STEP BY STEP EXPLORE MAYA’S UPDATED BOOLEAN FEATURES
01 NEW OPERATIONS
The first thing you will notice is that there are more options when it comes to the type of Boolean operation you choose to begin with. Previously you only had Union, Difference and Intersection but now there are Slice, Hole Punch and Cut Out to name just a few. Don’t worry though, the choice isn’t set in stone because you can still interactively change them in the new UI.
02 STACK-BASED UI
After you apply the Boolean things start to look very different. The main model will switch to a wireframe display and a new tab will open in the attribute editor. It’s here where you can adjust the type of Boolean operation you want to use, tweak display properties, and play around with the overall effect. It’s a much cleaner and user-friendly way to work compared with the previous version.
03 DRAG AND DROP
One option I like about this update is the ability to now drag new models into the stack. Let’s say you need to create a series of cavities in a cyborg’s face, like in the example. Rather than create multiple Booleans, which can make things a lot more unstable, you can use just one and add models to it. You then have all the same options as the first model for maximum flexibility.
04 ADJUST THE MODEL ORDER
As mentioned, the new Boolean tool is entirely stack-based now, meaning that you can go in and adjust the order of the models listed in the Boolean tab. This is very handy if you accidentally selected the models in the wrong order to begin with, which is something I often do. Instead of redoing the Boolean you can simply move the models around to correct the mistake.