Maya Artisan Tutorial
Maya Artisan, or Sculpt Polygons Tool, is the answer to an artist's dream, allowing the 3D form you have built to be manipulated in a manner that simulates the controls you might find with clay. Large sections can be molded with a number of settings that ultimately give the artist more control over her results. Before diving into Maya Artisan, it is a good idea to get a basic understanding of the vocabulary of the Maya program.
Polygons
When working with Polygons in the submenu, the Artisan tool can be found in the Mesh Sculpt Geometry tool box at the far right. Artisan will open with the Attribute Editor and instant access to all the tools' settings will be at your command. Polygons are simple to learn with because the surface is defined by a direct relationship between two points. Ideally you will want to build your models in quads: a square formed by the interaction of four points. Polygons can be manipulated directly, and made more complex very easily through the application of the Mesh Smooth tool, providing more detail to facilitate more refined sculpting.
NURBS
Artisan can be found in the Surfaces submenu in Edit NURBS Sculpt Geometry Tool (always select the box at the far right). Non Uniform Rational B-Splines (NURBS) function differently than the Polygon, as they are a mathematical equation between three points, so the sculpting techniques require a different approach. Most NURBS surfaces will be separated into several patches of information that are sewn together to form one shape. It is easier to use Maya Artisan when the surface patches are attached.
Brush
In the Attribute Editor, the first menu contains the data relating directly to the brush. The radius "U" and "L" can be adjusted to manipulate the brush size. A red ring will appear when you mouse directly over your selected model representing the brush. The Opacity function will control the amount of influence your brush will have on the object in one stroke. Some functions require the opacity to be fairly high (such as with Smooth), but you can only determine the right mix through experimentation and prevalent use of the "Z" key (undo).
Sculpt Parameters
The heavy lifting of Maya Artisan begins to reveal itself as you familiarize yourself with the Sculpt Parameters menu. Within these controls, you can set specific Operations such as Smooth, and Push or Pull. The Reference vector will inform Maya relate the brushes function to the model itself, such as pulling the brush width in the "X direction" (indicated by the view axis representation in the bottom left of your active screen). Max displacement used in cooperation with your Opacity controls will further enhance your ability to control the brush.
