Introduction To Python Programming For Maya Animators

Learn the basics of coding and scripting in Python to create your own tools in Maya

What you'll learn

Learn the basics of programming with Python

Create production-ready tools for Maya

Automate and improve animation workflows

Gain a strong foundation to continue learning programming

Requirements

Autodesk Maya installed. The course uses Maya 2020, but any version newer than 2017 will work.

No programming experience required. You will learn everything you need to know related to Python and coding in Maya.

Basic knowledge of Maya. The course does not teach how to use Maya, you should know how to reference a rig into a scene and understand what a "namespace" is, but don't worry if you don't as you can quickly and easily learn it from an online tutorial.

Description

Welcome to this Introduction to Python Programming for Maya Animators course!In this course you will go from zero to a comfortable level of programming knowledge that will allow you to create your own tools, automate tedious and boring parts of your workflow and help yourself and your team work a lot more efficiently.This course is meant for animators that are looking to expand their skillset to be able to improve and focus on their craft.As the title implies, the course will be more relatable to animators and layout artists, mainly due to the nature of the projects, however anyone working in Maya will benefit from the lectures if they are looking to learn Python programming.What is covered?Foundational programming concepts in Python: Loops, if statements, functions, lists, dictionaries, etc.Fundamental techniques and best practices: Even if it's a beginners course you will learn some best practices that professional TDs and developers use.Maya cmds library: The skills you'll acquire are broad programming skills, but the projects use the cmds library a lot since the tools being created are for Maya.Production tools: You will finish the course with actual tools that you can use in your work.UIs: You will learn how to create UIs using the built-in libraries in Maya.What is NOT covered?Python classes: Classes are an essential part of Python, and they might be included in the future, however you can create some very powerful tools and scripts without them which is why they are not taught in this course. With that said, once you learn the concepts covered in this course you will be able to understand classes easily.PyQt: Qt requires a good understanding of classes, and it's a more advanced UI framework that might even be worth being in a separate course. For this introductory course the focus is on the UI features of the cmds library which are still very useful and easier to master for someone who just started learning.Who is this course for?Maya artists: This course will NOT teach you how to use Maya, you might learn some new Maya tricks, but it is assumed that you have some basic knowledge of Maya (although you do not need to be advanced at all).Complete beginners or people with some basic knowledge of Python.Programmers looking to become familiar with Python for Maya. The contents are geared towards beginners, but the projects might help someone become familiar with Maya and its libraries.Who is this course NOT for?Intermediate to advanced programmers: If you already have a good understanding of concepts such as functions, basic data structures, mutability, for loops, etc. you might benefit from a more advanced course.Best way to approach the course:Follow the projects in order: The projects are designed to introduce new concepts naturally as they are needed, from the most basic to more complex, and each project will reuse previous knowledge.Deep Dives: The deep dives give you a break from the project to delve deeper into a specific topic. They are placed after a concept has been introduced, you might want to watch them immediately after learning the concept but you can also treat them as a reference library to go back to in the future.Source Code: Keep a look out for the resources in each lecture, you will have be able to download the files with the source code for a portion of the project.Video Timestamps: Unfortunately this platform doesn't offer timestamps on videos but you will be able to download text files (in resources) with time codes for important points in the lecture.Quizzes and Exercises: You will find quizzes and coding exercises after some lectures, these are optional, but a great way to practice.FAQsCan I become a TD with this course?This is a beginner course which might not be enough to get a job as a professional TD, but it will definitely give you a strong foundation to continue learning what you need.Will this help my career?It could, but it depends on your goals, it will definitely make you an asset as someone who has both artistic and technical skills. If you are leaning towards a technical career this will give you a good foundation to continue on that path, which can lead to a very rewarding, stable and well paid career.Can I include this course on my LinkedIn?This is not a certification (yet), however it could definitely benefit you to mention that you complete this Python course.What if I'm a student and don't know animation or Maya very well?That's ok, you don't need to be a professional not an advanced user. Knowing the very basics such as navigating the viewport and creating a cube will allow you to get started, there might be things you're not familiar with such as rig references, but you can easily learn them from a free tutorial online.Can I use an older Maya version?You could, most of the Maya commands covered will work, however there's not guarantee that all of them will. If that is the case you can use the Q&A section (or a quick google search) to get help.Is this just for animators?Not necessarily. The projects are animation related, which will be a lot more familiar with someone working with animation, layout or rigging than to someone focusing on lighting for example, but the actual programming concepts covered are applicable to all departments.

Overview

Section 1: Introduction

Lecture 1 Introduction

Lecture 2 Script Editor Overview

Section 2: Your first Python program

Lecture 3 Hello Maya

Lecture 4 Intro to cmds library and imports

Section 3: 1st Project - Prop Rigging Tool

Lecture 5 Project Intro

Lecture 6 Tool Breakdown

Lecture 7 Creating the Tool

Lecture 8 Modifying the Control

Lecture 9 Deep Dive - Help & Documentation

Lecture 10 Working With Node Names and Lists

Lecture 11 Extending the Tool with "if" Statements

Lecture 12 Deep Dive - "if" Statements and booleans

Lecture 13 Introduction to Functions

Lecture 14 Turn Code Into a Function

Lecture 15 PyCharm - Install and Setup

Lecture 16 Creating a Module

Lecture 17 Deep Dive - Functions

Section 4: 2nd Project - Pose Transfer Tool

Lecture 18 Project Intro and Breakdown

Lecture 19 Namespaces and Lists

Lecture 20 Selection and "for" Loops

Lecture 21 "for" Loops Overview

Lecture 22 Getting Attributes

Lecture 23 Storing the Pose - Intro to Dictionaries

Lecture 24 Storing the Pose - Building the Pose Dictionary

Lecture 25 Applying the Pose

Lecture 26 Building Main "Transfer" Function

Lecture 27 Intro to UIs

Lecture 28 Creating the UI

Lecture 29 Project Recap

Lecture 30 Deep Dive - Strings

Lecture 31 Deep Dive - Loops

Lecture 32 Deep Dive - Lists, Tuples, Sets

Lecture 33 Deep Dive - Dictionaries

Section 5: Final Project - Pose Library

Lecture 34 Project Intro

Lecture 35 Creating the Python Package

Lecture 36 Working With Files

Lecture 37 Saving Poses to JSON Files

Lecture 38 Reading Poses From JSON Files

Lecture 39 Creating the UI

Lecture 40 Connecting the Functionality and Sharing Your Tools

Animators interested in learning the fundamentals of programming with Python for Maya.,The projects in the course will be more relatable to animation and layout artists, however it will benefit anyone working with Maya.