How I Went Down a USD Rabbit Hole Only to Fight Windows Instead

Disclaimer: Please research your own system configuratin before applying any changes. This post describes what worked on my setup, and I cannot be held responsible for any issues or damages that occur.

Hi everybody!

Last semester I was a Producer and the CG Production Assistant in StudioX. I’m glad I was able to have that experience in a studio environment while I was in school. It gave me a much deeper understanding of the entire animation and visual effects pipeline. Which will help in many ways, especially with getting into Technical Artist/Director type fields. I prefer the artistic side of things and solving specific problems over managing the projects, artists, and clients though.

With that in mind, I had a client who really wanted to have everything converted from Maya scene files to USD and Arnold shaders to MaterialX. He wants to explore taking the project into other platforms such as Unreal Engine and use the approved assets in AR/VR settings. I totally understand the need. This will save him so much time when expanding later. Since I took scripting for animation and visual effects, I learned how to automate some things using Python. Including a cross platform, cross DCC, slap comp GUI that a CG artist can use to automate creating a slap comp for their CG from Maya to Nuke. So, I was wondering if I could automate this process some way.

This took me down quite the research rabbit hole. First, I needed to understand what steps it took to do this manually before I started coding. Man! There is a lot! I also kept running into the issue of researching the cart before the horse. For example, I was researching the Arnold to MaterialX conversion because I thought that would be the hardest problem to solve. Thinking everything else would flow easily from there. I ran into outdated information on what would convert 1:1 and what would not. Mostly because I wasn’t researching the full USD pipeline yet and did not know additional nodes were available in the LookDevX tool. Well, that tool wasn’t even available to use yet because my project wasn’t set up as USD yet 😅. So, I started researching those steps, came across some videos my old LookDev and Lighting teacher created which had GitHub links, to some scripts that he already found or created to solve this problem. Cool! That project is going into his class next semester anyway. However, it did look like some of it was more copying all this code into your shelf, sort of thing. Then open this tool, then open that tool. I was hoping to create something more like a GUI that would call the scripts it needs and let the artist focus on the task at hand. Something a bit more intuitive. So, as GitHub says, standing on the shoulders of Giants… I will continue to work on turning this into something I would want to use. A GUI that is set up more like a check list, like where do you want to save your conversion file too?

Set button that saves a new file with the USD_Convert appended to the original file name. Then set up the outliner organized for USD with all the Geo: AssetName\Render\Asset – set up a new group under AssetName that says proxy. Ok, everything is organized, now let’s duplicate the geo place it under proxy, (simplify the geo) combine the objects if it is created of a group of objects, reduce the verts (slider), and on and on and on until everything is converted to USD and MaterialX. Although I want to do this, I don’t have to be in a huge hurry to do so. The client is heading to the exact right person for the job. So, I can take my time and make something beautiful.

My friend Lana tells me that I need to take more time to show what I’ve done. That I spend too much time helping other people, and that is hurting my portfolio. She said she knows I’m brilliant but we just gotta get other people to see that too. I don’t know why, when I go back to my previous work, I feel like I’m stepping back and somehow not continuing to move forward. I need to get over that and just show my work.

However, as software changes, and I learn more about what I’m doing… sometimes I run into some technical difficulties. Especially moving things from the school’s remote lab to my personal PC because some stuff we have used is rLAB only. Thank God I have senior portfolio next semester… I can move some stuff back to get some better render passes to add to my work. It will be nice to have some dedicated time just to work on my portfolio.

The class I was most excited about last semester was scripting for animation and visual effects. So, I wanted to start sharing that immediately while it was still fresh in my mind. So, I started a  GitHub and made my first repository for my.SlapCompGUI. I had some help from my friend to just get something up there to show recruiters. This was the biggest, best script I made so far… so I wanted to make sure to get it visibility first. This script was a big deal because it worked on PC, the rLAB PC, and my instructor’s Mac without any issues. I even earned a Letter of Recommendation out of it. However, after watching some of the getting started videos… I realize I could have done somethings differently. Still there is something to show and you can review my script and use it if you want.

Again, I watched some GitHub for beginner videos… I now realize why my instructor said it is better to create a Python folder for all your scripts. For example: C:\Python\Maya or Nuke or Houdini etc. Then change your environment variables to read from that file location. Instead of C:\user\documents\maya\version\scripts. It looks like this would make it a lot easier to sync my work done in Visual Studio Code and Commit the changes to GitHub all while having a history of those changes so that if something breaks… I can revert to what was working easily. Also, this would allow people to fork off or clone my code and add their own fixes/suggestions, making everything way more collaborative.

