Maya Project Structure¶

Structure¶

• Project structure should be composed by folder with product name

• Project folder should contain:
• workspace.mel: for projects created on Maya. This file is automatically generated when Set Project is configured inside the software.
• scenes: this folder should contain all project scene files in ASCII format (.ma for Maya)
• sourceimages: this folder should contain all texture files that belong to the materials, lighting, masks, etc...
• lighting maps (HDRI) should be saved inside a folder named environment
• masks files should be stored inside a masks folder
• texture files can be stored in the root of the sourceimages folder
• materials: inside this folder all source material files should be stored (.sbs files for Substance)
• bin: inside this folder is where all binary files should be stored. Files that are ready to use and import to any software.
• materials: folder where all final material files should be stored (.sbsar for Substance)
• It’s a good practice to store each material file inside a folder with the same name
• model: folder where all final geometry files should be stored. No skeleton and animation information should be in them (.fbx format)
• skeleton_meshes: folder where all files with skeleton and animation information should be stored (.fbx format)
• static_meshes: folder where extra parts of model with skeleton mesh will be stored. The intention is to be able to import them as separate files.

Nomenclature¶

• Nomenclature should follow the snake_case convention.
• Project folders should have each element separated by underscore (_), respecting the convention. Examples for all possible namings (single word, multiple words, words and numbers):
• vyner
• kan_i
• my_claudio
• city_up_sneakers
• cabin_36l
• Scene files can be split in two:
• Scene files that only include geometry should have the same name as the project folder
• Scene files that include geometry, skeleton and animation information should have the same name and have _rig added to it

• Material files should be named after the base material:

• Skeleton mesh files should have the project name at first and then name of the skeleton mesh part:

• Static meshes follow the same convention as above: