Introducing Maya 8: 3D for Beginners +CD [Paperback]

Dariush Derakhshani (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0470051353 | ISBN-13: 978-0470051351 | Publication Date: October 10, 2006

If you're just beginning to dive into the world of 3D, this is the book for you."
?Animation Magazine

The Academy Award? winning Maya? 3D animation and effects software is the first choice of film and video artists, game developers, and 3D design professionals. Discover how to build, render, and animate your own digital models and scenes, and begin to develop professional-level Maya skills with the latest edition of this popular bestseller.

Starting with the basics, the book builds from the ground up, combining straightforward text with practical examples that make it fun and easy to learn Maya's core features while introducing new Maya 8 elements such as improved polygon tools and enhanced rendering with mental ray. Clear-cut, engaging lessons let you experiment using the wealth of files provided on the CD-ROM. You'll also find an abundance of instructional and inspirational Maya creations in the full-color insert.

The accompanying CD-ROMs images, movies, and scene files let you view material from the book right on your own computer. Tackle all-new rendering and dynamics tutorials and much more. The CD includes Maya Personal Learning Edition software.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

If you're just beginning to dive into the world of 3D, this is the book for you."
—Animation Magazine

The Academy Award® winning Maya® 3D animation and effects software is the first choice of film and video artists, game developers, and 3D design professionals. Discover how to build, render, and animate your own digital models and scenes, and begin to develop professional-level Maya skills with Introducing Maya 8: 3D for Beginners.

The latest edition of this popular bestseller is the ideal initiation to 3D and Maya. Starting with the basics, it builds from the ground up, combining straightforward text with practical examples that make it fun and easy to learn Maya's core features while introducing new Maya 8 elements such as improved polygon tools and enhanced rendering with mental ray. Clear-cut, engaging lessons let you experiment using the wealth of files provided on the CD. You'll also find an abundance of instructional and inspirational Maya creations in the full-color insert.

The enclosed CD features images, movies, and scene files that let you view material from the book right on your own computer. Tackle all-new rendering and dynamics tutorials and much more. The CD includes Maya Personal Learning Edition software.

Enter a New Dimension

• Get a solid grasp of core 3D and Computer Graphics concepts
• Learn to navigate the Maya 8 interface
• Experiment with modeling by creating a hand, an axe, and a locomotive
• Explore the basics of NURBS, polygons, and subdivision surfaces
• Discover the nuances of shading and texturing
• Rig a locomotive model for automated animation
• Create more natural lighting with mental ray soft shadow maps
• Use Maya's Render Layers and an Ambient Occlusion pass for greater reality

Learn how to create an IK walk cycle.

About the Author

Dariush Derakhshani is a Digital Effects Supervisor, writer, and educator in Los Angeles, California. Previously using Autdoesk’s AutoCAD software in his architecture days, Dariush migrated to using 3D programs when his firm’s principal architects needed to show their clients design work on the computer. Starting with Alias PowerAnimator version 6 when he enrolled in USC Film School’s Animation program, Dariush has been using Alias animation software for the past 11 years. From USC Film School, he received an M.F.A. in Film, Video, and Computer Animation in 1997. Dariush also holds a B.A. in Architecture and Theatre from Lehigh University in Pennsylvania and worked at a New Jersey architecture firm before moving to L.A. for film school. He has worked on feature films, music videos, and countless commercials as a 3D animator, CG supervisor, and sometimes compositor. Dariush also serves as Editor in Chief of HDRI3d, a professional CG magazine from DMG Publishing.

Product Details

• Paperback: 488 pages
• Publisher: Sybex (October 10, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0470051353
• ISBN-13: 978-0470051351
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #590,919 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must read for anyone wanting to be productive with Maya., December 23, 2005

By 

T. Turner - See all my reviews

This review is from: Introducing Maya 7: 3D for Beginners (Paperback)

I haven't really read a maya book for several years. Some of the past books from Alias|Wavefront (now Alias) like "Learning Maya: Character Rigging and Animation 2002" soured me a bit on Alias publishing.
This book, however, from the first glance begs to be opened and explored. It's print and publishing quality is leap years ahead of its outdated siblings.
Partnering with Sybex has proved to be hugely advantageous for the entire Alias library. This book is durable and should live up to the rigors of tutorial-based reading.
The first half of this book is focused on interface and modeling.
The chapters on interface may be overkill for most renders, since many of the tools in Maya are described in the Help line. Still, it is an all-encompassing and meticulous reference and should prove useful as a companion down the road; and even the author suggests moving forward at your own speed.
The chapters on Modeling are quite comprehensive, and in most cases should convert thorough readers into intermediate modelers.
The rest of the book is divided into shading, animation, dynamics, lighting...and these sections are covered with enough depth and direction to help the reader navigate through many of the obstacles that can derail and befuddle the Maya user.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Maya for the beginner, March 9, 2007

By 

Tony (ATL) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Introducing Maya 7: 3D for Beginners (Paperback)

Excellent Book. I highly recommend it. I am extremely knowledgeable with Photoshop Illustrator and other graphic art software, but had no knowledge or understanding of Maya. The book is easy to follow and explains the layers and menus very well. I did find some hic-ups in the directions, but it was easy to figure out and continue the step-by-step direction. This is a bible for anyone who is interested in gaining knowledge with this program.

9 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Avoid this book, July 29, 2006

By 

shookster (LA, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Introducing Maya 7: 3D for Beginners (Paperback)

I have had many problems with this book. Firstly, it takes 60-70 pages to actually get to the first tutorial. The author tells you all kinds of things that you don't need to know at that stage and just overloads you with information.

I have also had problems where the author says "just make it look like the one in the diagram" and the diagram is not clear at all. Sometimes it will be drawn in white ink on a light grey background (very difficult to see) and the author will refer to certain colours (obviously when he wrote it he could see the images in colour). I then have to guess at what the author means, only to find 5 or 6 pages later that he meant something else. I then have to go all the way back to fix it.

There is also an inconsistency in his writing. At times he will over-simplify things and at others, he will not give enough details. One such example was the second tutorial, where you assemble a train. Sometimes he would give the exact dimensions of certain parts and at other times he would not. You would not know that you got the length wrong until 4 or 5 pages later. It would seem that after giving us the basics, he expected us to be experts.

I gave up on the third tutorial, in which you build an axe. He vaguely said "move the CVs inwards" on the second curve but did not say on which axis to move them. I discovered a few pages later that I had moved them in on the wrong axis, so I had to go back and re-adjust them. It then gave me vague directions on detaching curves which did not work. I will now be buying a different book.