Mastering Maya 8.5 (Paperback)

~ John Kundert-Gibbs (Author), Mick Larkins (Author), Dariush Derakhshani (Author), Eric Kunzendorf (Author)
Key Phrases: render settings window, subdiv proxy, buffer curve snapshot, Attribute Editor, Channel Box, Graph Editor (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Take your Maya skills to new levels with the sophisticated coverage in this authoritative Autodesk Maya Press reference and tutorial. From key basics through advanced techniques, a team of Maya experts provides you with the very latest professional-level instruction on Maya Complete and Maya Unlimited through tutorials and hands-on practice. Whether a novice or an advanced user of Maya, you’ll find everything from key basics through advanced techniques.

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

From the Back Cover

The Ultimate Maya Resource for Intermediate to Advanced Users

Take your Maya skills to new levels with the sophisticated coverage you'll find in this authoritative Autodesk Maya Press reference and tutorial. From key basics through advanced techniques, our Maya experts provide the very latest professional-level instruction on Maya Complete and Maya Unlimited.

Early chapters offer a practical overview of Maya's interface. A "Quick Start" exercise lets novices create an animation the first day and covers the basics of node structure, keyframes, and basic lighting. Advanced users will broaden their skills with pertinent coverage for nCloth, mental ray integration, volume Fur rendering, advanced texturing tools, and enhanced MEL scripting. Practical tutorials reinforce learning with hands-on practice.

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

• Render and store stills through the Render View window
• Learn techniques with nCloth's powerful cloth simulation
• Tweak and add drag-and-drop Fluid Effects for real-world effects

The CD provides tutorial files, images, and scene files that let you complete the hands-on exercises and compare your work to the pros. See the Introduction for details and complete system requirements.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 880 pages
• Publisher: Sybex (April 9, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0470128453
• ISBN-13: 978-0470128459
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 7.3 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #272,505 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great for intermediate 3D users, even if new to Maya.., September 1, 2007

By	J. Harstad "stargazerj19" (soon to be Los Angeles) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I bought this book along with "Learning Autodesk Maya 8: Foundation" here on Amazon, and have found Mastering Maya 8.5 to be a much better help. I am relatively new to Maya, but have a 3D background (and 2d of course), applying it to mechanical engineering applications using other Autodesk products for around 10 years.

My work experience (even though it is in a different field than what Maya is used for) has given me a leg up on learning Maya (sort of, as Maya is its OWN world entirely compared to all the other programs I've learned, as they are just for modeling, not animation, texturing, lighting, etc.). Just so everyone knows that my review on this book is also tainted by my work history.

Using this along with Gnomon Workshop DVD's has made me a lot more proficient at what I need to do for work in the real world a LOT faster than trying to use "Learning AutoDesk Maya 8, Foundation".

I would recommend it for the intermediate 3D modeler/artist over all the other books I've looked through in friend's libraries, especially if you are actually USING 8.5 as opposed to older versions of Maya, of course :)

Very very good advice immediately in Chapter 1, regarding learning Maya in general, "The Maya interface can be a bit intimidating, and it's not fair to expect yourself to pick it up right up and remember where everything is"... also "Try not to rush it.." Maya is a large mountain of a program, and this book has helped me along my path quite a bit.

For the new Maya user who has a 3d background in other programs, I would recommend this as a first book, even though it has the word "mastering" in the title. Also, the Gnomon workshop DVD's on Maya are very good also if you can afford them or borrow them from a friend.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Need more time!, August 31, 2007

By	Sarah Ann Adkins "Soundtrack Lover" (Texas) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book isn't bad but you don't really get to Master Maya with it. Mastering Maya 8.5 does provide a pretty thorough overview. I had to fly through this book in 10 weeks because the college I attend is on the quarter system. It's a decent reference book, however, it doesn't give specific answers but gives the reader a more general idea. I bought Advanced Maya Texturing and Lighting for the next quarter and it goes into detailed explanations for every project. Maya is an extremely intensive program and time is needed to really understand it. Mastering Maya 8.5 is a great foundation book that takes you through the most basic steps everyone should know before continuing further.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars All the things you wanted to master, May 13, 2007

By	Paul Shortis "Graphic Designer" (Orlando) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is a great intermediate-advanced book for those who have some knowledge of Maya. It teaches all the techniques you need to know to use Maya 8 to the full. Probably too advanced for a beginer.