Mastering Maya 2009 [Paperback]

Eric Keller (Author), Eric Allen (Contributor), Anthony Honn (Contributor)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0470392207 | ISBN-13: 978-0470392201 | Publication Date: April 27, 2009 | Edition: 1

The Ultimate Maya 2009 Resource for Intermediate to Advanced Users If you already know the basics of Maya, now you can elevate your skills with Maya 2009 and the advanced coverage in this authoritative new reference and tutorial. From modeling, texturing, animation, and visual effects to high-level techniques for film, television, games, and more, this book provides professional-level instruction on Maya Complete and Maya Unlimited.

This fully updated book brings you up to speed on Maya 2009's new features and expands your skills with advanced instruction on cloth, fur, and fluids. You'll learn Dynamics, Maya Muscle, Stereo Cameras, Assets, rendering with mental ray, and more. Filled with challenging tutorials and real-world scenarios from some of the leading professionals in the industry, this one-of-a-kind guide gives you valuable insight into the entire CG production pipeline.

If you've been looking for a complete, professional-quality Maya resource to turn to again and again, this is the book for you.

Note: CD-ROM/DVD and other supplementary materials are not included as part of eBook file.

 

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

The Ultimate Maya 2009 Resource for Intermediate to Advanced Users

If you already know the basics of Maya, now you can elevate your skills with Maya 2009 and the advanced coverage in this authoritative new reference and tutorial. From modeling, texturing, animation, and visual effects to high-level techniques for film, television, games, and more, this book provides professional-level instruction on Maya Complete and Maya Unlimited.

This fully updated book brings you up to speed on Maya 2009's new features and expands your skills with advanced instruction on cloth, fur, and fluids. You'll learn Dynamics, Maya Muscle, Stereo Cameras, Assets, rendering with mental ray, and more. Filled with challenging tutorials and real-world scenarios from some of the leading professionals in the industry, this one-of-a-kind guide gives you valuable insight into the entire CG production pipeline.

If you've been looking for a complete, professional-quality Maya resource to turn to again and again, this is the book for you.

The companion DVD provides video files to drive home concepts, as well as images and scene files that help you complete the exercises and compare your work to the pros.

• Use nParticles to create dynamic simulations and explosions

• Create realistic human skin for characters using advanced mental ray shader techniques

• Learn professional lighting, rendering, and compositing techniques using mental ray Render Layers and Render Passes

About the Author

Eric Keller has been a professional 3D artist and high-end animator for film, commercials, and TV for ten years, creating animations and effects for Disney, Warner Brothers, ESPN, Harvard Medical School, and CBS. He got his start developing animations for scientific visualization at the prestigious Howard Hughes Medical Institute, where he worked with some of the world's leading researchers. Eric is the author of Maya Visual Effects: The Innovator's Guide and Introducing ZBrush, and a contributing author to Mastering Maya 8.5 and Mastering Maya 7, all from Sybex. He has also written numerous tutorials for industry magazines and websites.

Product Details

• Paperback: 1080 pages
• Publisher: Sybex; 1 edition (April 27, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0470392207
• ISBN-13: 978-0470392201
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 7.5 x 1.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #453,928 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

When I was a little kid my parents would buy huge rolls of newsprint for me and my brothers to draw on. When I was in high school my friends and I would make comic books on index cards; the bloodier, the better. In college I switched to music, specifically the classical guitar. I reasoned that it would be somehow useful in my future career as a rock star. It wasn't. But it did teach me a lot about learning, discipline, and the discipline of learning.

In 1997 I returned to the visual arts when I started to study computer animation. A year later I created my first professional animation for the Howard Hughes Medical Institute Holiday Lectures on Science series. It was a transparent beating heart with visible blobs of blood. I created it in Maya 1.0 on a little blue SGI O2.

From 1998-2005 I was a full time scientific animator for HHMI. I have been lucky enough to create animations for some of the worlds leading scientists including Stuart Schreiber, Huda Zoghbi, Eric Lander, and Nobel Laurate Tom Cech. Most of these animations are available on-line at a web site we created called BioInteractive.

In 2004 I published my first magazine tutorial in Highend Magazine Magazine on how to import and render macromolecular data in Maya. Since then I have published several more less scientific, but no less nerdy, tutorials in HDRI 3D Magazine.

At the end of February, 2005, my wife Zoe and I packed up the dogs and all our stuff and moved from Washington, DC to West Hollywood, CA.

I have contributed several chapters to Mastering Maya 7 (and subsequently Mastering maya 8.5 which is mostly an updtae to the book.) I have just completed my first solo bok Maya Visual Effects: The Innovators Guide which will be released in March 2007. Please feel free to contact me if you have questions or concerns about this book.

Vists my website at www.bloopatone.com to see my current work. I have several tutorials on my website as well.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Finally, A Fantastic Book on Maya!, May 5, 2009

By 

Jack B. Hunt - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Mastering Maya 2009 (Paperback)

I've been vigorously studying Motion Graphics related topics for the past few years, and have read literally hundreds of books and taken thousands of hours of online training via Lynda.com. I've managed to get my Adobe certifications in: Flash, Photoshop, Illustrator & Premiere/Encore and currently working on getting certified in After Effects. I am also the author of the Flash exam for examaids. I have been trying to study Maya for the past couple of years and have been extremely frustrated with the level of training anywhere. The best I had found was actually in the help sections of Maya. I realized how complex Maya was, but I was starting to get the feeling no one either could explain it, or understood the depths of it to pass the knowledge on. I found myself unable to get through the "beginners books". That is until I found the "Mastering Maya 2009" book! Finally, someone who understands the product who can share in-depth without skipping steps in the process. I'm so impressed with it, that I'm rating it already as one of the 4 best graphics books of all-time. The other 3 would be the Ben Willmore's Photoshop Studio Techniques, Chris & Trish Meyer's Motion Graphics with After Effects, and Mordy Golding's Real World Illustrator book. Fantastic book! I give it my highest rating and total endorsement!

Jackson Hunt
VP of Marketing
Ser Technology

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must have for all Pros, May 26, 2009

By 

James C. Perez "Christian Perez" (Los Angeles) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Mastering Maya 2009 (Paperback)

Unlike most software books this one actually refers to situations that actually happen. Furthermore it gives you solutions to them. The mel chapter is especially informative. Not bogging you down in commands you may or may not use it shows you how to effectively extract them from the UI and points out the syntactical differences between what is echoed and correct usage in a script. The same level of utility is present throughout the book. Don't go into a production setting without it.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Goods for Production, June 16, 2009

By 

Philip Benn "philipx" (San Francisco, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Mastering Maya 2009 (Paperback)

I have worked in CGI production for just about fifteen years. I started using Maya when it was in beta while working at RGA in NYC. I had been using the Alias for four years prior so I can claim some familiarity with the app. There is so much to Maya, it encompasses multiple career paths, to master it completely is an incredible task. Eric Keller, who I have worked with on a half dozen productions around LA, has taken it upon himself to master the program and to share his wealth of knowledge with the rest of us. There are so many valuable tidbits in the book. All areas are covered in professional detail. I highly recommend this book for the beginner and the expert alike as an immersion or refresher. It is an invaluable tool and a lifeline for a very sophisticated and mature application that just keeps evolving and adding functionality.