Maya 4.5 Savvy (Paperback)

by John Kundert-Gibbs (Author), Peter Lee (Author) "Three-dimensional modeling and animation are challenging tasks..." (more)
Key Phrases: brownian texture, adjusting goal weights, winged vertices, Paint Effects, Graph Editor, Perry Harovas (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
"Maya 4.5 Savvy covers a lot of ground....Very well organized. 4.5 COWs [out of 5]" -- Sean Fennell, CreativeCOW.net

"Well thought out and organised...The book is easy to dive into at any page and glean some useful information." -- 3D World Magazine

Product Description
Maya 4.5 Savvy is the first of Sybex's authorized, Alias|Wavefront Approved titles. Written by a top-notch team of Maya professionals, this book is a thorough update to the best-selling Mastering Maya 3. It offers the most comprehensive coverage available for Alias|Wavefront's powerful software. An all-new chapter on the Fluid Effects features teaches you how to create fluid effects, such as moving liquids, smoke, and fiery explosions. Other key topics include: Modeling with NURBs and polygons; creating realistic textures and shading; and working with particles, dynamics, and MEL.

Maya 4.5 Savvy features hands-on tutorials that integrate Maya instruction with real-world advice on planning, organizing, and managing your Maya creations. A full-color insert illustrates the techniques discussed in the book. And the enclosed CD includes Alias|Wavefront's Maya Personal Learning Edition 4.5 software (among other valuable tools), making this a true all-in-one solution.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 864 pages
• Publisher: Sybex Inc (January 14, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0782141099
• ISBN-13: 978-0782141092
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 7.4 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #310,003 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Maya Masters at Work, February 24, 2003

By	"calimex" (Davie, Florida) - See all my reviews

Maya 4.5 Savvy is an outstanding book, although it might not be for everyone it is still a remarkable book. I am fond of the the writing style that has been associated with the publishing company and couldnt wait for the book to publish. The book is organized and enjoyable to read (and im a new to 3d and MAYA). As a student in Florida studying Maya this book has me excited and enthusiastic waiting to get back home and work on it. Other than my cell phone this book is with me at all times. I dont recommend skipping pages unless you are familiar with maya and its tools... example in chapter 12: Binding under creating a rigid skin it asks you to create a nurbs cylinder and increase its scetion to 10 its span to 6 and height to 10 step 2. in the side view create a skelton chain... if you havent read the before pages than can u really complete this excercise... again if you are new to Maya than read this book from Cover to Cover if you are an advance user i believe that this is a great reference tool which is what books are for anyways references. If you would like more info go to the publishes website, there is a pdf sample (as of 02/03)... read it and see if this is something for you... it sold me on the book. 5 STARS

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars tutorials are incomplete with mistakes, August 13, 2003

By	Liz (Brooklyn, NY United States) - See all my reviews

I've been using Maya for 5 years now and bought this book for extra skills. I cannot believe that Alias endorses this. I tried the walk cycle tutorial, which has technical mistakes, if I didn't have the experience I do, I would be completely lost. The hand building tutorial is so cryptic as to where to add faces to the thumb to make it look like the illustration shown that I want to throw the book out the window. I wish I had read these reviews as well, do not buy this book!!!!

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Worthy of the title "bible", March 3, 2003

By A Customer

I believe this book is great. It covers tons of tools and concepts, but most importantly it covers the "why" aspect of things. Most books and tutorials are just "do this, do this" but never bother to explain "why," this book does a pretty good job on the "why" end of things. I like how the author explains things, easy to follow and very well organized. The index is pretty complete so its easy to look up something that you forget later down the road. It sits on my desk next to my workstation at all times. The book also points out specific features that have been added in 4.5 along the way.

If I had to do it over again, I would be sure to pick this book up.