So, I created my Python\Maya folder and went to change my Maya environment… It didn’t work 😑. So, my AI friend the CoPilot, on smart mode, recommended I check which paths Maya was using for sure. In Maya’s script editor:

So, I created my Python\Maya folder and went to change my Maya environment… It didn’t work 😑. So, my AI friend the CoPilot, on smart mode, recommended I check which paths Maya was using for sure. In Maya’s script editor:

import sys

for p in sys.path:

print(p)

Yup! Maya was using a documents folder in OneDrive! Now OneDrive has it’s uses, but we don’t need everything to go there… Ok Windows 11! My teacher warned us about this causing problems in the future. I’m glad I’m fixing it now before I get too deep in.

Ok, just go to the properties of the documents folder and change it to a different drive, click move, and apply no big deal, right? Well, you would think it would be that easy but, it wasn’t. My Documents folder did not have a location tab to change the properties on. So, I had to go into my shell, Win+R is the shortcut, and type:

shell:Personal

to find where my true documents folder was.

So then I changed the location and clicked move. “This folder doesn’t exist in the directory; would you like me to create it?” Yes. “Do you want to move all the files from the old location to the new location? (recommended)” Yes. “Can’t move the folder because there is a folder in the same location that can’t be redirected. Access is denied.” But there were no documents folder in said location. I checked. Many iterations with the AI later… I figured out OneDrive was just blocking the whole situation because it didn’t want to give up control. So, I renamed the Documents folder on OneDrive, created a Documents folder at the location I wanted it to be in, and had to force the change through the Registry Editor.

How I did that:

Win+R to open the shell.

Type:

regedit

Navigate to:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\User Shell Folders

Find: Personal

Set its value to the location you want it to use.

Close the registry editor.

Restart your computer.

WARNING!!! DO NOT COPY OR MOVE ALL YOUR FOLDERS FROM THE OLD LOCATION TO THE NEW LOCATION!

When you open your programs like Maya they will rebuild in the new location. OneDrive has little hidden files that will hijack your documents folder again if you copy or move whole folders. Then you gotta start this whole process all over again.

You only want to move your settings, preferences, hotkeys, scripts, projects files only! Things you set yourself. Not folders that were built by the program.

Now I am to the point I can set my Maya Environment Variables again. Obviously, I will need to move my script over, before they will work again. But, as I move my scripts, I will be updating GitHub with repos and creating demonstration videos of how the scripts work. This will help me have something to show on my demo reel and help anyone who wants to use them. I just need to reorganize things to work better together first.

This is exactly why I call it “Magical Mayehem”. It starts as pure Mayhem, but if you stick with it long enough, the fix feels almost magical.

Best Wishes,

Christa “Maye” Chandler

Back From the Magical Mayehem, With Plenty to Share

Hi everyone,

It’s been a while since my last post, and that’s mostly because the closer I get to finishing my degree, the more intense everything becomes. I’ve always pushed myself with challenging courses at a full-time load, and I’m the type who can’t stand watching anyone struggle if I can help. My faculty noticed, and I have stepped into a few additional roles: Peer Mentor (Federal Work Study), Undergraduate Student Representative, and at one point I was even club leadership for Legends of Visual Effects.

At the end of Fall 2025, I only had six classes left. Because of veteran benefits, it made more sense financially to split them evenly: three in the Spring, and Three in the Fall. I could have done four in Spring and two in Summer and graduated early… but something about walking before I was truly finished didn’t feel right. So, it was three-and-three.

I thought this lighter load would give me more time for my portfolio, demo reel, and blogging, but one of those classes was Producing for StudioX, where I served as Producer for five projects and the CG Department’s Production Assistant. That role consumed my free time, but I now have a deeper understanding of the entire pipeline. So here I am, finally on summer break, catching my breath and updating everyone on what I’ve been learning.

What I’ve Been Up To

Since my last post, I’ve completed every Look Development and Lighting course available to undergraduates in AAU’s Animation and VFX program – including some cross-listed graduate course all the way through StudioX for LookDev and Lighting. So, please ignore my very old post about how to create materials. I have come a long way since then.

One of my favorite discoveries has been texture painting in Substance Painter. It brings me right back to being six years old, experimenting with crayon pressure to create highlights and shadows. That same joy is still there – just with more layers, masks, and render engines.

