Yesterday after being introduced to Maya, we were given our first task of modeling a desk lamp with the software; focusing on the more basic shapes used to create an object at first. Initially, I was rather overwhelmed by the software despite my experience (although little!) with zBrush.
Maya feels similar to zBrush but different in a multitude of ways. Some of the shortcuts are very similar as well as navigation and the depth you can take a model in, although rather than sculpting a model in a sketchy-experimental manner, you are left with the tools to play with and precisely create objects a polygon at a time.
In this initial stage I grasped a few basic techniques for modeling in Maya but focused more on the basic object manipulation in general. My first lamp (below) turned out as expected - very basic. Critique on my model is rather hard at this point as we have only one workshop on the software so far. I could bevel the edges of parts of the lamp, for a smoother finish.
From this initial lamp (2 hours of figuring the program out!) I was tasked to create a second lamp outside of the workshop. This is a rough model I created in around 30 mins, which is a lot faster than the first lamp! As the focus was on basic shapes, that is what I focused on.
I will continue working on this model to increase the quality. The lampshade needs to be thinned out on the inside and better curvature should be added to the body of the light for a smoother transition in shape.
I do like the beveled edges I added to the base as it feels much less rigid and stiff, although they could be a little more rounded to enhance the appearance.
