Rendering 3D Models with Autodesk Maya
There are two ways to preview and render 3D elements in Toon Boom Harmony. You can render your scene using the OpenGL preview, or render calling Autodesk Maya, Pixie or 3Delight in the background.
If you do not set up a plugin to preview your model with Maya or your 3D software, the preview and rendering will be done using the OpenGL preview. The result will look flat and jagged, but it can be very handy while working and exporting shots for approval.
If you render a scene calling Autodesk Maya, Pixie or 3Delight, you will get a smooth result with texture and lighting.
Before you can render the 3D objects you imported in Harmony through Autodesk Maya soft render, you must prepare your system by setting some environment variables, and adjusting the Node view in Harmony.
This section is divided as follows:
• | Preparing the Project Directory |
• | Setting the Path on Windows |
• | Setting the Script on Mac OS X |
• | Setting the Path on Windows |
Preparing the Project Directory
- Copy your original Maya binary file *.mb into your Harmony project directory at the same location as the .fbx file you imported. This .fbx file should be in the elements folder, inside a subfolder named like the element.
Example: If the element is called PirateShip,then the subfolder should be named PirateShip
.
- Rename the .mb file so it has the same name as the *.osb file. You saved the Maya *.mb file in Exporting a 3D Object for Harmony Using Autodesk Maya of this document.
For example: If the *.fbx is called PirateShip-1.fbx, name the *.mb: PirateShip-1.mb
.
- Copy any textures used in the Maya project into this same folder.
Setting the Path on Windows
The path needs to be set up so that when Harmony launches Maya, it knows exactly where to look for the application. On Windows, this can be set up using an environment variable.
- From Start, right-click on Computer and select Properties.
- From the Computer Properties dialog box, select Advanced System Settings.
The System Properties dialog box opens.
- In the System Properties dialog box, click Environment Variables.
The Environment Variables dialog box opens.
1. | The first variable to set up is the Maya path. In the System Variables section, browse for the Path variable and select it. |
- Click Edit.
The Edit System Variable dialog box opens.
- In the Variable value field, add a semicolon (;) at the end of the last path.
- Copy the path to the bin folder of Maya following the semicolon.
For example: For Autodesk Maya 2011 on Windows, the path would be as follows:
C:\Program Files\Autodesk\Maya2011\bin
bin
folder from the browser window to ensure you have the exact path.- Click OK.
Setting the Script on Mac OS X
The Path needs to be set up so when Harmony launches Maya, it knows exactly where to look for the application. On Mac, you can set this up by placing a script in usr/bin
.
Follow these steps to create the script to call Maya and to set it up.
From the Terminal, you must create a file in which to save the script.
- Switch to the directory in which you want to create the script file:
cd /usr/bin
- If the
bin
directory does not exist, then create it:
mkdir /usr/bin
- Create the script file called
maya
:
sudo vim maya
- Type in your password to get administrator access.
- From inside the text editor, select "
i
" to go to Insert Mode, and copy and paste the following text. Make sure the path is updated to the version of Maya you have running on your machine.
#!/bin/bash
exec /Applications/Autodesk/maya2014/Maya.app/Contents/MacOS/Maya "$@"
- Save and exit:
Esc :wq
- Edit the file to make sure all users can access it:
chmod ugo+x maya
Setting the Path on Linux
The path needs to be set up so when Harmony launches Maya, it knows exactly where to look for the application. You can either do it in a tcshrc or a bash shell. In both instances, you are simply adding your path to the beginning of the $PATH environment variable. Note, this should generally be added to your .tcshrc file ( in your home directory ) or in your .bash_profile, depending on the type of shell you use.
- Do one of the following:
‣ | In a tcshrc shell: |
setenv PATH /whatever/the/path/to/Maya/is:$PATH
‣ | In a bash shell: |
export PATH=/whatever/the/path/to/Maya/is:$PATH