MayaMan Tutorial: Flat Mirror Reflections

This tutorial explains how to render flat mirror reflections using MayaMan. An example scene with a reference image can be found in the MayaMan Example Scenes Pack which can be downloaded here

Note, this tutorial assumes a certain level of familiarity with 3D Maya, in particular the ability to create objects, animations and materials i.e. you should be able to build simple Maya scenes.

Before commencing, ensure your RenderMan renderers are correctly installed, and that you have performed a successful MayaMan installation.
This type of reflections does not require a raytracing capabel renderer.
Let's start but building a scene consisting of a floor plane, a plane representing the mirror, and a sphere in front of the mirror.
Create a material (eg Phong) in HyperShade, then apply it to the mirror plane. You may want to increase the reflectivity of the material.
Select the material in HyperShade again, and select Add MayaMan Material Attributes from the MayaMan menu. Open up the attribute editor for the material, change to the MayaMan Attribtues tab, and enable the "Flat Mirror" tick box.
Do a MayaMan preview. If you are viewing from a proper angle, the sphere ang ground plane should show up reflected in the mirror plane.
It is also worth noting that the "Flat Mirror" attribute is a member of both the MayaMan Material Attributes, and the MayaMan Model Attributes. The attribute on the Material Attributes Node, if enabled, will override the setting of any material that is applied to the particular model.
Done. If you had any problems/difficulties completing this tutorial, or have suggestions on how to make the tutorial better, or even suggestions for other tutorials, please email support@al.com.au

MayaMan Help Contents