Maya Jetpack Modeling Task
As a second Maya project, we were tasked with modeling a jetpack. Bit more interesting than a fidget spinner, but it would prove more difficult due to the more complicated shape.
I started off with making one of the thrusters. The plan was to make two thrusters attached to a central block with control panels on it, with two handles with triggers on for the pilot at the front. I created a cylinder primitive with a round cap and scaled it to the size I wanted. I used soft select to make the top long and rocket shaped. I deleted the bottom faces and replaced them with a flat face, which I beveled with 1 segment to create the shape of the bottom of a rocket. I used a pipe primitive to create a ring around the thruster that I would connect to the main body to add detail. A small cylinder was used as a metal bolt.
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I then moved on to the main body. I used a simple cube primitive, scaling it to size and beveling it. I created a simple connector out of a few beveled cubes to attach to the thruster. For the control panel, I made a frame out of an extruded cube and added small cubes and cylinders as buttons. I made a lever out of cylinders, with a similar extruded cube frame around it. A carry handle was added at the top out of a torus shape.
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After duplicating the thruster for the other side, I moved onto the handles. I used beveled cubes for the connecting poles and cubes to connect the two (totally not over using cubes). I then made the triggers out of, you guessed it, cubes. I extruded one face to make the cube into a 'housing' for the trigger. I then added another cube as the trigger. I pulled out the bottom edge to make it curved, and moved it into the housing.
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After duplicating the thruster for the other side, I moved onto the handles. I used beveled cubes for the connecting poles and cubes to connect the two (totally not over using cubes). I then made the triggers out of, you guessed it, cubes. I extruded one face to make the cube into a 'housing' for the trigger. I then added another cube as the trigger. I pulled out the bottom edge to make it curved, and moved it into the housing.
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As a finishing touch I added cylinders to either side of the body, simply to add variety to the shape. Overall I am quite happy with how it turned out. It was a task that allowed for more creativity than the fidget spinner and I had to use a variety of different tools and techniques to complete it.