Learning Maya 5: Rendering [Paperback]

Alias Wavefront (Author), Alias (Author), Sybex (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 22, 2003

"The Rendering book does something every book should do--certainly every excellent book--it offers you content unavailable anywhere else."
--3DNY.org

Learning Maya 5: Rendering is your solution to creating stunning images in Maya.

New for Maya 5!

Updated from the popular Learning Maya: Rendering, this book will teach you what you need to know when using the Maya rendering engine and mental ray for Maya. You'll learn to take advantage of options new in Maya 5, such as Hardware and Vector Rendering. Get the information you need to master Caustics and Global Illumination, Final Gather and HDRI. Learning Maya 5: Rendering includes an inspiring photo gallery of images rendered in Maya and mental ray(r) for Maya so you can see the types of results you'll learn to achieve.

Features:
This book will allow you to explore lighting, cameras, shading networks, and other rendering issues from an introductory level and will also allow you to explore advanced concepts in a comfortable format. Each topic is explored in both theory and practice so that you'll not only understand the concepts presented, you'll be able to complete easy-to-follow step-by-step tutorials. In addition, you'll take advantage of valuable chapter-by-chapter overviews provided in QuickTime(r) format on DVD-ROM. Offered by one of the book's contributors, Cathy McGinnis, an Alias|Wavefront(TM) Certified Instructor, these helpful movies will allow you to gain additional insight as you work through the book.

With this books you will:
* Create materials and textures.
* Set up lights and cameras.
* Work with shadows and raytracing.
* Learn to control your renders.
* Understand rendering for special effects and compositing.
* Explore Hardware Rendering and vector Rendering.
* Create Caustics and Global Illumination effects.
* Understand Final Gather and HDRI techniques.
* Create Maya and mental ray Shaders.

And much more...

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

There’s much more to rendering your final 3D image than hitting the "Render" button, especially in an application as deep as Maya. With options for everything from the color of shadows cast by lights to the size of the backplane on the virtual camera, tweaking the settings prior to final output can be daunting. In Learning Maya 5: Rendering, nearly everything that has to do with textures, shaders, lighting, camera attributes, output settings, compositing, and more is explored and explained.

The initial chapters cover materials, shaders, and textures--the attributes most responsible for the look of an object. The authors begin with an explanation of how Maya’s shading networks work, followed by discussions of the wide assortment of materials available, including multi-layered shaders (shaders composed of more than one material). Far from just a theoretical discussion, each page and chapter is filled with screenshots, definitions, and step-by-step tutorials designed to immediately expand your knowledge of how Maya works.

Placing a specific decal (like a logo) on a specific place of a model is perhaps the most difficult task modelers face, but after working through the tutorials in chapter 2 (some 45 pages worth) even this becomes easy. The authors go one step further by texturing a model with not just a single file, but a multilayered texture consisting of several files, as well as using texture files for displacement mapping on difficult-to-model objects (tire treads, in this case). Subsequent chapters discuss various types of lighting, camera attributes, shadow manipulation, compositing, and other important render output settings often overlooked by the untrained eye.

Part of the "Learning Maya" series from Sybex, the official publisher for Alias|Wavefront, Learning Maya 5: Rendering includes a CD containing all project and texture files, and a DVD that introduces some of the features new to Maya 5. This is a valuable series for any Maya artist. --Mike Caputo

Review

"Will allow you to make the most of Maya's renderer...[and] to explore advanced concepts in a comfortable format." -- Ian Cairns, Editor, MAYA Association

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Sybex (August 22, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1894893433
• ISBN-13: 978-1894893435
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.2 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,387,939 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #98 in Books > Computers & Technology > Graphic Design > Rendering & Ray Tracing

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent for learning more about Maya's new features!, December 30, 2003

By 

"alienware83001" (East Tennessee State University) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Learning Maya 5: Rendering (Paperback)

I found this book to be very helpful in learning new techniques for rendering in Maya. With Maya's new rendering options such as the vector render and Mental Ray, it is easy to get lost in the maze of features. I am just learning Maya and I loved this book. I don't know that much and the book was easy to follow with scene files to help out along the way. I highly recommend to anyone wanting learn more about rendering in Maya.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Great cook book, June 19, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Learning Maya 5: Rendering (Paperback)

This book is great if you want tutorials without clear explanation. It is more of an instruction manuel on how to reproduce a scene than teaching how create and think on your own. The problem with this approach is you finish a tutorial, pat yourself on the back for making something, but later realize that you did not fully understand what you did. If you are an expert in lighting with other programs, but need to transition over to Maya, then this is a great book for explaining how the tools work. If you are new to lighting or rendering this is not the best book for you, but it is okay for reference.
The DVD is a waste. Mainly because all the screen shots of the computer screen are out of focus. Not a bad book, but not great either.

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book!, May 4, 2004

By 

Greg (Ohio) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Learning Maya 5: Rendering (Paperback)

I must say I did enjoy this book. Anytime I read a book from front to back, I know I am getting good and interesting information. Rendering lights, materials, textures and cameras is one of the most crucial techniques that you can learn. It can pretty much make or break a piece of work. This book definitly prepares you. If you can get your hands on the Alias Rendering DVD then you really have a great combination.