I’ve also taken courses across:

• Traditional Art Fundamentals: Analysis of Form, Color Theory
• Film: Cinematics, Producing, Real-Time VFX in Unreal Engine, StudioX Production
• Animation: Hand-drawn, digital, stop-motion, Feature Animation Training
• Visual Effects: Matchmoving, Compositing, StudioX Compositing Lead, Python for VFX/Rigging
• CG General: Photoshop, Maya modeling/rigging
• Games: Construct3, Unity, Unreal Engine, PyGames

It’s been a lot – but in a good way. 

It’s time to turn more attention to my goals. My final semester, Fall 2026, I will be only serving as a Peer Mentor while I finish up my last three courses: StudioX CG Artist / TD, Art History through the 19th century, and Senior Portfolio Review. I can’t wait to be back into StudioX as an artist. I will be surfacing live action assets for VFX shots, lighting, and building tools to help the various artists in the pipeline. I have learned some really cool stuff in Python, and I can’t wait to share it with you and put it into practice in a real studio environment.

Why I’m Blogging Again

Now that I’m finally on break, I’ve had time to breathe and process everything I’ve learned over the last few years. I’ve also been applying for internships and jobs, but because most of my professional work is under NDA, I don’t have much I can publicly show yet. Only one project has been released, and even that must be password protected.

So, I’m returning to blogging for a few reasons:

• To share what I can talk about.
• To break down my process using simple geometry when I can’t show real assets.
• To fill the “NDA gap” so recruiters can still see how I think.
• To document the technical challenges, I’ve been exploring on my own.
• To keep learning, experimenting, and growing during the Summer.

Like I said, much of my work is still protected, so if I sound vague at times or use cubes and spheres to demonstrate ideas… you know why. But I hope these posts will still be helpful, interesting, and maybe even inspiring.

I’m excited to share more – and maybe cause a little creative Mayehem along the way.

Best Wishes,

Christa “Maye” Chandler

Hi everyone!

At the close of the Spring 2024 semester, I discovered new skills I enjoy doing, and was able to narrow down my emphasis even further. 

At the start of my program, I was just going for a BFA in Animation & VFX with no emphasis. At the end of my first semester, VFX was added as my emphasis. I originally wanted to stay open for employability reasons. As I learned more about the 3D pipeline, I grew even more obsessed with color and texture though. I will continue to learn all I can about the 3D animation and VFX pipeline, but now I'm going to focus as many classes as I can toward Lookdev and Lighting.

I just finished the Introduction to Lookdev and Lighting class. This class was originally a graduate level course, and I was taking it in my third semester. I hadn't even taken Introduction to 3D Production B yet. I was taking them concurrently. To say this was a challenge is an understatement of the year. Did I get frustrated at times? Yes. But the funny thing is, I found the challenge thrilling. I wanted to spend all my time in that class. There was always a new puzzle to solve, or a challenge that needed a solution. I learned soo much about creating realistic looking textures and lighting. Painting realistic dirt and rust on cars and campers using Substance Painter. We worked on the assets for one shot and the shot itself the entire semester. I gave a car, camper and their luggage, colors and textures. I textured the character and city. Learned about transferring textures to rigs, turning animations to alembic cache, importing everything for use in the scene for an animated shot. Creating believable lighting with cinematic effects using tricks of the trade. Compositing and color grading and other effects in Nuke. How to create a 3D Geo Cam in Nuke to change out between night and day skies. We even learned how to turn our realistic looking renders into toon renders easily. We learned multiple ways of creating each effect. Our feedback was given each week as a class, like a studio does dailies. We were expected to troubleshoot any issues and fix them. We were graded on how well we accepted and applied feedback, our growth as artists, and the technical application of our textures. Also, I was learning visual node-based coding in Maya and Nuke, making my own shelves and buttons utilizing Mel script in Maya. I loved it! I can't wait to do Advanced Lookdev and Lighting! However, there are a few more core classes I need to take care of before I head into that class though. I also found some other enjoyable things to do in my other classes. 

In 3D Production B I worked on an outdoor environment and an indoor environment. I had to beautify the outdoor environment utilizing paint effects to add animated trees, grass, and flowers. I then had to add a water surface and give it fluid dynamics utilizing Bifrost in Maya. Then I animated a toy boat on the water utilizing curves to match the waves generated. Then I utilized nCloth and constraints to make a flag blow in the wind and gradually rip. On the indoor scene I had to import footage and animate a 3D Character according to the reference. I also had to animate the camera cinematically. I then learned how to create my own Skydome by importing an HDR with lighting information to make the scene lighting match the sky more accurately. Once that lighting was done, I added my own interior lighting and rendered a 3D Character animation scene. I really enjoyed this class; everything came very easily to me. Which is surprising to me because this time last year, I knew absolutely nothing about 3D. 

