Week 3/4 Scripting - Ex 1 & Ex 2

 Ex 1

Lesson 1:

For the first lesson, I have actually learn how basic MEL scripting commands work in Maya. It teaches me how to:

- Write basic MEL creation commands to bypass the Maya user interface.

- Use flags at object creation time to specify the attributes for the objects.

- Edit the attributes of objects using a command in conjunction with the edit flag.

- Observe the history created in the Script Editor and then copy and paste it into the Script Editor to create your own scripts.

Lesson 2:

Rendered Cube

Creating the Main Lighting, the Rim Light & the Fill Lighting

Things that I've learn in Lesson 2:

- Copy history from the Script Editor history section to create Shelf buttons for easy navigation.

- Save multiple commands as Shelf button.

- Type basic MEL creation commands (to create a polygon and adding lights to stage).

Lesson 3:

Things that I've learn in Lesson 3:

- How to declare, set and use variables.

- Perform mathematical operations to edit the value of a variable.

- Implement dynamics using MEL commands.

Lesson 4:

In lesson 4, I have learn how to create a user interface from an existing MEL procedure.
- Create a window
- Create user interface controls in a window
- Use conditional statements to check the existence of a window
- Use a built-in Maya procedure
- Modify a user interface to add functionality
- Access elements of an array
- Query and edit user interface values
- Save and source a script

With the help of MEL scripting, I could actually create a customized  user interface.

After trying out lessons 1 to 4, it seems to be manageable for me. It looks hard to do but actually it is fun to see how codings actually work in Maya.

Reference:

http://download.autodesk.com/us/maya/Maya2012_Getting_Started/index.html

Ex 2 

Human Walk

Human Run

Zombie Shuffle

 

Final - Creating a User Interface to display Zombies & Humans

The zombie exercise was actually interesting to do. MEL scripting has the ability to do anything to objects. It is able to create user interfaces for users to control the object by pressing the button, etc. I'm sure there are a lot more abilities that MEL scripting can do it's just that we need time and effort for everything.