• Author:
  • Alias Wavefront
• Subject:
  Business Applications
• Published by:
  John Wiley & Sons Inc (US)
• Published:
  17/06/2003
• Price:
  $105.00
• <  Buy this book  >

Maya is the first choice of digital content creators producing award-winning games, 3D animation and visual effects. Built on a procedural architecture called the Dependency Graph, Maya offers incredible power and flexibility for generating digital images of animated characters and scenes.

Learning Maya 5: Foundation takes you through over twenty project-focused lessons that offer hands-on experience with key tools and techniques.

This book introduces you to the following topics:
* The Maya User Interface
* Working in 3D space
* NURBS (spline) Modeling
* Polygonal Modeling
* Keyframes and Motion Paths
* Trax(TM) Non-linear animation
* Forward and Inverse Kinematics
* Surface Deformations
* Cameras and Lights
* Shaders and Techniques
* Particles and Dynamics
* MEL (Maya Embedded Language)
What you need to use this book:
* Maya Complete(TM), Maya Unlimited(TM), or Maya Personal Learning Edition(TM) version 5 software
* A DVD-ROM or set-top player

Project One: Bouncing Ball
Quickly get your feet wet by animating a basic bouncing ball. Add a squash and stretch, create a ring of fire using a particle clip effect, then add sparks as the ball hits the flames.

Project Two: Jack-in-the-box
Learn the basics of modeling, animating, and rendering a scene. Use Maya Artisan(TM) tools to sculpt Jack's face and to paint a color texture in 3D. Refine the scene's rendering using IPR (Interactive Photorealistic Rendering).

Project Three: Space Battle
Starting with a more in-depth look at polygonal and NURBS modeling, this project sets up a motion path animation, complete with Opti-FX explosions. Use Maya Paint Effects(TM) to create a realistic starfield.

Project Four: Primitive Man
Using Maya's Trax non-linear animation, you cycle for a bi-ped Inverse Kinematic skeleton. This lesson will also explore basic character skinning and deformation.

Project Five: Salty the Seal
This project brings together the skills developed in earlier lessons into a more complex scene where you learn how Maya lets you fully integrate modeling, rendering, and animation tasks.

This official book is authored by Alias Wavefront, the creators of Maya.

Introduction.

Learning Maya | Foundation.

Understanding Maya.

Project One.

Lesson 1: Bouncing a Ball.

Lesson 2: Adding Character.

Lesson 3: Rendering.

Lesson 4: Particles.

Lesson 5: Working with Maya.

Lesson 6: The Dependency Graph.

Project Two.

Lesson 7: Curves and Surfaces.

Lesson 8: Organic Modeling.

Lesson 9: Animation.

Lesson 10: Secondary Animation.

Lesson 11: Rendering.

Project Three.

Lesson 12: Polygonal Spaceship.

Lesson 13: NURBS Spaceship.

Lesson 14: Animating the Ships.

Lesson 15: Visual Effects.

Project Four.

Lesson 16: Primitive Man.

Lesson 17: Character Controls.

Lesson 18: Animating a Walk Cycle.

Lesson 19: Non-linear Animation.

Project Five.

Lesson 20: Building Salty.

Lesson 21: Adding Facial Details.

Lesson 22: Animating Salty.

Lesson 23: Building the Set.

Lesson 24: Texture Mapping.

Lesson 25: Blinking Using MEL.

Index.