Maya is one of the most widely used 3D animation programs available. It is used in every major movie and by most special effects and game studios. With its new competitive pricing,
its user base continues to grow, and with each new release, Maya expands its already impressive feature set.
These new features keep Maya users loyal and anxious
to upgrade. The Maya 6 Handbook is a completely updated edition of the best-selling The Maya 4.5 Handbook. It not
only teaches users how to utilize the new features, but provides a complete guide to the fundamentals of this powerful program.
Unlike many books that use a variety of unrelated tutorials, this book uses a complete, practical project for users to work through as they learn to model, render, and animate in Maya.
By the conclusion of the book users will understand how and why Maya works, providing them with the knowledge they need to adapt the tools to a variety of tasks and projects. The companion CD-ROM includes all the figures
from the book in full color, as well as the Maya files used in
the completion of the exercises.
CHAPTER1 MAYA WORK FLOW AND INTERFACE
CHAPTER 2 GETTING STARTED WITH MODELING
CHAPTER 3 NURBS AND COMPONENT-LEVEL EDITING
CHAPTER 4 NURBS CONTINUED
CHAPTER 5 COMPONENT-LEVEL EDITING AND BOOLEANS
CHAPTER 6 SUBDIVISION MODELING
CHAPTER7 MATERIALS AND TEXTURING
CHAPTER 8 CUSTOM TEXTURE MAPS IN MATERIALS
CHAPTER 9 LIGHTING AND RENDERING
CHAPTER 10 RIGGING THE BIRD FOR ANIMATION
CHAPTER 11 ANIMATION
APPENDIX A WHICH HARDWARE TO USE
APPENDIX B CUSTOMIZING THE MAYA USER INTERFACE
APPENDIX C CREATING EFFECTIVE TEXTURE MAPS
APPENDIX D ABOUT THE CD-ROM
Author Description
Adam Watkins
Adam Watkins is the director of Computer Arts at the University of the Incarnate Word in San Antonio, Texas.
He has a BFA in theater set and lighting design, and an
MFA in graphic design. He is also the author or The Maya 4.5 Handbook, The Cinema 4D R8 Handbook, and the Final Cut Pro 3 DVD Studio Pro Handbook. He Currently teaches a number of 3D graphics courses, including several on Maya.
Chris Neuhahn
Chris Neuhahn is a professional animator of seven years.
He has generated graphics and animation for courtroom presentations, medical illustration, cinematics for many
popular video games (Myst III: Exile, Pitfall Harry, Shrek 2, Medal of Honor, and Shark Tale), and a children’s television show. He is currently working on and animated series of short films called Vacant planet (www.vacantplanet.com).