Simply Maya - Apache Tutorial: The Complete Apache Helicopter Project

This is a unique tutorial series and there's nothing similar to it available online today, as it's a 29 hour long complete project covering modeling, texturing, scene lighting, rigging, animation and compositing of the AH-64 Apache Combat Helicopter. Throughout this project you'll learn lots of useful techniques in all different fields of Maya that you can apply to your own work. Because this model has such a high level of detail and the project will take a long time to follow through with we recommend that you have some previous modeling experience before you start on this tutorial series. You'll learn how to build shading networks for models and environments and lighting up complete outdoor scenes, both in Maya Software and Mental Ray with Image Based Lighting. We also look at how to post process renders for stills and animations, work with render layers and passes in compositing, color correction, motion blur and luminance depth. The Apache tutorials do not come with scene files, being a complete project we take you through the process of creating your own scenes.

Lessons 1 - 33: Hard Surface Modeling

In this section you will be using a reference image and model the AH-64 Apache Combat Helicopter based on it. The tutorial covers 19 hours of hard surface modeling using many different polygon modeling tools and techniques to get a fully quaded model, it is one of the most extensive modeling tutorials ever made.

Lessons 34 - 41: Shading, Lighting, Compositing & Rendering in Maya Software

In this section we cover the UV layout and texturing for the model and creating the environment it sits in. You will learn how to work with shading networks and illumination for a complete scene rendered in Maya Software as well as production techniques for post processing a still render.

- Creating a CG Sky with Environment Textures & Cloud
- IPR Rendering for Material & Light Tweaks
- Creating Shading Networks in Hypershade with Procedurals
- Adding Mountains to the Background
- Rendering with Maya Software
- Complete Scene Lighting
- Using Depth Map Shadows
- Render Layers
- Render Passes
- Editing & Compositing Final Renders in Photoshop
- Adding Fake Fog, Air & DOF in Photoshop using Z-Depth Information

Lessons 42 - 49: Rigging, Animation, Compositing & Rendering in Mental Ray

In this section you'll learn the techniques for rigging and animating the AH-64 Apache Helicopter. You'll also learn environment lighting with Image Based Lighting and HDRI in Mental Ray. These parts will help you understand so many different techniques that you will need throughout your time as an animator.

- Setting up Animation Preferences
- Rigging the Rotors with Custom Attributes, Expressions & Deformers
- Apache Rigging
- Animating Apache with Motion Path & Hand Keying
- Using Playblast Function
- Animating Hand Held Cameras with Custom Attributes Hand Keying & Expressions
- Lighting a Scene with Image Based Lighting (HDR)
- Rendering with Mental Ray & Final Gathering
- Creating an Environment for Animation
- Rendering Ground Shadow Passes
- Projecting Ground Textures
- Baking Animations
- Render Layers
- Saving Motion Information and Post Motion Blur
- Compositing with Digital Fusion
- Color Corrections
- Z-Depth Effects: Fog & Depth of Field
- Overview for Sprite Particles
- Adding Heat Distortion and Exhaust Smoke

This tutorial was created for Simply Maya by Kari Brown who's a professional VFX artist and has worked on many major motion pictures such as Harry Potter, Cloverfield and The Dark Knight.