Advanced Maya Texturing and Lighting [Paperback]

Lee Lanier (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 047179404X | ISBN-13: 978-0471794042 | Publication Date: September 19, 2006

• Written by an industry veteran who has used Maya in such films as Mortal Kombat and Shrek, this full-color book offers advanced, professional-level techniques for texturing and lighting for rendering 3D models in Maya
• Begins with an introduction of various lighting concepts, then offers readers detailed explanations of Maya's numerous hidden features so they can achieve amazing results quickly
• Features an unparalleled exploration of Maya's Hypershade, where animators create connections between shaders, texture maps, lights, cameras, and geometry
• Provides a thorough look at rendering in Maya, including everything from batch rendering to global illumination workflow and HDRI techniques
• The CD-ROM includes the Maya Personal Learning Edition, textures, tools, professional shaders, and more

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Valuable Techniques from an Industry Veteran

The art of texturing and lighting is a crucial aspect of any movie, game, or other animation project. Now you can learn the secrets of professional animators, mine powerful and often hidden features in Maya, and achieve amazing results with the detailed information you'll find in Advanced Maya Texturing and Lighting.

Written by an industry veteran whose texturing and lighting has been featured in such films as Mortal Kombat, Antz, Shrek, and many others, this in-depth book focuses on advanced techniques used in real-world production environments. You'll find out how to add complexity to your work with custom shaders, high-level texture mapping, a full understanding of lighting concepts, and an unparalleled exploration of Maya's Hypershade window. The book takes a detailed look at rendering in Maya, including everything from batch rendering to global illumination workflow and HDRI techniques. In gorgeous full color and full of tips, techniques, and workflow ideas straight from the studio, this valuable guide doesn't just teach, it shows you how to achieve the same dazzling and rapid results as the pros.

The enclosed CD features exclusive content, including two bonus chapters, Maya scene files, custom shading networks, textures, the Maya Personal Learning Edition, and files for the practical tutorials, which were designed from an industry perspective and refined in the classroom.

• Understand lighting theory, history, application, and technique.

• Painlessly raytrace with Maya Software and mental ray.

• Get the most out of Maya shadows and post-process effects.

• Master Global Illumination, Final Gather, mental ray shaders, HDRI, and normal mapping.

About the Author

Lee Lanier is a professional animator and teacher who has created digital special effects for such films as The Santa Clause and Mortal Kombat. He served as a senior animator in the Modeling and Lighting departments on Antz and Shrek and has produced and directed the animated short films Millennium Bug, Mirror, Day Off the Dead, Weapons of Mass Destruction, and 13 Ways to Die at Home. He has also taught advanced Maya classes at several schools, including the Art Institute of Las Vegas, where he designed the Media Arts & Animation curriculum. His work can be seen at beezlebugbit.com.

Product Details

• Paperback: 360 pages
• Publisher: Sybex (September 19, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 047179404X
• ISBN-13: 978-0471794042
• Product Dimensions: 9.9 x 7.8 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #880,970 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Lee Lanier is an award-winning director and computer animator whose work has played over 200 film festivals, galleries, and museums worldwide. His short films, "Day Off The Dead," "Mirror," "Millennium Bug," and "13 Ways to Die at Home" have played such venues as the Sundance Film Festival, Annecy Festival of Animation, the Ottawa International Animation Festival, the Smithsonian Institution, and Boston Museum of Fine Arts. Lee served as a Senior Animator on "Shrek" and "Antz" at PDI/DreamWorks and spent time creating digital special effects for Walt Disney Studios before forming his own company, BeezleBug Bit LLC, in Boulder City, Nevada (www.BeezleBugBit.com). Lee is also the co-founder of the Dam Short Film Festival (www.DamShortFilm.org). Lee has written four Maya books for Sybex - "Advanced Maya Texturing and Lighting," "Maya Professional Tips and Tricks," "Professional Digital Compositing," and "Maya Studio Projects: Texturing and Lighting."

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent for Professionals, August 12, 2007

By 

J. Mccann (Seattle) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Advanced Maya Texturing and Lighting (Paperback)

I bought this manual to help me ugrade from Maya 7.0 to Maya 8.5 and it's become my most prized and relied upon resource. Every tutorial I've gone through has worked perfectly (no missing steps or errors so far), Mr. Lanier writes coherently & well, and each new topic is presented in a straightforward and matter-of-fact fashion.

As a professional Video Game Artist, I've reccommended this manual to our enitire company of 300, and will continue to do so to everyone else. In the past, decent documentation on the finer points of Maya has been elusive, but Mr. Lanier has saved us! I will be adding his other manuals to my library.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent !, November 17, 2006

By 

Tina Haggarad "Tina Haggarad" (Agoura Hills, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Advanced Maya Texturing and Lighting (Paperback)

I've been reviewing several books on this topic, and this one's a winner! It's specific and useful and goes into great detail about nodes in Hypershade and how to use them that the manuals don't.

If you're serious about reaching an advanced level with your Maya rendering skills, then this book is for you. Just buy it now, and you can thank me later! In terms of lighting design and the esthetic side of things, I also like the book Digital Lighting and Rendering, 2nd Edition by the Pixar artist Jeremy Birn, I think the idea to buy both of these together is an unbeatable combination for any serious Maya user!

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great resource, lots of good information, January 3, 2007

By 

Taran Reese (Los Angeles, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Advanced Maya Texturing and Lighting (Paperback)

I've read a number of Maya books over the past few years. Most focus on basic-intermediate usage. Lanier's book is a great resource for learning advanced tips and theory, with many color pictures. This is the best book I've found about using Hypershade nodes to build professional materials.

I particularly liked that the included DVD contains Maya project files for every scenario pictured in the book (although most of the cool models are not included, just simple geometric primitives). These project files contain great setups comparing different lighting and rendering settings. I highly recommend this to anyone interested in learning intermediate-advanced Maya topics.