Editorial Reviews
Product Description:Adding tools that allow users to realize the 2D Toon look of comic books, cartoons, manga and anime; create spectacular clothing, fur or long hair for characters; and move data quickly back and forth between Maya and Adobe Photoshop or Illustrator, an already cool program just got even cooler. Here to take budding animators and modelers from 0 to 60 fast in Maya 7 is the eagerly anticipated update to everybody's favorite Maya tome: Maya 7: Visual QuickStart Guide! In these pages, best-selling authors Danny Riddell and Steve Anzovin use a combination of task-based instruction and strong visual aids to take readers step by step through all of Maya's essentials: unsurpassed character rigging and posing, integration with essential production tolls such as Photoshop, Illustrator, Flash and more. Both beginning users, who want a thorough introduction to the topic, and more advanced users, who are looking for a convenient reference, will find what they need here in straightforward language and through readily accessible examples, peppered with tons of timesaving tips and tricks. By the end of the volume, users will be creating their own alternate universes in Maya 7!
Customer Reviews
Average Customer Review
Just Like Reading the manual, May 12, 2007
By
John N. Denne (Nashville, TN)
I wouldn't call this much of a "QuickStart" guide, because after you read it, you are still wondering how to proceed. It is more of an overview of a lot of the functions contained in Maya, not a "HowTo" guide or tutorial. Most of the Peachpit books have been good to get you up and running quickly, but this one....not so much.
Very good quick reference book, November 23, 2006
By
J. WagnerThis book is more for those that are somewhat familiar with the Maya menus or the intermediate user who needs a quick reminder of where something is or how to get started.
This book is a fantastic quick reference tool on how to get some of the Maya features working. Everything from setting up marking menus, changing the interface, overviews of basic and advanced tools, and even an overview on some of the more advanced features like dynamics and fur. If you want to get started on something quick or learn what tools are available and how they can be used, this is the book for you. There are no "tutorials" per se, but it does have little "Try this..." opportunities at many of the feature explanations that get you right into doing something.
The only drawback to this book is that the feature overviews only skim the surface of the program's capabilities. If you want a detailed, deep exploration of something like texturing, modeling or some other feature, this book falls short; but you'd need a half-dozen books to cover that anyway.
