Review of Maya 4.5 Bible (Paperback)

This is a good book for users with a good understanding of Maya.It covers alot of things that other books dont.The one major problem with the book is the CD has problems on the windows OS.This is resolved very easily.All you need to do is call the publisher.They will ship you a replacement CD within about a week.Other than that Maya Bible is a very good book

Product Description
* All the information needed to create professional-quality 3D animations and visual effects in Maya, the Alias
* Wavefront/Silicon Graphics software used for special effects in movies such as Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Rings
* Explains how to move a project from concept to completion-an ideal quick-start alternative to the fourteen volumes of official documentation
* Covers everything from interface basics and modeling to animation, character setup, and effects
* Concise tutorial allows the Maya user to learn by doing with the help of behind-the-scenes production examples from animated television programs
* CD-ROM includes sample models, scripts, shaders, and textures

From the Back Cover
"This book . . . manages to cover a great deal of ground with needed depth in critical areas of Maya, especially those pertinent to character animation. Joe Spadaro and Don Kim have instilled real-world production experience into this massive volume."
-Duncan Brinsmead, Principal Scientist, Alias Wavefront

If Maya 4.5 can do it, you can do it too...

It's not magic, but it's close. With the Oscar® Award-winning tool that created the lovable Stuart Little® and the thrilling special effects in Star Wars® Episode II: Attack of the Clones, you will become your own set designer, actor, director, and cinematographer. In this groundbreaking guidebook, two well-respected TV and movie animators demystify the complexities of this professional 3D modeling animation and rendering program. With concise and expert instruction, the authors show you how to apply proven Maya workflow principles to help you keep your projects on track in the production "pipeline" from conception to completion. In addition, the Quick Start tutorial gives you firsthand experience creating an animation right from the start.

Inside, you'll find co mplete coverage of Maya 4.5

• Navigate the new Maya user interface and take advantage of the powerful Hypergraph, Maya's award-winning dependency graph architecture
• Become skilled in using the Maya Embedded Language (MEL) to script and automate almost anything you can do in Maya
• Discover the sophisticated NURBS advanced curve and surface modeling tools and the suite of polygon modeling tools for games and interactive uses
• Learn the techniques that'll make you a digital puppeteer, and create emotion in 3D characters as well as motion and physical characteristics
• Use Maya Live to match-and-move 3D cameras to a live-action video
• Explore the features of Maya Unlimited, including cloth and fur, and extend Maya using subdivision surfaces
• Study the work of leading animators in behind-the-scenes examples from familiar movies, games, and television shows

Bonus CD-ROM

The interactive CD-ROM includes a variety of clips, images, textures, bonus chapters, and other animation tools

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