Customer Reviews

Maya 5 Killer Tips

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4 star:		(2)
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Book Review "Maya 5 Killer Tips!" BY WEYERT DE BOER

In most books you can find little boxes with Tips and Truces, in my opinion it is the most interesting subtexts available in books.
This "Killer Tips!" (An idea of Scott Kelly) series consists of a little book with around 180-200pages with wide collection of useful tips. "Maya 5 Killer Tips!" includes tips and trucks for Alias|Wavefront Maya 5. The book is written by Eric Hanson visual effects artist worked on movies like Spider-Man, Hollow Man and Fantasia 2000.

The book consists of several chapters who are:

1. Deciphering the Hieroglyphics;
2. Taming the Beast;
3. The Glamorous World Of Modelling;
4. Embracing the Revolution;
5. Rags to Rendering
6. From Home Movies to Hollywood;
7. Building Character (Animation That is)
8. Dangerous Effects Animation;
9. Getting Under the Hood;
10. Real World Production Methods

Maya 5 Killer Tips! Is a great book of resources to enhance and pepper up your knowledge about Alias|Wavefront Maya in general, a book from the beginner and the experts.The book includes tips and trucks you might never have found, if you had to find it yourself. It's a great resource for saving time when working with Maya 5. Especially the tips about (speeding) rendering and modelling were of big value for me.

This book should be on every desk who is serious Maya 5 user. The Killer Tips! Editions for other 3d applications are also in the works for example Lightwave Killer Tips!

This book has something for everyone. As an animation supervisor I was of course particularly interested in the sections on Character Animation and Rigging, but I was able to glean good information from the books other sections as well. Its written in a clear, concise (and sometimes witty) manner, and the book walks you through each tip and trick in a economical but thorough way. The great thing about this book IMHO is that because of its approach to each problem, it is able to fit a *lot* of different tips between the covers of its relatively slim profile. This makes it an ideal companion to larger, more pedestrian tomes on Maya, while keeping one step ahead with its insightful and often invaluable professional instruction. I recommend it for both the novice and seasoned user alike.

This book is great for unleashing new ideas on how to use Maya. Great at showing easier ways to accomplish common task. Best all around book ever on Maya with a catch. These are tips only, without detailed explanations. But that's okay, because once you can look online or in reference manuals for more details on the tools. This book is must for any Maya artist. One other negative is there is no CD. It was frustrating when you wanted to see for yourself how the steps were all put together.

This little book is a worth while addition to any Maya users desktop library. It contains a collection of tips that might take hours upon hours of probing the tool set to discover. Some of the tips included in the book could save a great deal of time as well as ease the headaches associated with the everyday use of a tool as complex as Maya. I have no problems recommending this book to both beginner and experienced Maya users alike.

This is a book that every Maya artist should have in "the little room off their master bedroom". The compact format that Hanson used in writing these tips makes it perfect for flipping through when you are sitting down for a couple of minutes in the morning... Seriously, when I saw the title I thought 'big deal, I've been using Maya for more than seven years now, why would I care about a book like this?', but it's an incredible treasure trove of quick little goodies for newbie and seasoned pro alike. Perhaps as importantly, the layout and design of the book are by far the best of any CG reference text I've ever encountered. I've probably spent many hundreds of dollars over the years on reference books that I never used because the layouts were so reader-unfriendly, and having been burned that way too many times I now put a lot of value on good design work. Hanson's Maya 5 Killer Tips just raised the book design bar to a new height. It looks good. The tips are good. It will help you make your art. Buy it.

I could not more highly recommend a book then this one, "Maya 5 Killer Tips." It truly is a killer book. I am very new to Maya, but with this book I have been able to work with some of the more powerful features of Maya 5 with greater ease thanks to this book. It is books like this one that greatly shortens the learning curve of powerful programs like Maya as well as enabling new users to enjoy the learning process at the same time. For the price of admission for two to a movie and a couple soft drinks you can have this excellent book.

***Most tips in this book are OK, but not by any means 'killer'.

I found some great tips, but I also found lots of common sense and not so useful advices - wondering why were they called 'tips' after all.

***The guy is funny and the reading is really entertaining,... but is that really what people should expect from a collection of 'killer tips'?

***I think the book could be more efficient, and less `blah blah blah ha ha ha wasn't this funny?' would help with that.

***It would be nice if the author would cut to the chase and in LESS words and MORE advices (tips), make this book a real killer, and a real must-have on the shelf of any Maya artist.

***Last, but not least, this book can actually be of great help to some...:)

I recently got this book and keep it by my desk when I am rendering. Just thumbing through it every now and then proves to be extreemly valuable. The tips are really good, well written, with lots of useful images. Even the most advanced maya users will find some great tips to speed up productivity. A very powerful tool for the newbie as well. Most of these tips cannot be found in a standard book without being buried in a tutorial. The other thing that I really liked about these tips is that they include technical tips as well as great artistic tips from a great master, Eric Hanson.

Maya 5 Killer Tips, is full of real tips, that can be used for just about any project. I'm an advanced Maya user, and found this book to be very helpful. This book covers it all, and is great for beginners to advanced Maya users alike.

I highly recommend this book.

I've been working in computer graphics for about eighteen years and Maya for the last two. I've always read books about CG very reluctantly. Even the most entertaining among them I've found to be a chore. But I have actually been surprised by my inability to put this book down. The information is very valuable and powerful. And the way the information is presented - in short, comprehensive, digestible nuggets - is perfect for creatives like me that have the attention span of a flea.