mental ray for Maya, 3ds Max, and XSI: A 3D Artist's Guide to Rendering [Paperback]

Boaz Livny (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 20, 2007 | ISBN-10: 0470008547 | ISBN-13: 978-0470008546

Turn 3D models into film-worthy digital animations by mastering mental ray rendering once and for all. This must-have guide is the only book on the market to focus exclusively on mental ray in Maya, 3ds Max, and XSI, and it's packed with techniques and insights you can't get anywhere else. Best of all, the book's advanced rendering concepts apply to other rendering software as well, including V-Ray, Brazil, Maxwell and RenderMan. Discover advanced lighting, camera, and workflow techniques that usually take professionals years to figure out.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Render them speechless with this in-depth guide to mental ray

Turn 3D models into film-worthy digital animations by mastering mental ray rendering once and for all. This must-have guide is the only book on the market to focus exclusively on mental ray in Maya, 3ds Max, and XSI, and it's packed with techniques and insights you can't get anywhere else. Best of all, the book's advanced rendering concepts apply to other rendering software as well, including V-Ray, Brazil, Maxwell and RenderMan.

From scattering light to reducing render artifacts to deciphering rendering and shadow algorithms, you'll get a high-level look at advanced lighting, camera, and workflow techniques that usually take professionals years to figure out. This valuable book also covers the very latest on HDR image editing, viewing, and compositing tools—and features a sixteen-page color insert that showcases final rendered images.

• Get the fundamentals on light, cameras, and mental ray output

• Render from the host application or from the stand-alone renderer

• Explore the full array of mental ray shaders and shader libraries

• Get exclusive coverage of custom shaders that don't ship with any of the host applications

• Simulate light bounce with indirect illumination for more realism

• Apply textures, projections, and light profiles

• Perform subsurface scattering and Nuke compositing

• Master the fine points of Final Gather and ambient occlusion

• Create photo-realistic characters, objects, and landscapes

About the Author

Boaz Livny teaches mental ray and advanced Maya courses at New York's prestigious Center for Advanced Digital Applications and heads the Advanced Maya training at the New York Film Academy. He is also owner of Vision Animation Studios, providing film, TV, and media services for clients such as Nicktoons, AOL, The Wilderness, Cinema Factory, and more.

Product Details

• Paperback: 756 pages
• Publisher: Sybex (February 20, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0470008547
• ISBN-13: 978-0470008546
• Product Dimensions: 7.3 x 1.4 x 9.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,122,997 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #51 in Books > Computers & Technology > Graphic Design > Rendering & Ray Tracing

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars mental ray! democracy! at last! December 20, 2007

By Aaron A. Kent

Format:Paperback

As an XSI user I normally approach all Sybex publications with a fair amount of trepidation. Sure it says XSI on the cover, but I'm about to have to sift through another maya-centric publication. My hat is off to you sir, I think this is one of the best manuals to come out in a long time (and I've bought my share). It's really great to see "the big three" programs all receiving equal attention, and for anybody who might be proficient in one package it's invaluable to have each aspect of Mental ray explained in triplicate, just in case you have to dive into somebody else's project in an unfamiliar app to tune up a render. Again, terrific job, this book is invaluable to any artist hoping to expand their render chops. I hope Sybex see's this as well (sales-wise and otherwise) and continues creating books of this caliber for maya, 3ds max AND XSI.

Cheers
Aaron Kent

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars This is gonna save Time,Money and a lot of Stress-Happy Rendering January 22, 2008

By Santosh Gunaseelan

Format:Paperback

After reading a couple of books on mental ray and 3D rendering, I can say that this is a thorough and unique book that just provides an abundance of useful information. I can list some of the things that stand out when reading this book:

1. It helped me understand the complete working and optimization of subsurface scattering, global illumination, caustics, occlusion, and high dynamic range images (even though I thought I knew it all).

2. Shaders.. shaders and more shaders.. I can definitely say this is the only book which dissects all the commercially available mental ray shaders on a very extensive level.

3. Since the book explains the concepts and techniques on a broader scope it can be applied to any 3D package or renderer. It may sound surprising but I have applied a lot of concepts explained here on other packages like Houdini and Cinema 4D with great success.

The author has done a great job in striking a relationship between digital implementation to the natural phenomena of cameras, lights, shadows, materials etc. It definitely caters to users of all levels of experience. I should also mention that the book is insanely up to date; the architectural shader sections are a typical example.

Hats Off!!!

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The "Go To" Guide January 1, 2008

By David Halbstein

Format:Paperback

This book gives a definitive methodology for using Mental Ray shaders, lighting effects and phenomena AND a clear explanation of how and why things work the way they do. Understanding the basic structure of the software is key to being able to make it work in different applications, and it is this understanding that Boaz provides in this book.

As a Maya instructor at the undergraduate and graduate university level, I am going to make this required reading for my classes, and recommend its inclusion in the department library.