of imagination. So he created a master plan. A long time ago, he had managed to sneak into the basement. The basement was full of old junk no one wanted - but to Ricky, it was a dream come true. Remembering the boxes and the broken racetrack he had seen in the basement, he dreamed of the stuff he could build, particularly the race track. His goal was to get back to the basement again and build a wild and crazy obstacle course, something a lot more fun than the wheel in his cage!
The day finally came; the cage door was left open. He leapt out of the door as fast as lightning and shot into the hall. Remembering exactly where the basement was, he scurried down the hall, dashing left and right. Then he saw the stair rail just inside another open door. With a mighty leap, he jumped onto the end of the rail and slid down!
After landing in the basement, he dusted off his fur and surveyed the territory. It was just as he remembered. As he looked around the room, he could see all the cool stuff again and his imagination ran wild. There were objects everywhere - buckets and hammers, a hatbox, a step ladder, boxes, and stacks of papers and books that towered over him. In the middle of all that, Ricky saw the one thing that had had always amazed him: the racetrack! All he could think about was how much fun it was going to be to fly through the turns on a course of his own design (considering it was just his size!). So now it was time to get to work on that Extreme Rat Adventure Ride. What would you build if you were Ricky?
*Resources can be found at Autodesk’s Education Resource Site, http://students.autodesk.com/
