Chapter 7: Paint Effects

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Maya 8 at a Glance

• Chapter 7 Paint Effects

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Paint Effects Basics

• Paint Effects is a tool that works like a paint
  brush
• Paint Effects can paint 2D effects and textures
• Paint Effects can paint 3D objects, such as grass
  or trees

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The Visor

• The Visor contains a library of preset brushes
  for paint effects

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Basics

• Brushes can be used to create paint, natural
  objects, hair, and other effects
• When a brush is applied to the scene, it creates
  a curve known as a stroke

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Paint Effects Window

• Offers increased performance for painting
• Enables abilities to blur and smear brushes in 3D
• 2D paintings can be created in this window

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Paint Effects Window

• Scene Mode
• Works much like any 3D viewport
• Brushes are fully rendered
• You can use Blur and Smear in 3D
• Easy access to brush attributes
• Canvas Mode
• Undo is limited to one level
• Only images are applied when painting, so post
  stroke editing is not possible

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Brush Types

• Paint Applies paint to the canvas
• Smear Distorts paint already applied
• Blur Softens the look of the paint
• Erase Removes the color from the painted pixels,
  revealing the underlying canvas
• Thin Line Used to render large numbers of fine
  tubes quickly
• Mesh Renders Paint Effects using mesh-based
  tubes instead of brush stamps

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Brush Attributes

• Brush Profile Controls the size and shape of the
  brush as well as softness
• Shading Controls how the brush stroke is
  rendered
• Illumination Allows the brush to appear 3D, much
  like a tube
• Shadow Effects Gives a brush the ability to cast
  shadows into the scene
• Texturing Allows you to apply some procedural
  and bitmapped textures to the brush

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Tubes

• A tube is an object that grows at angles from a
  stroke
• Often used to simulate grass, hair, and complex
  objects
• Tubes can branch out, creating flowers, leaves,
  twigs, and branches

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