Behavioral animation for Maya particles using steering forces

Maya has various built-in solutions for modeling effects. Maya does not, however, offer a built-in solution for modeling so called "steering behaviors." While users may rely on particle expressions or scene rigs, these solutions are generally timeconsuming and ultimately limiting in their cross application. Accordingly, Maya's particle system was extended, by implementing a new force, which can be used to model a set of steering behaviors. The new force was coded in Python and was implemented using Maya's Python Application Programming Interface ("API"). The new force can be used in conjunction with the particle system's existing forces and Maya's other tools.