[John_Kundert-Gibbs,_Dariush_Derakhshani]Maya Secrets of the Pros (Maya Masters)(pdf){Zzzzz}

Featuring completely original material from a new team of Maya know-it-alls, this second edition of an award-winning book is sure to inform and inspire even the most seasoned Maya user. In this distinctive Maya Press title, a cadre of professionals led by two acclaimed Maya pros, reveal the precious secrets they've learned using Maya on high-profile CG projects such as "The Matrix", "Shrek 2", and "X-Men". In nine unique and compelling chapters, you'll get detailed and sophisticated instruction on how to: enhance fluidity and realism by generating complex motion with Maya Cloth; apply non-photorealistic rendering styles that mimic the look of comic books and impressionist paintings; emulate real-world camera motion, from dolly-and-pan movement to varying levels of camera shake; produce natural lighting effects using global illumination and image based lighting; ensure smooth and accurate transfer of character data from modeling to rigging to animation to lighting; control IK chains, deformers, and surfaces with Maya Hair's dynamic curves; use dynamics effectively to create flexible objects and add secondary effects to enhance your animation; use Maya's built-in noise function to produce powerful effects similar to those used in "The Matrix" trilogy; and, create a human face from a conceptual sketch using subdivision surfaces.

Publisher: Sybex; 2 edition (March 11, 2005)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0782143458
ISBN-13: 978-0782143454

Editorial Reviews

Review
"This book is a definite asset in the arsenal of the professional Maya user or the serious student." -- Kino Gill, CreativeCOW.net

"This is one book definitely you should own ... It is recommended without reservation. -- Ian Cairns, Editor, MAYA Association --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From the Back Cover
Featuring completely original material from a new team of Maya know-it-alls,this second edition of an award-winning book is sure to inform and inspire eventhe most seasoned Maya user. In this distinctive Maya Press title, a cadreof professionals led by two acclaimed Maya pros, reveal the precious secretsthey’ve learned using Maya on high-profile CG projects such as TheMatrix, Shrek 2, and X-Men.

In nine unique andcompelling chapters, you’ll get detailed and sophisticated instruction onhow to:

Enhance fluidity and realism by generating complexmotion with Maya Cloth
Apply non-photorealistic rendering styles that mimicthe look of comic books and impressionist paintings
Emulate real-world cameramotion, from dolly-and-pan movement to varying levels of camera shake
Producenatural lighting effects using global illumination and image basedlighting
Ensure smooth and accurate transfer of character data from modelingto rigging to animation to lighting
Control IK chains, deformers, andsurfaces with Maya Hair's dynamic curves
Use dynamics effectively to createflexible objects and add secondary effects to enhance your animation
UseMaya’s built-in noise function to produce powerful effects similar to thoseused in “The Matrix” trilogy
Create a human face from a conceptual sketch using subdivision surfaces

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

The Ultimate Companion to Maya Complete 3 Book!
By L. Amarakoon on July 31, 2002
Woah!....this books got lots of tip and tricks for effects used in a variety of movies. The print is nice and its in color. I was looking for more tutorial type information, and the book gives a little tutorials, but its more for you to build your knowledge on. For beginning effects artist such as myself, the chapters on Perfect storm to create realistic water is fantastic. As are the crowd simulation and animation GUI setup.
This book has wonderful descriptions on how to do what those in the industry can do with standalone Maya.

GREAT BOOK FOR INDUSTRY PROS
By cganimation on June 21, 2004
I am an industry pro animator who has been working with Maya software since 1999. I've read tons of books and on line tutorials and try to keep up with every aspect of the program to stay competetive. So with that in mind I rate this book 5 Stars! It's one of the best I've read.
This book is by pros for pros including an excellent chapter by Habib Zargarpour from ILM on "Complex Particle Systems" which uses a shot from "Perfect Storm" to demonstrate the water particles. Aspects of how they analyzed the wave and figured out how to emit particles at the right place are still evident in movies like "Day After Tomorrow".
There's also "Photo Real Facial Replacement" by John Kundert-Gibbs, Dariush Derakhshani and Rebecca Johnson which illustrates, step by step, how to create the mouth shapes, textures and comp onto a picture of a cat, thus creating a talking cat. This is an excellent work flow for getting very near to close results that have garnered success for studio's like Rhythm&Hues for films like "Cats & Dogs" and the upcoming "Narnia Chronicles".
I wasn't a big fan of mocap, however the company I'm working for is using it in a big way. I've read about it in previous articles and such, but haven't found much usful info for practically using it, except in this book on the chapter by Robin Akin and Remington Scott titled "Animation and Motion Capture -Working Together." After reading this chapter I have a new respect for the art and science of this technology. The results from films like "AniMatrix -Flight of the Osiris" and "Lord of the Rings" demonstrates that this is powerful new medium with characters like Gollum raising the bar.

well worth the money
By "chylld" on December 4, 2002
for a professional out there, this book might not provide a terrible amount of insight into the areas it delves into, but for me, who just finished the Learning Maya book, this is an excellent continuation. i consider myself as a Maya newbie and so i'm getting an awful lot of help with this book, and i can easily see myself coming back to this book for reference.
and the print quality is superb.. colour pictures throughout!