Controlling Depth of Field (DoF) in Maya - Introduction |
In Maya the DoF is the region of focus in a render. This effect mimics the fStop (aperture) of a real camera. DoF is very useful in controlling where the viewers attention should be this is because our eyes naturally pull towards the sharpest pixels.
Why do you say it 'mimics'?
The fStop controls the amount of light that is allowed to pass through the camera lens to the film. The wider the aperture is the more light allowed in, and therefore allowing more elements in a photograph to be in focus.
So why is Maya mimicking this?
Think about the logic here: There is no real light in the scene (even if we add lights they are still fake lights), there is no real physical lens, and there is no physical film. Remember that most of what we do in CGI is more about faking real world phenomenon than anything else.
What we are going to cover is how to enable and control the DoF attributes and finish with a MEL script that allows us to quickly setup interactive control over the DoF. Before we get started I want to thank Suzanne, from Blender, for agreeing to help with this demonstration.
Outline:
1. By the Book – according to the Maya Docs
2. Measure Tools – thinking outside of the box
3. The 'lookAt' Node
4. Automation via MEL
