Mastering Maya 2009

The Ultimate Maya 2009 Resource for Intermediate to Advanced Users

If you already know the basics of Maya, now you can elevate your skills with Maya 2009 and the advanced coverage in this authoritative new reference and tutorial. From modeling, texturing, animation, and visual effects to high–level techniques for film, television, games, and more, this book provides professional–level instruction on Maya Complete and Maya Unlimited.

This fully updated book brings you up to speed on Maya 2009's new features and expands your skills with advanced instruction on cloth, fur, and fluids. You'll learn Dynamics, Maya Muscle, Stereo Cameras, Assets, rendering with mental ray, and more. Filled with challenging tutorials and real–world scenarios from some of the leading professionals in the industry, this one–of–a–kind guide gives you valuable insight into the entire CG production pipeline.

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

The companion DVD provides video files to drive home concepts, as well as images and scene files that help you complete the exercises and compare your work to the pros.

• Use nParticles to create dynamic simulations and explosions

• Create realistic human skin for characters using advanced mental ray shader techniques

• Learn professional lighting, rendering, and compositing techniques using mental ray Render Layers and Render Passes

Introduction.

Chapter 1: Working in Maya.

Chapter 2: Maya Cameras.

Chapter 3: NURBS Modeling in Maya.

Chapter 4: Polygon and Subdivision Surface Modeling.

Chapter 5: Animation.

Chapter 6: Animating with Deformers.

Chapter 7: Rigging and Muscle Systems.

Chapter 8: Paint Effects and Toon Shading

Chapter 9: mental ray Lights.

Chapter 10: mental ray Shaders.

Chapter 11: Texture Mapping.

Chapter 12: Rendering for Compositing.

Chapter 13: Introducing nParticles.

Chapter 14: Advanced nDynamic Effects.

Chapter 15: Fur, Hair, and Clothing.

Chapter 16: Maya Fluids.

Chapter 17: MEL and Python.

Appendix A: The Bottom Line.

Appendix B: About the Companion DVD.

Eric Keller has been a professional 3D artist and high–end animator for film, commercials, and TV for ten years, creating animations and effects for Disney, Warner Brothers, ESPN, Harvard Medical School, and CBS. He got his start developing animations for scientific visualization at the prestigious Howard Hughes Medical Institute, where he worked with some of the world's leading researchers. Eric is the author of Maya Visual Effects: The Innovator's Guide and Introducing ZBrush, and a contributing author to Mastering Maya 8.5 and Mastering Maya 7, all from Sybex. He has also written numerous tutorials for industry magazines and websites.