I really enjoyed Cinematics for Animation and VFX. I found film critique to be very intellectually pleasing. I especially loved learning how to edit footage for film, color psychology and how color grading and camera angles are used to enhance the story. 

I always try to add my own personal touch to my homework assignments. Like finding stickers to project onto the car, camper, and t-shirt that enhance the storytelling. Or, adding my own sky from one of the many photographs of beautiful skies I took. Coincidently I found the importance of compositing. As there were always power lines to remove or images to merge to enhance the image result in Photoshop.

Though I will be training on all things 3D and VFX, I will be focusing more closely on Compositing, Lookdev, and Lighting. I will be updating my portfolio with my projects and updating this blog post with pictures, video, and links to the projects. I might be a little slow at it though because during my break I'm staying productive by going to Indiana Filmmaker Events, participating in an animation contest hosted by the Carmel Film Forum, helping an author start up an animation and gaming project based on their book, and participating as an extra in a film. Some people might think that's a lot of work, but I'm doing it all with my kid that just turned eighteen. They are just as fascinated with all of this as I am and I wanted to do fun things with them this summer, you know, before they run off to be all grown up and everything 🫣🤭. 

I love the work of Mary Blair (classic Disney), Kent Davis, Amy Brown and Lisa Frank. They continue to be a true inspiration to me. I also love Epic (2013), Disney's Cinderella (2015), and lately I've been taking a deep dive into Star Wars. All of these works just truly fascinate me. I truly found a love for critiquing films in my cinematics class! My instructor was really impressed with my work too. So I might start sharing some of that work via this blog channel as well.

PBA = Pixar in a Box Activity via Khan Academy

If I was stranded on a deserted island, what three films would I take with me? Why? How are they the same? How are they different?

Whoa, this is going to be so revealing.

1. American Tale: It would remind me I'm never truly alone. Even when feeling alone, someone else in the world does too. Fievel helped me when I was a toddler. I remember being torn from my Grammy very vividly. After hours of car travel half way across the state, I woke up in my first foster home. They were great people, don't get me wrong. It still didn't change the fact that I felt lost, scared, and alone in my feelings. That is, until I watched this movie. Some how Fievel shared the burden of my feelings and confusion. So if I was all alone on a deserted island, sad and all alone, I think he could help me cry it out. 

2. Epic: It would be a good reminder that you can find a friend in all creatures and to remember to take time to look at how beautiful everything is. There are many hummingbirds in my neighborhood. They like my lilies and gladiolus flowers. Every morning, in the summer, when I'm drinking my coffee on the back porch they come up and hover right in front of me. The bark as if they are saying hello. I respond with, "Good morning my little yard fairies." They happily chirp and turn slowly as if waving good bye before zooming off to go to the flowers. Sometimes they even stop after they've had their fill as if to say thank you. I really feel BlueSky Studios turned my little morning ritual into an epic adventure. It would be a nice retreat from the daily duties of survival.

3. Brave: This would remind me to be brave. Meredith's hair reminds me of mine when I was younger and let it grow it. It has always been so big and so curly. The way she is always fussing with her curls including blowing up to get them out of her face is too relatable! Yet she is a bad A girl who isn't going to take anything from anybody. She is a girl on a mission. It kind of reminds me of how I was in the Navy. Plus the fact that soo much of my family tree is rooted in Ireland helps too. Also Meredith is not like the other princesses. It's a good reminder that sometimes you have to be different to get stuff done.

All three movies are stories of hope and resilience. All three movies are very relatable, I can see myself in the characters of each.

American Tale is different in it's medium and value. It is a hand drawn 2D traditional animation. Most of the movie is very dark. It has many very sad themes. It not only deals with lost children but also the challenges of immigration.

Epic is different in that it is a CG 3D animation with extremely realistic textures. I am obsessed with textures and I have not seen better dandelion fluff since. It has some dark areas dealing with decay but it is a mostly colorful film.

Brave is also CG Animation but with some amazing dynamics in how her hair moves realistically. Trust me I have experienced this kind of hair, it's pretty accurate. Also it's a pretty bright movie. I mean just look at how bright her hair is. 

That's all the activity was. I am feeling pretty venerable and exposed now. Your turn. What three movies would you take on a deserted island and why?