Maya 4.5 Fundamentals [Paperback]

Jim Lammers (Author), Lee Gooding (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 14, 2003

Whether you are new to the 3D environment or are porting your skills from a different 3D graphics program, if you are a hands-on learner, Maya 4.5 Fundamentals is the book for you. In this revision of the bestselling Maya 4 Fundamentals, authors Jim Lammers and Lee Gooding get you started with a straightforward conceptual framework, then launch into a series of well-developed tutorials designed to move you from being a rank beginner to a confident Maya user.

Maya 4.5 Fundamentals includes:

• In-depth coverage of how to use Maya 4.5 Complete's tool set
• New chapter on character animation and updated chapters including coverage of smooth proxy
• Professional training through well-constructed tutorials
• 14 hours of movie files (on the CD), providing step-by-step demonstrations of every tutorial
• Exploration of such topics as lighting, materials, particles dynamics, character animation, smooth proxy, rendering, and using paint effects
• Custom marking menus and hotkeys to enhance your efficiency

Be sure to visit the Maya 4.5 Fundamentals web site at www.mayafundamentals.com for more downloadable tutorials and updates on using this book with Maya Personal Learning Edition.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

In an effort to continually improve our products, New Riders Publishing is looking for feedback from those who have purchased this book. This feedback is specifically about the CD-ROM that accompanied the book, and its impact on the prodcut. Please email the Media Developer for New Riders Publishing, Jay Payne ([e-mail]) if you would like to participate in the feedback.

From the Author

Based on some of the feedback we got for the 4.0 edition, we tried to improve the 4.5 edition in several ways. First, we added more information on the character animation tools in Maya. Garry Lewis, a talented Maya artist, helped me craft the content of this chapter. Secondly, we added all the edits necessary to make the new edition respect the features new to Maya 4.5. This is particularly evident in the re-write of chapter 7's proxy modeling - Maya's new SmoothProxy feature made this faster and easier than before. I also added a tutorial for 3D paint. I made many minor edits to clarify certain topics.

We've continued the philosophy of the prior edition in avoiding jargon, explaining every step in the tutorials, and providing enough Maya and CGI background to give quick comfort to the new Maya or new 3D user. 14 hours of crystal clear 800x600 video are on the CD to explain any steps for which the reader needs more detail. Scene files are saved every few steps, so you can hop in at virtually any point within a chapter. And best yet, the free Maya Personal Learning Edition 4.5 can directly load all these Maya .mb and .ma files, so you don't need to download anything from the book's home page - Jim Lammers

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Product Details

• Paperback: 624 pages
• Publisher: New Riders Press; 1st edition (January 14, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0735713278
• ISBN-13: 978-0735713277
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.4 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,198,685 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If you are NEW to MAYA, grab this BOOK !, March 20, 2003

By 

Iwan Kartiko (OZ-Syd) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Maya 4.5 Fundamentals (Paperback)

I started with MAYA FUNDAMENTAL 4, which I find very useful, step by step instruction, clear description of whatever going on in your screen.

MAYA 4.5 FUNDAMENTALS is just another amazing masterpiece from Jim lammers and Lee gooding. I find the chapters are easy to follow. If you are new to MAYA (like me) or you have some experience with other 3d software, this book will guide you to work like a pro. You will learn from "What? MAYA?" to "Particle System and Dynamics" in no time

If you still cant understand what's going on with some of the chapter, the video in the CD-ROM will get you up and running in no time!

cheers!

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing!, March 17, 2003

By 

Andrew Mays (Newman, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Maya 4.5 Fundamentals (Paperback)

Ever since I purchased Maya 4 Fundamentals, I've been practically glued to my computer. I loved the book so much I went out bought Maya 4.5 Fundamentals and it still had that great learning technique. These books are outstanding and the best thing about them is the CD-ROM that comes with them. If you get stuck on a tutorial, or just want to see how the tutorials are done, you can watch the authors as they do the tutorials! I recommend this book, and it's predecessor, Maya 4 Fundamentals, to anyone looking to get into the computer graphics industry using Maya.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Book, July 21, 2003

By 

"mbohland14" (Mi USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Maya 4.5 Fundamentals (Paperback)

This book is excellent. The book was written so well that the book itself should teach you maya alone. AND the CD was done so well that the CD itself should teach you maya alone. Basically the first 4 chapters teach you all of maya and if you have some experiance you don't really need to go on. But the rest of the chapters are great also because they go into extreme details over all the different parts of maya. The authors did an excellent job with this book and the cd that comes with it. A lot of parts of the book can be used for future reference also. This book is worth a million dollars (in my mind).