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Maya 4 Fundamentals is aimed at newcomers to Maya. Unusually, for a beginner's book, it is written in a professional and technically authoritative tone, never straying into unexplained jargon or descending into patronising simplicity. The book is organised into three sections—"A Quick-Start Guide to Maya", "Maya Basics" and "Going Further with Maya". The first of these covers all the bases, introducing colour theory, composition, digital graphics and operating systems before moving onto the Maya environment and interface and finishing with your first animation. Maya Basics" introduces NURBS and polygon modelling, materials, lighting animation, cameras and rendering in a series of project-based chapters. "Going Further with Maya" explores Paint Effects and Particle Systems. The final chapter, "Efficiency and Artistry", answers all the questions that inevitably arise as you work through a tutorial-based book of this kind--how to speed up rendering, creating your own Marking Menu, where to get plug-ins and MELscripts, how to build your own Material Libraries and, not least, how to start a career in professional animation. Appendices aimed at converts from 3ds Max and LightWave offer in-depth coverage of the main differences between these applications and Maya 4. A CD includes all of the scene files as well as all of the tutorials in video format. Whether you're a 2-D artist adding a new dimension to your work, an expert in traditional media with limited computing skills, or crossing over from 3ds Max or LightWave Maya 4 Fundamentals has something to offer. Only $31.50 (list price $45.00) |
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