Learning Autodesk Maya 2008, (Official Autodesk Training Guide, includes DVD): Foundation

Customer Reviews

Average Customer Review




Somewhat helpful with learning Maya, but needs improvement., April 7, 2009
By Joseph Sparto (Cincinnati, Ohio)
I purchased this book with no Maya or 3d based knowledge. The first project was very easy and for the most part explained well. I did have to go google somethings that the author wasn't very clear about on the internet, but no big deal.

When the second project rolled around to create a penguin, things changed. The author really didn't go over taking a shape and extruding certain faces to make its legs and arms. There were no pictures of the author in the process of creating the legs but rather a picture of the oval shape and than a picture of a shape with legs and feet. Being that this book book is suppose to be a beginner book I feel that the author should have really covered manipulating shapes to create body parts instead of assuming we have done this before. I am now forced to google or youtube for a tutorial that can help me with this. I only hope the remaining exercises in this book aren't this vague.



Full of examples, not great reference tool, March 8, 2009
By K. Hernandez
I was looking for a book that would allow me to use it as a reference tool, and this book didn't really satisfy that for me. I learned from it, because each chapter was organized by a set of tutorials, but they were by no means comprehensive of the functionality of Maya. They each gave an example of things you could do, so you can learn those specific tricks, but it didn't make me feel more comfortable with the software overall.

You will learn thing from this book, but it is not to be confused with a user's manual or really any sort of reference book (your questions probably won't be answered). Try the online Maya help.



A Great Tool For Learning, September 23, 2008
By Karina Perez
Loved this book, my only concern was occasionally they would tell you to set a parameter as a certain number, but not explain the parameter or tell you what it does. You can tweak it yourself and kinda figure it out on your own, but an explanation would be nice. Other than that I loved this book, learned a lot too!



Could have been really good if...., August 8, 2008
By Gregory Kendall (Los Angeles, CA USA)
I'm a beginner using Maya so I bought this book because I like the project and the fact you could recreate a scene from Surf Up was very appealing to me.
The book is relatively easy to follow most of the time but the main issue is that it tells you to do this and this but with no explanation. It would have been nice to have the author explaining why we should uncheck this check box or not, why do we have to click on this button so I feel like I'm just following a tutorial and don't learn more about the functionalities of the soft.
Anyway I'm still glad that I bought it.



For the student of architecture, July 16, 2008
By poikax (Los Angeles, CA)
Maya strikes me as a program that is intensely difficult to learn if you don't already have an objective in mind. As a student of architecture in one of the few programs that encourages its use for design purposes I have found this book indispensable not only for its easy introduction to the virtually limitless Maya interface, but also for its excellent explanations of the three common 3D techniques available within (polygon, NURBS, and subD modeling). Although in general I had no use for the animation or effects chapters they did serve to give a glimpse into the overwhelming possibilities of the program.

The book is not for beginners per se, but if you have a working familiarity with a computer interface, a little 3D modeling under your belt and a reason to be lurking around in the machine then the book will provide a solid 'foundation', as its title suggests. If what you need is rather an 'introduction' then you might look elsewhere.