Book Description
Brought to you from Maya Press, a publishing partnership between Sybex and Alias, this intro book is fully updated for the newest release of Maya. Here is the ideal initiation to 3D and Maya--an accessible and affordable tutorial that offers you a practical approach to learning Maya's core features. The full-color insert illustrates real examples created by Maya professionals. The CD includes 3D rendering and animation project demos, plug-ins, links to animation resources, and your own copy of Maya Personal Learning Edition software.

From the Author
Learning 3D software like Maya is a difficult task, so Introducing Maya 6: 3D for Beginners is written to be a _primer_ for anyone young and old to begin learning 3D and Maya. Using explanations as well as examples and tutorials, this book is written to be a launching pad to explore Maya from. All the major facets of Maya are introduced and explored to give the reader a headstart; as a beginning point to help build a solid foundation to move on from. It is best used as the first step of learning tools, and as such is perfect for 3D teachers to build a course outline around. I hope you will consider this book as a good place to *start* learning--or teaching--Maya and 3D.

From the Back Cover
"If you're just beginning to dive into the world of 3D, this is the book for you." -- Animation Magazine Alias' Academy Award winning Maya 3D animation and effects software leads the industry in technological innovation. Film and video artists, computer game developers, and design professionals rely on Maya to create brilliant digital imagery, animation, and visual effects. Now you can enter this exciting, imaginative world and learn to build, render, and animate your own digital characters and scenes. Brought to you by Maya Press, a publishing partnership between Sybex and Alias, Introducing Maya 6: 3D for Beginners is the ideal initiation to 3D and Maya. Written explicitly for the Maya novice, the easy-to-grasp text offers a practical and fun approach to learning Maya's core features. Clear-cut, engaging lessons let you try out these features using working files provided on the CD. You'll also find an abundance of instructional and inspirational art on the CD and full-color insert. Enter a New Dimension: Get a solid grasp of the core Maya and 3D Learn to navigate the new Maya 6 interface Experiment with Maya modeling Explore the basics of NURBS, polygons, and subdivision surfaces Discover the nuances of shading and texturing Try your hand at animation Get a feel for Maya lighting, rendering, and dynamics Find out how to use Maya and Photoshop in unison Featured on the CD The enclosed CD features images, movies, and scene files that let you view material from the book right on your own computer. Includes Maya Personal Learning Edition software!

About the Author
Dariush Derakhshani is an award-winning animator currently working on national TV commercials and music videos and teaching Maya and animation classes in Los Angeles. He has won the Bronze Plaque from the Columbus Film Festival and shares accolades from the London International Advertising Festival and the AICP. Dariush, a contributing author to Sybex's Maya 5 Savvy and Maya: Secrets of the Pros, received a masters degree in Animation from USC Film School.

FROM OUR EDITORS

The Barnes & Noble Review
Maya has evolved into a breathtaking tool for 3D animation and effects, but not quite intuitive. Thankfully, there￯﾿ﾽs Introducing Maya 6: 3D for Beginners. This step-by-step tutorial assumes nothing. It covers 3D concepts. The updated interface. Workflow. And a taste of pretty much everything Maya offers -- so you can use it for anything from movies to ad layouts.

You￯﾿ﾽll kick off with a simple, quick project; then learn the basics of modeling objects and characters with NURBS and polygons. Dariush Derakhshani demystifies lattices, textures, and shaders; keyframes and other animation techniques; skeletons, kinematics, lighting, and rendering. The book￯﾿ﾽs projects range from simple to sophisticated (human hands, walk cycles). There￯﾿ﾽs even a solid introduction to Maya￯﾿ﾽs impressive dynamics system.

Reviewed by insiders, this is an official Alias book. Official or not, though, we￯﾿ﾽve seen no easier way to get started. Bill Camarda

Bill Camarda is a consultant, writer, and web/multimedia content developer. His 15 books include Special Edition Using Word 2003 and Upgrading & Fixing Networks for Dummies, Second Edition.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Alias' Academy Award winning Maya 3D animation and effects software leads the industry in technological innovation. Film and video artists, computer game developers, and design professionals rely on Maya to create brilliant digital imagery, animation, and visual effects. Now you can enter this exciting, imaginative world and learn to build, render, and animate your own digital characters and scenes. Brought to you by Maya Press, a publishing partnership between Sybex and Alias, Introducing Maya 6: 3D for Beginners is the ideal initiation to 3D and Maya. Written explicitly for the Maya novice, the easy-to-grasp text offers a practical and fun approach to learning Maya's core features. Clear-cut, engaging lessons let you try out these features using working files provided on the CD. You'll also find an abundance of instructional and inspirational art on the CD and full-color insert.

SYNOPSIS