1104064 - Computer Arts Blog

In our lab this week we learned the basics of scripting in maya, and the Python coding. We started of by making a cube, then a grid of cubes and then experimenting with our code.

I ended up with alternating rows of taller rectangles, with tiny square hats on the smaller ones, and alternating cone hats on the front row. The code i used was



import maya.cmds
#For every warrior we want in out army
for z_position in range(20):
    for x_position in range(20):
        #if the z position is even
        if z_position%2 == 0:
             maya.cmds.polyCube(w=0.75, h=3, d=0.75)
             #spawn a cube in a different height
             maya.cmds.xform(t=(x_position-10, 1.5, z_position-10))
        else:
            #Create a cube
            maya.cmds.polyCube(w=0.75, h=2, d=0.75)
            #Positionh the cube in a formation
            maya.cmds.xform(t=(x_position-10, 1, z_position-10))
            #if this is the first cube in a row
            #create a cone above it
        if x_position ==0:
            if z_position%2 ==0:
                maya.cmds.polyCone(r=0.25, h=2)
                maya.cmds.xform(t=(x_position-10, 3.5, z_position-10))
            else:
                maya.cmds.polyCone(r=0.25, h=1)
                maya.cmds.xform(t=(x_position-10, 2.5, z_position-10))
        else:
            maya.cmds.polyCube(w=0.25, h=0.25, d=0.25)
            maya.cmds.xform(t=(x_position-10, 2.125, z_position-10))

This is a useful skill to me that i'm looking to develop much further and hopefully take into scripting and dynamics next semester. It will help me speed up my work pipeline in 3D modelling and rigging by allowing me to use code to do menial repetitive tasks.

My copy of "Maya Python for Games and Film" has arrived , so i will start reading through it.