Introduction To 3d Graphics And Animation Using Maya

Written for aspiring designers, modelers, animators, texture artist, and those new to 3D graphics, Introduction to 3D Graphics and Animation Using Maya explores the fundamentals of 3D. Using a variety of practical tutorials, you'll learn everything you need to know about the techniques and theory behind modeling, rendering, UV editing and layout, texturing, lighting, animation, and character animation. And you'll learn how to use Maya to put your new 3D knowledge into practice.To be a successful modeler, texture artists, or animator, you need to know when and why you should use certain tools and techniques. To help you achieve this, each chapter starts with a bit of theory, and the tutorials have frequent interludes that help explain the "why" behind what you have just done. These "whys" include some important tips on how to use a tool and explain why you used that particular tool. By using these sections, you'll be able to move beyond just following a 3D recipe, to being able to create your own masterpieces. And at the end of each chapter there are additional practice exercises to challenge you even further.If you want to learn the fundamentals of 3D graphics and find out how to put them into practice using Maya, this is the book for you!

Many animators and designers would like to supplement their Maya learning with a less-technical, more helpful book. This self-study manual is both a general guide for understanding 3-D computer graphics and a specific guide for learning the fundamentals of Maya: workspace, modeling, animation, shading, lighting, and rendering. Understanding 3-D Animation Using Maya covers these fundamentals in each chapter so that readers gain increasingly detailed knowledge. After an initial 'concepts' section launches each chapter, hands-on tutorials are provided, as well as a chapter project that progressively adds newly learned material and culminates in the final animated short. This is the first book on Maya that teaches the subject using a sensible, proven methodology for both novices and intermediate users. Topics and features: - Proven method that emphasizes preliminaries to every chapter - Integrates the "why" concepts of 3-D simultaneously with the "how-to" techniques - Skills reinforced with tutorials and chapter projects - Real-world experience distilled into helpful hints and step-by-step guides for common tasks

Wavefront's Maya is the premier tool for 3D modeling, animation, and rendering, used by top studios to create everything from ads to movies to computer games. This book is an official, heavily illustrated, full-color guide to Maya essentials, straight from the creators of the program.

This unique, full-color visual exploration of the theory of Maya is rich with diagrams and illustrations that demonstrate the critical concepts of 3D time and space, and helps explain the principles of 3D modeling, animation, dynamics and rendering. The book also includes a series of production notes detailing how skilled Maya artists have worked with the software to create production quality films, games, visualizations, and animations. The accompanying CD-ROM includes Maya Personal Learning Edition.

"Accessible to art, engineering, computer science, and film students and professionals, this text provides a concise, principles-based introduction to 3D animation. It emphasizes the process for creating animated projects in a nonmathematical fashion. The text focuses on how to carry out this process with Autodesk Maya, the gold standard in 3D animation. Each chapter introduces a critical aspect of the 3D animation process and guides readers through simple, step-by-step tutorials that link key principles to Autodesk Maya techniques."--

The Art of Maya 3rd edition is an introduction to 3D computer graphics unlike any other. Join the thousands of users who've garnered the knowledge they needed to enter the 3rd dimension with this full color visual exploration of the theory of Maya. Rich with diagrams and illustrations that demonstrate the critical concepts of 3D time and space, this book will help you understand the concepts critical to conveying your artistic vision through the medium of 3D. If you are an artist looking to incorporate 3D into your toolkit, this is the resource you need. Understand: * 3D Computer Graphics * Time and Space * Animation * Setting Keys * Non-linear Animation * Rigid Body Dynamics * Modeling * NURBS * Polygons * Subdivision Surfaces * Deformations * Deforming Objects * Lattices and Clusters * Character Animation * Materials and Textures * Shading Networks * Texture Maps * Bumps and Displacements * Digital Cinematography * Shadows * Lighting * Cameras * Rendering * Effects * Particle Effects * Paint Effects * Maya Fluid Effects * Maya Cloth * Maya Long Hair * Interactive 3D * Game Creation * Building Levels The Art of Maya includes Maya Personal Learning Edition to allow you to start practicing right away. The book closes with a series of Production Notes detailing how skilled Maya artists have worked with the software to create production quality films, games, visualizations and animations. Get an inside look at the use of Maya by: * The Canadian Broadcast Corporation * Turner Studios * Digital Domain for the making of I-Robot * Weta Digital in the making of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King * The AOES Medialab * BioDigital * The Mill * Oddworld Inhabitants in the making of Oddworld Stranger's Wrath

Each chapter of 3D Animation for the Raw Beginner Using Maya introduces critical aspects of the 3D animation process and presents clear and concise tutorials that link key concepts to practical Autodesk® Maya® techniques. Providing a principles-based, yet pragmatic, approach to 3D animation, this first-of-its-kind book: Describes the process for creating animated projects in a nonmathematical fashion Explains why—and not just how—to apply Maya techniques in the real world Includes access to a dedicated Web site, http://3dbybuzz.com, featuring useful videos, lessons, and updates 3D Animation for the Raw Beginner Using Maya is an ideal academic textbook as well as a superlative do-it-yourself training manual. When employed as a text, it frees the instructor from the painstaking task of developing step-by-step examples to present Maya’s complex interface and basic capabilities. When used for individual study, aspiring animators revel in the book’s easy-to-follow, hands-on learning style. Make 3D Animation for the Raw Beginner Using Maya your book of choice for understanding the essential theory and practice of 3D animation.

A practical, step-by-step guide to Maya 2011 Four previous editions can’t be wrong: this book is the perfect introduction to 3D and Maya. Learn to build and animate your own digital models and scenes with step-by-step instruction and fun and practical examples, while you draw inspiration from the striking examples included from talented Maya users. You’ll create a simple animation of the planets in the solar system, learn to model a human hand and a decorative box—among other projects—and master all essential tools. Provides a thorough, step-by-step introduction to Maya 2011 Explains the core concepts of CG and working in 3D Covers modeling, rigging, HDRI lighting, mental ray rendering, and more Provides project files on CD and walks you through the creation of several projects; the CD also includes images, movies, and scene files Includes a color insert with pages of striking examples from talented Maya beginners Build your Maya and animation skills from the ground up with this practical, thorough guide. Note: CD-ROM/DVD and other supplementary materials are not included as part of eBook file. For Instructors: Teaching supplements are available for this title.