Synopses & Reviews
The Special Effects Handbook.Create stunning images and striking effects with Learning Maya 2008/ The Special Effects Handbook! Building on the characters and scenes created in Learning Maya 2008/ The Modeling & Animation Handbook, this book explores the rendering and dynamic effects stages of the production pipeline. Based on artwork from Laika's Moongirl, this book is filled with easy to follow step by step tutorials to help you maser the final stages of production. Learn to light, texture and create shaders for your models using both the Maya and mental ray renderers. Use features like Maya Fluid Effects, Maya Fur, Maya nCloth and Maya Hair to create realistic effects such as fire, water, fur, cloth and hair.
This intermediate-level book is full of useful theoretical discussions that will ensure you understand the principles behind your actins so that you can get the results you want time and again. Fire up your imagination with Learning Maya 2008 / The Special Effects Handbook.
With this book, you will:
- Understand shading, lighting, shadows and cameras
- Learn rendering with mental ray® , hardware and vector renderers
- Work with caustics, Global Illumination, Final Gathering and HDRI
- Work with rigid body and particle dynamics
- Learn MEL by creating particle expressions
- Understand particle instancing
- Learn about fluids, fluid collisions and open water effects
- Create, cob, color and render fur
- Create dynamic effects with Maya Hair
- Learn about hair constraints, collisions and hair rendering
- Work with nCloth
Bonus features included on DVD
- Free model from Turbo Squid
- Autodesk Maya reference guides
- Support files
What you Need to use this book
- Autodesk® Maya® Unlimited 2008
- DVD-ROM drive
Synopsis
* As the industry-leading 3D animation and effects software used in movies, games, cartoons, and commercials, Maya is a dynamic and complex program to learn-this book is an exceptional tool for getting a clear understanding of Maya 8
* Featuring actual production files from a movie short, this handbook offers full-color, step-by-step tutorials to guide readers through the intricacies of rendering and dynamics
* Valuable how-to's offer insight on creating materials and textures, setting up lights and cameras, working with shadows, controlling renders, creating caustics and global illumination effects, and more
* The companion DVD includes instructor movies, scene files, and artist overviews
Synopsis
As the industry-leading 3D animation and effects software used in movies, games, cartoons, and commercials, Maya is a dynamic and complex program to learn this book is an exceptional tool for getting a clear understanding of Maya 8 Featuring actual production files from a movie short, this handbook offers full-color, step-by-step tutorials to guide readers through the intricacies of rendering and dynamics Valuable how-to s offer insight on creating materials and textures, setting up lights and cameras, working with shadows, controlling renders, creating caustics and global illumination effects, and more The companion DVD includes instructor movies, scene files, and artist overviews
Synopsis
Create mind-blowing special effects skills with Learning Autodesk Maya 2008 I The Special Effects Handbook. This completely updated official Maya guide focuses on dynamics and rendering, with in-depth tutorials covering lighting, texturing, and soft body and hard body dynamics. This exceptional, full-color guide uses LAIKA's award-winning short film Moongirl to guide you through clear step-by-step projects using the newest version of Maya. Learn how to create materials and textures, set up lights and cameras, work with shadows and raytracing, control renders, understand rendering for special effects and compositing, explore hardware and vector rendering, create caustics and global illumination effects, and much more. Check out the companion DVD for instructor-led overviews, artist interviews and scene files to get your creative juices flowing and get you started developing amazing visual effects.
Table of Contents
How to use this book.
Project 01.
Lesson 01. Materials.
Lesson 02. Textures.
Project 02.
Lesson 03. Lighting.
Lesson 04. Shadows.
Lesson 05. Cameras.
Lesson 06. Rayt5racing.
Project 03.
Lesson 07. Controlling Renders.
Lesson 08. Special Effects and Compositing.
Lesson 09. Hardware Rendering.
Lesson 10. Vector rendering.
Lesson 11. Maya Paint Effects.
Project 04.
Lesson 12. Caustics and Global Illumination.
Lesson 13. Final Gathering and HDRI.
Lesson 14. mental ray Shaders.
Project. 05.
Lesson 15. Maya Dynamics.
Lesson 16. Rigid Body Dynamics.
Lesson 17. Rigid Body Constraints.
Lesson 18. Rigid Body Optimization.
Project 06.
Lesson 19. Introduction to Particles.
Lesson 20. Rigid Bodies and Particles.
Lesson 21. Particle Collisions.
Lesson 22. Particle Expressions.
Lesson 23. The emit Function.
Lesson 24. Advanced Particle Expressions.
Lesson 25. Goals.
Lesson 26. Particle Instancing.
Project 07.
Lesson 27. Rendering Particles.
Lesson 28. Compositing.
Project 08.
Lesson 29. Maya Fluids.
Lesson 30. Maya Fur.
Lesson 31. Maya Hair.
Lesson 32. Maya nCloth.
Index.