not sure 'closer' is the right word. Think of the Hypershade with a
sprinkle of ICE alike nodes.
Some of the benefits, most of the UI mess is still there....
Rob
\/-------------\/----------------\/
On 17-3-2014 15:37, Manuel Huertas Marchena wrote:
'Humanize Maya'... I like that! +1
...I don't know what is it but the render tree of soft just felt right
to the eyes the interface was clean and the way the nodes
flow in a shading tree regardless of its size was always ok good for
me. With hypergraph I don't feel the say way at all
it looks clumsy and not as elegant as soft's render tree... haven't
use the node editor yet... but people say its closer to softs render
tree right... I ll have to take a look..
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------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: [email protected]
Date: Mon, 17 Mar 2014 15:02:32 +0100
Subject: Re: Maya UI aesthetics
To: [email protected]
Indeed, that would do wonders to my willingness to learn the application.
Another example of a UI that scared me away is Digital Fusion,
http://img.tamindir.com/ti_e_ul/genel/digital.jpg
It's not icons, but 100 abbreviated text buttons, it pretty much just
as bad. The problem is that everything is just layed out in a flat
mess, and it's only helpful to an experienced user who knows all the
nodes already. And if it's not somewhere in the pile, it's in some
menu on top – I guess?
What Softimage do is to divide everything into groups very
consistently. Color coded modules, then always Get/Create/Modify, or
some variant of that. You don't need to remember where most of the
stuff is, because it's usually in the only logical place. And it
always writes the shortcut next to the command for quick learning.
Also, the Hotbox in Maya is a good concept, but horribly executed in
terms of design. I wish it was a nicer experience. Softimage's simple
context sensitive popup menu does most of what you need most of the time.
On Mon, Mar 17, 2014 at 12:21 PM, Eugen Sares <[email protected]
<mailto:[email protected]>> wrote:
Cite from Chris Vienneau:
As for the workflows we have an internal project
called Project H (or Humanize Maya) where we are working with
all sorts of users from students to pros to studios to come up
with proposals to the problems that have come up here and in
the Maya user base. We invite anyone here and many of you have
taken up our offer to contribute and it is up to us to show
that we are delivering over the next two years during the
transition period. If we don't at the end than you will all
have choices and plenty of time to evaluate your options.
'Humanize Maya'... I like that!
It brings me to a topic that often seems to falls short in
discussions about a user interface, due to the technical nature of
3d applications: aesthetics/readability.
Not workflow logic/consistency/ergonomics, which are of course
absolutely vital (and also one of Maya's big weaknesses, but I'm
leaving this out intentionally for now), but just the sheer visual
appearance.
An equally important piece in the puzzle in my opinion.
As someone with an education and background in graphics design, I
dare to say that Maya's UI is ugly. Like the devil's old grandmother.
Why?
Imagine the cockpit of a jet plane riddled with such a motley
bunch of deranged elements and icons... get the point?
Presenting complexity in a way that can be processed by our visual
cortex with the least effort is an art form, and Maya fails
miserably. Softimage did it right.
Ironically, where Maya shows it's qualities mostly (...) is as a
studio 'backbone' - exactly where you would least expect people
fancying funny little fiddly colored icons.
Like putting a hello kitty sticker on the airplane's throttle
control....
Some recommendations:
Generally, reduce the visual clutter! Hide everything that isn't
important - show in only in the proper context.
Hire graphics designers, in addition to user interface designers,
if you didn't already - the best you can find. The ones with a
good taste.
Text instead of icons, wherever you can!
For me, it's no question that text is easier to 'read' than icons,
from a certain (quite low) level of complexity on. A simple arrow
is ok, but just don't tell me most of those Maya icons are
intuitive...
Tastes are different, true, but at least give the user the option
to switch icon/text, or both!
Offer a colorless UI scheme, or at least one with a much reduced
palette!
Make the UI steplessly scalable! You probably have the chance now,
after all you use Qt.
The hypergraph/hypershade icons, also the Bifröst nodes, from what
I see... horrible design. Compare this to ICE!
Try to find a color code where the different colors have the same
lightness. E.g. dark blue is barely visible, and you get a
confusing and misleading visual contrast between elements of equal
importance.
Get inspired... Softimage has this noble, modest and efficient
appearance. Windows Metro - if Microsoft has the courage for such
a step, maybe you do, too.
Less is more - I can't think of a better example of that old saying!
We all eat with our eyes also, don't we, and after all 3d
users are mostly visual people (sometimes I'm not so sure about
developers).
All this might sound superficial, but when it helps keeping track,
it ain't anymore.
And, finally, what harm is done when your girlfriend puts one some
mascara... ; }
Thanks for your attention!
Respectfully,
Eugen
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