Maya 5 Fundamentals [Paperback]

Jim Lammers (Author), Garry Lewis (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 2, 2004

With the powerful 3D modeling program Maya 5, you're limited only by your own imagination. To set it free, look no further than this indispensable guide! In these pages, veteran animator Jim Lammers (who brought life to the Sony/Tristar film Starship Troopers) takes you from a review of 3D fundamentals to full-blown Maya 5 content creation. In the process you'll learn about Maya's interface and tools; modeling with NURBS and polygons; applying materials and textures; rendering stills and animations; using particle systems, dynamics, and paint effects; and more. By detailing not just how Maya works but the 3D principles and fundamentals that guide its use, this volume will have your creating brave new worlds of your own in no time. Also included is complete coverage of all of Maya 5's new features, including improved rendering options and never-before-seen atmospheric effects made possible by extensions to Maya Fluid Effects. A companion CD includes video-captured movies that walk you through every tutorial in the book.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

With the powerful 3D modeling program Maya 5, you're limited only by your own imagination. To set it free, look no further than this indispensable guide! In these pages, veteran animator Jim Lammers (who brought life to the Sony/Tristar film Starship Troopers) takes you from a review of 3D fundamentals to full-blown Maya 5 content creation. In the process you'll learn about Maya's interface and tools; modeling with NURBS and polygons; applying materials and textures; rendering stills and animations; using particle systems, dynamics, and paint effects; and more. By detailing not just how Maya works but the 3D principles and fundamentals that guide its use, this volume will have your creating brave new worlds of your own in no time. Also included is complete coverage of all of Maya 5's new features, including improved rendering options and never-before-seen atmospheric effects made possible by extensions to Maya Fluid Effects. A companion CD includes video-captured movies that walk you through every tutorial in the book.

About the Author

Garry Lewis is a 3D artist, specializing in building large-scale environments. As a graduate of Kansas State University in interior architecture and product design, his last three years in the program were devoted to the study of 3D animation. He started as a 3D artist for Heilein Schrock Architects in Kansas City, building sports stadiums and large-venue commercial projects. He later moved to Los Angeles, where he worked as a freelance artist and consultant for Knoll Furniture company. He later joined forces with Digital Firepower to create fantasy environments for the film Dungeons and Dragons. Garry then became the 3D project manager for Fearless Eye Animation Studio. His projects include work with Sprint, KC Speedway, Missouri University, and other local and national companies. He is currently working near Atlanta, Georgia, on a completely 3D animated feature film. Garry can be contacted at [e-mail].

Jim Lammers is an animator, instructor, and reseller of Maya based in Kansas City, Missouri. A graduate of the University of Missouri's Electrical Engineering program, he switched to freelance animation within a few years of graduation and formed his company, Trinity Animation, in 1992. Since then, Jim has combined animation production with training and 3D software sales. Trinity Animation's web site is a popular source worldwide for 3D software and related tools. Jim coordinates an active animation user's group in Kansas City and continues to produce animation. He created 3D effects for the Sony/TriStar film Starship Troopers in 1997 under renowned Hollywood effects veteran, Peter Kuran, and his company, VCE. Jim's other past animation work includes visualization projects for clients such as Nestle, McDonald's, and Butler Manufacturing. Jim can be reached at [e-mail].

Product Details

• Paperback: 600 pages
• Publisher: New Riders Press; Pap/DVD edition (February 2, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0735713723
• ISBN-13: 978-0735713727
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 7.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 2.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,517,713 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not my first choice for learning Maya, January 3, 2005

By 

G. Fogle "Tillie B" (FLA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Maya 5 Fundamentals (Paperback)

To start I'll let you know I own Maya Fundamentals 4.5, 5.0, and Learning Maya 5: Foundation books. I only bought the Foundation book because it was required for a college course I took.

I recommend 4.5 book over the 5.0 for two reasons:

1. The CD is much better, in that the lessons are a playback resolution of 800 x 600. The 5.0 is higher and thus "fuzzier" and harder to read when exact numbers are given for tutorials and you pause to make sure you have exact coordinates.

2. The lessons do not flow as well, in my opinion, in 5.0. For example, there is an instructional error in extruding a surface in chapter five in the first lesson. If I was totally green to computer graphics, I'd have not figured it out. The first tutorial you need to extrude the face on the "Y" not on the "Z" axis as intructed in print. (Yeah, it's kind of a "duh" moment.)

I do like the tutorial covered on Polygons in Chapter 5. I think the demonstration of using the sculpt polygon tool is great. This book does hit modeling with polygons harder, which I do like.

However, I suggest Maya Fundamentals 4.5 if you are brand new to Maya. The CD is much more helpful, the lesson flow very well and I do find the narator much more "in-command" of the subject matter being presented (it doesn't sound like he is following a script laying on the desktop).


I do think that if you wish to pursue more modeling instruction, this book does offer more for polygon modeling.

I have to give it the additonal star for the coverage of polygonal modeling.

I do suggest Maya Fundamentals 4.5 first, regardless of which verision of Maya you are running.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars look elsewhere, February 28, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Maya 5 Fundamentals (Paperback)

First off, the reason I bought the book is because it's required text for a Maya class I'm taking and the instructors decided on this book before it's release - big mistake! This book is loaded with inaccurate, vague or mislabeled information and the DVD isn't much better, in one of the DVD tutorials the instructor stops and backtracks several times because his "script" is off. Please save yourself the complete frustration if you are learning Maya, and look elsewhere for something more helpful.

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Buy it for the DVD not the text, February 8, 2004

By 

william lombardo (new york city, ny USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Maya 5 Fundamentals (Paperback)

Buy this book for the DVD not the text. I have read many books written about Maya and this is the worst. It fails for two or three reasons the first being cheap production values. Trying to follow the tutorials is like finding a white duck in a snow storm. You are supposed to follow the intricate instructions by looking at example screen captures from the actual program. The printing is so flat in contrast that trying to figure out what the authors are referring to is impossible in many examples.
The second reason for this not so positive review is that the authors instruct you on how to re-create the tutorials from a very non intuitive approach. You are to type numbers in fields to get the desired affects in the tutorial. I found myself more curious how they came up with the numbers as that would have given me more useful information than plugging in abstract ( as far as the reader is concerned) numbers. It was like following a food recipe exactly word for word only to find there was a typo and the amounts were incorrect.
As a last resort, I put in the DVD of movies of each tutorial to see if I could get a better idea of what was supposed to be happening. I thought this was the solution until I got to Chapter 5 and then I experience the strangest thing I had ever seen on a training video. It becomes apparent that the person doing the tutorial demo is NOT one of the authors.
The other thing that becomes apparent is that the lessons are filled with mistakes in the data you enter and in process. I am trying to follow along with the tutorial and I am now hearing the speaker say " I can't figure out what the author meant by this"" or " these numbers do seem to be correct". I felt sorry for the guy. He was reading from a script that seemed to follow the book text but he was wandering in the woods at midnight. There were times when he just stopped talking and I knew he was trying to figure out how to continue the demo.
I must blame whoever produced the DVD because the the person doing the tutorials obviously had never seen the "script" before. There were no second takes. There were instances where even I could see where following the instruction was going to cause a problem with the model. He couldn't get it close to what was intended in many instances. When I went to the next movie the problem was corrected - no explanations.
This was such an amateurish production from beginning to end that I felt I had to write this review. Maya is such a deep program that any help furthering your skill would be a welcome one- as long as it doesn't make the complicated more obtuse as this book does..... SAVE YOU MONEY or buy it for the DVD or better yet buy a better book. (The actual cover art is different from the photo in this listing)