Extruding is a powerful tool in Maya that allows you to create complex shapes and models quickly and easily. Whether you’re creating cogs, gun barrels, or other intricate objects, extruding can help you achieve the results you need. However, it’s important to use this tool correctly to avoid unexpected results.
To get started with extruding, create a cylinder and increase the number of sides to 20. Next, select the top group of faces carefully. Make sure you have selected the right faces; otherwise, the pivot point of those faces would move to an unexpected location. Always keep an eye on your pivot point and make sure it doesn’t end up somewhere strange.
When you extrude, you get a widget that allows you to rotate, move, and scale the selected faces. You can click on the circular part to rotate, move the widget up and down to move it along the z-axis, or click on the cubes to expand or scale along the x or y axis. Usually, you will extrude along the z-axis, which is the blue axis.
One of the most useful features of extruding is that whatever you do to one face, it will duplicate that effect across all the others. For example, if you want to create cogs, select every other face and extrude. Move the widget to create the shape you want, and you’ll see that it duplicates the effect across all the other faces.
It’s important to use the widget correctly, though. If you move a face under normal circumstances, it will move all the faces together as a group. However, if you move one and then copy the effect to all the others, it will create a different effect.
To extrude multiple faces at once, click on “extrude” and move them along the y-axis. You’ll see that it moves all the faces along each individual and z-axis. You can also scale your objects by using the widget, but remember that it will apply to all the other faces as well.
Extruding is a versatile tool that can save you a lot of time and effort in your Maya projects. With a little practice, you can master this tool and create complex shapes and models quickly and easily. So, have a play around with it and get to grips with the different types of movement and scaling available to you.