Connecting Nodes with the Connection Editor - Autodesk maya - part 2 - Making Movie - 8

locator1 and locator2 are the two transform nodes for the locators. locatorShape1 and
locatorShape2 are the two shape nodes for the locators. nurbsSphere1 is the transform
node for the NURBS sphere. And nurbsSphereShape1 is the shape node for the sphere; it’s
connected to MakeNurbsSphere1, which is the history node, and to initialShadingGroup.
The initialShadingGroup node is the default shading group that is applied to all geometry;
without this node, the geometry can’t be shaded or rendered. When you apply a new
shader to an object, the connection to initialShadingGroup is replaced with a connection
to the new shader.
9. In the Hypergraph window, use Alt+RMB to zoom out a little.
10. Select the locator1, locator2, and nurbsSphere1 nodes, and drag them away from the other
nodes so you can work on them in their own space.
11. In the Hypergraph, MMB-drag the locator1 node over the nurbsSphere1 node.
12. From the pop-up menu, choose Other at the bottom (Figure€1.7). A new dialog box will
open; this is the Connection Editor.
The Connection Editor is where you create and edit connections between nodes. The
left side of the panel represents the output of a selected node, in this case the locator1
node. The output is the controlling node; the right side is the input, and in this case is
nurbsSphere1, which will be controlled based on whatever connections you make in
the list.
The list represents the attributes of each node. Any of the attributes that have a plus sign
next to them can be expanded to reveal nested attributes. For instance, find the Translate
attribute in the left side of the column, and expand it by clicking the plus sign. You’ll see
that Translate has Translate X, Translate Y, and Translate Z. This means you can choose
either to select the Translate attribute, which will automatically use all three nested attributes
as the output connection, or to expand Translate and choose one or more of the
nested Translate X, Y, or Z attributes as the output connection. In some situations, a connection
becomes grayed out, indicating that the connection between the two attributes
cannot be made, usually because the connection is not appropriate for the selected attributes

(see Figure€1.8).
Figure€1.7
You can connect
two nodes in the
Hypergraph by
MMB-dragging one
on top of the other
and choosing from
the options in the
pop-up menu.

Connecting Nodes with the Connection Editor - Autodesk maya - Making Movie - 7

Connecting Nodes with the Connection Editor

Connections between nodes can be added, deleted, or changed using the Hypergraph and
the Connection Editor.
1. Start a new Maya scene.
2. Create a locator in the scene by choosing Create  Locator. A simple cross appears at the
center of the grid in the viewport. This locator is a simple nonrendering null that indicates
a point in space. Locators are handy tools that can be used for a wide variety
of things in Maya.
3. Press the w hot key to switch to the Move tool; select the locator at the center of the grid,
and move it out of the way.
4. Press the g hot key to create another locator. The g hot key repeats the last action you performed,
in this case the creation of the locator.
5. Create a NURBS sphere in the viewport by choosing Create  NURBS Primitives 
Sphere. If you have Interactive Creation selected, you’ll be prompted to drag on the grid
in the viewport to create the sphere; otherwise, the sphere will be created at the center of
the grid based on its default settings.
NURBS
A Non-Uniform Rational B-Spline (NURBS) object is a type of surface that is defined by a network
of editable curves. Chapter 3 introduces how to create and model NURBS surfaces.
6. Move the sphere away from the center of the grid so you can clearly see both locators and
the sphere.
7. Use the Select tool (hot key = q) to drag a selection marquee around all three objects.
8. Open the Hypergraph in connections mode by choosing Window 
Hypergraph:Connections. You should see eight nodes in the Hypergraph (see Figure€1.6).

Figure€1.6
The input and output
connections
of the two locators
and the sphere
are graphed in the
Hypergraph.