A practical, step-by-step guide to Maya 2012 This book is the ideal primer to getting started with Maya, the premier 3D animation and effects software used in movies, visual effects, games, cartoons, short films, and commercials. You'll learn the Maya interface and the basics of modeling, texturing, animating, and visual effects. Professional visual effects artist and instructor Dariush Derakhshani explains the nuances of the complex software, while creative tutorials offer realistic, professional challenges for those new to 3D. You'll be up and running in no time with the world's most popular professional 3D software application. * Provides a thorough, step-by-step introduction to Maya 2012 * Explains the core concepts of CG and working in 3D * Covers modeling, rigging, HDRI lighting, mental ray rendering, and more * Concepts are reinforced with tutorials that offer realistic challenges and clear explanations * Color insert provides real-world examples from talented beginning Maya users Build your Maya and animation skills from the ground up with this practical, thorough guide.

Table of Contents:
Introduction xvii Chapter 1 Introduction to Computer Graphics and 3D 1 Art? 2 Computer Graphics 2 The Stages of Production 4 The CG Production Workflow 8 Core Concepts 11 Basic Film Concepts 23 Summary 28 Chapter 2 Jumping in Headfirst, with Both Feet 31 You Put the U in UI 32 Project Overview: The Solar System 37 The Preproduction Process: Planning 37 Creating a Project 38 The Production Process: Creating and Animating the Objects 40 Hierarchy and Maya Object Structure 53 The Solar System Resumed 56 Outputting Your Work: Playblasting 64 Summary 66 Chapter 3 The Maya 2012 Interface 67 Navigating in Maya 68 Maya's Layout 68 Building a Decorative Box 82 Mapping the Box's Reference Planes with Hypershade 86 Organizing Workflow with Layer Editor 90 Modeling the Decorative Box 92 Editing the Decorative Box Model Using the Shelf 98 Continuing the Decorative Box Model 103 Finishing the Decorative Box Model 106 Summary 113 Chapter 4 Beginning Polygonal Modeling 115 Planning Your Model 116 Polygon Basics 119 Poly Editing Tools 121 Putting the Tools to Use: Making a Simple Hand 125 Creating Areas of Detail on a Poly Mesh 131 Modeling a Classic Steam Locomotive 139 Suggestions for Modeling Polygons 163 Summary 163 Chapter 5 Modeling with NURBS, Subdivisions, and Deformers 165 NURBS! NURBS! 166 Using NURBS Surfacing to Create Polygons 178 Converting a NURBS Model to Polygons 180 Editing NURBS Surfaces 181 Patch Modeling: A Locomotive Detail 183 Using Artisan to Sculpt NURBS 194 Modeling with Simple Deformers 196 The Lattice Deformer 200 Animating through a Lattice 205 Subdivision Surfaces 208 Creating a Starfish 208 Building a Teakettle 213 Summary 221 Chapter 6 Practical Experience 223 Beginning the Wagon Project 224 Modeling the Side Panels 232 Creating the Wagon Body 253 Modeling the Wheels 262 Making the Wood Railings 268 Adding Extra Details 277 Summary 284 Chapter 7 Maya Shading and Texturing 285 Maya Shading 286 Shader Types 286 Shader Attributes 290 Texturing the Axe 294 Textures and Surfaces 301 Textures and UVS for the Red Wagon 310 Photoreal Mapping: The Decorative Box 343 For Further Study 360 Summary 360 Chapter 8 Introduction to Animation 363 Keyframe Animation Bouncing a Ball 364 Throwing an Axe 375 Replacing an Object 392 Animating Flying Text 393 Rigging the Locomotive, Part 1 398 Animating a Catapult 401 Summary 406 Chapter 9 More Animation! 409 Skeletons and Kinematics 410 Skeletons: The Hand 423 Inverse Kinematics 436 Basic Relationships: Constraints 441 Basic Relationships: Set-Driven Keys 445 Application: Rigging the Locomotive 448 Summary 455 Chapter 10 Maya Lighting 457 Basic Lighting Concepts 458 Maya Lights 462 Light Linking 468 Adding Shadows 469 Raytracing Soft Shadows 473 mental ray Lighting 474 mental ray Physical Sun and Sky 476 Lighting Effects 481 Lighting the Decorative Box 485 Further Lighting Practice 490 Tips for Using and Animating Lights 491 Summary 493 Chapter 11 Maya Rendering 495 Rendering Setup 496 Previewing Your Render: The Render View Window 505 Reflections and Refractions 507 Using Cameras 509 Motion Blur 515 Batch Rendering 515 Rendering the Wine Bottle 516 mental ray for Maya 520 Render Layers 525 Final Gather 534 Ambient Occlusion 537 HDRI 544 Rendering the Decorative Box 546 Summary 560 Chapter 12 Maya Dynamics and Effects 561 An Overview of Dynamics and Maya Nucleus 562 Rigid and Soft Dynamic Bodies 562 Animating with Dynamics: The Pool Table 566 nParticle Dynamics 575 Emitting nParticles 576 Animating a Particle Effect: Locomotive Steam 581 Introduction to Paint Effects 588 Toon Shading 592 Customizing Maya 595 Summary 599 Where Do You Go from Here? 599 Index 601