Tutorial 6 Animated Stair

In the side view, with the snap to curve on, use the EP curve tool to draw a straight horizontal curve that is approximately 6’.

Starting from the end of the 4’ line use the CV curve tool draw a 90
degree curve.

Starting at the end of the curve using the EP curve tool, draw a straight vertical curve that is approximately 8’.

Now draw another 90 degree curve and a straight line approximately 6’.

go to the surface menu> edit curves> attach curves and click on the box

Attach method is connect and keep multiple knots

Select one curve and hold down shift, and select another, attach.
Use the ‘g’ key to repeat command

After all the curves are attached go to edit> delete by type, and delete history

Got to the perspective window with the curve selected center pivot and press the letter ‘f’

In the range slider at the bottom of the screen, change the left 24 to 100 (its highlighted)

You will see the time slider change from 24 to 100, now set the time slider to one

Select snap to line, and move the center pivot to the top end of the curve (hold down d)

With the curve selected, open the channel editor, go to channels > key all, you will see the channel editor change color, and a red mark on the time slider (Maya 2010 might be different)

Move the time slider to 50

Translate the curve to 50 on the x axis

Scale the curve out 3 on the y and 4 down z

Key all

Move the time slider to 100

Translate the curve to 100 on the x axis

Scale the curve to 1.5 on the y and 6 on the z

Key all

Hit play to watch the curve move

With the curve selected go to the animation menu > animate> create animation snapshot and click on the box

Select “time slider”, increments of 2 (this will give us curves every 2’) and “Fast”

You should see the animation snapshot

Select the original curve and put on new layer called ‘curve’ and turn off the layer

Select the snapshot group on put on layer called snapshot

Select the snap shot group in the options window
In the surface menu, go to edit curve> rebuild curve and click on the box

Rebuild type= uniform
Parameter range= 0 to 1
Keep CV
Keep original

Keeping the rebuilt curves selected translate them on the x 2 feet

Put the rebuilt curves on a layer called “rebuilt”

Now when you select on of the original curves in the snapshot its rebuilt
Product should turn pink

Select one original and its rebuilt
In the surface menu, go to surface>loft and click on box

Output geometry= polygons
Select quads and count
Count = 100

Use g to repeat command

Select the lofted surfaces and put them on a new layer

Go to the polygon menu edit mesh> make sure keep faces together is on
and extrude without an offset. In the channel editor, local translate z = .167 (2”)

With wire frame on shaded selected, select original curve, and see everything turn pink

With the original curve selected, move time slider to 50, and scale y to 4


key all


turn off all layers except for the ‘snapshot’

select the snapshot and in the surface menu got to surfaces> loft

Loft the snapshot curves with a nurbs, (mach slide)

Turn off snap shot layer, and put lofted nurbs surface on a new layer

Select the nurbs surface and in the surface menu, go to edit curves> duplicate surface curves

Put duplicated surface curves on new layer, and turn off lofted surface

Now select the four curves shown and put those on a new layer

Translate the four curves up z 20

Translate the shown curve down to z 3

Turn the nurbs surface back on, and select it. With the right mouse button push, select isoparm

Select the edge of the surface, selecting the isoparm.
With the isoparm selected, in the surface menu, go to edit curve duplicate surface curve

Turn off the nurbs surface layer, and loft the two curve with a polygon

Now select the new curve, and translate z= 2

Turn the surface curve layer on and extrude the new surface local translate z=.167