Hey, guys. They're asking me if I have any ideas for another book! Yowza! :eek:

So, once again I thought I might ask you guys... what is something you'd like to see in a Maya book?

Again, my main background is game related, but I don't know if there's much in the way of any more I can really say about that in another book. Perhaps those of you who have read my first book can let me know if there was anything that you felt was missing or could be expound upon?

I should say, though, that I'm not a programmer, so I can't really write about 'how to get your model into xxx game engine'... that's just not my department. :)

Thanks!

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Well I never got a chance to read your books so if any of my suggestions are already in it.. then I've got nothing. Lol.

Well I think many ideas for video tutorials, but thats a different story. Literature wise, I think the main issue for any person trying to get into the game industry is the actually *foot in the door. Perhaps you should make the ultimate "Demo Reel Guide".

Discuss things from the does and don'ts of adding to your reel. Maybe researching what games the companies you are applying for and base your reel towards that. I found that out the hard way, my modeled a half-naked elf and a old woman... suprisingly nor Rockstar or EA called me for an interview go figure lol. How bout discuss the next generation to gaming... with the nextgen consoles will allow for higher poly geometry and normal mapping will be key especially with the new Unreal 3 engine coming out. Well there's much more towards the demo reel side.. I could add but your the own supposed to be writing the book not me.. lol.

Maybe a better understanding of a models topology and usage of a reference guide, not to say how to get it into Maya but how placing the geometry for character construction. What the big wigs are looking for as far as character modeling goes.

Yeah, my first book does have a demo reel guidelines section. It also has a very large chapter on modeling that (hopefully) adequately describes what you're looking for, R-Tillery.

O yeah,, I glanced at it in Barns and noble a while back,, I for got, hehe, guess Ill go pick it up. Maybe you can talk about the game engines you use and how you go about getting the material from Maya to the game and maybe some other inside stuff. And like Billy was saying maybe some video tut’s with chapters covering them,, and if it already had been done in the first book, maybe a more advanced version to pick up where the book left off. Sorry if I’m not making any sense, only had 2 hours sleep. :beer: :alien: :zzz:

There are sooo many game engines out there and soo many game engines that I have not ever used, that it's not something I think I'd be qualified to write about. :)

"The Game Artist's Guide to Animation"

Whatcha think? :)

I like it
your first book must of done pretty well for them to want another.

Dae

Firstly, got the book, cracking stuff - currently working on this SM project first but am reading every night. Over and over.

Now, I'd personally prefer a 'Game Artists Guide to Maya - Advanced'.

Here's a couple of suggestions:

1) Another game industry section at the start - I liked how 'real' it was, nobody tried to fool you it was all playing games all day, just hard facts. I'd like to know more about the expectations of an average artist. Are you expected to finish a model / texture / animation set in a day? week? month? Might you be expected to also learn other skills in-house for projects? What are working conditions (studio, pay, benefits) like for the average artist? Perhaps touch a little more on what makes a demo reel special, should you make what you enjoy (and apply for studios with similar tastes), or make a generic reel to show ability in all areas, even though you know they only really make a particular type of game?

2) Using more tools in modelling- showing how to cut corners without cutting quality. Perhaps even model another character ala #1, just make it something totally different - show those new tools in action. I think a 'troubleshooting' or 'workarounds' for certain common problems would also be an excellent reference.

3) I don't know where you stand with using photoshop in a book, but if it was possible I'd love to see more about dodge & burning and other techniques, and go through the different maps and the difference it can have visually in game.

Just a few bits and peices I know, but basically I just really want to see the previous book expanded on, using a different character. Whatever you decide on though, good luck - last one was great and i'll get the next regardless.

Thanks, guys. :) I've sent my publisher rep the idea I have and he really liked it. I'm going to be seeing about getting it outlined and who knows? It might start development as early as August.

The idea (in brief) is for the book to come with as many as 4-6 modeled and textured objects that have VERY different structures and go through the rigging and animation of each of these different scenarios in a "you're-an-animator-at-a-studio-here's-your-assignment" kind of way using different combinations of real-world game restrictions.

We'll see what happens. :)

I did pitch them a "Game Artist's Guide to Maya - Advanced" type idea a while back, but they felt it would not be different enough to warrant a new book. :(

Also, because it is a Maya-oriented book, they didn't want much in the way of PHotoshop stuff in it.

shoot, looks like I'm too late on this one, but hey maybe for book three!

I'd love to see a book dedicated to texture mapping and map painting. Your first book is the best Maya book I've see with UV mapping, but a dedicated book could allow more in depth detail. So far the best texturing book I've seen is the one for Lightwave 8. Something like that for Maya would rock.

Level/environment design would also be cool.

Thanks, Mhcannon :) Glad you liked it! A texturing book could very well happen one day. Who knows? "The Game Artist's Guide" may become a whole series! That'd be somethin'.

This may be a bit "plug-ish" but my 2nd book proposal will be really given the run-through regarding whether it'll be done in another week, and one thing they are going to be looking at is the critical reception of my first book.

I'd just like to request if anyone here bought and enjoyed my book, if they'd take a moment to write a nice review at Amazon. It'd really be a great help! (link in my sig)

(if you didn't like the book, then this is a time of silent contemplation as we look at ourselves and our relationship with nature and all that... ;))

Good luck mike, hope it gets all the green lights you need.
Was it about animating wildly different objects? If so I'll be after a copy please :D
p.s, if you need a beta tester on the book then just ask ;)

Hey Mike, YOU ROCK! I love your book, but my crit would be not enough in-depthness about texture painting.

Cheers, :beer:
,Matt :alien:

as in, painting the texture in photoshop?

If that's what you mean, then yeah... because it was an official Maya Press book, I couldn't really go into anything from a seperate application, such as photoshop.

Ya, I catch ya. But it still would be c00lio if you made the "Game Artists Guide to Maya (and in one of the books "The Game Artist's Guide to Photoshop"!)" series.

Cheers, :beer:
,Matt :alien:

This book is now available for preorder at the link below. :)

Good stuff mike, its very tempting to click that pre-order link :)

Any chance of a discount if you have the first book? :p

I'm very dissapointed that there is no book about designing levels for PLATFORM-arcade game. Everywhere I look it's about Quake and FPS. Not everyone likes that kind of game.
cheers!

Mike,

Got your book, "The Game Artist's Guide to Maya", for Christmas and have found it a really good read and has sorted out my issues with UV Mapping (could never get my head around it for some reason). I am about finished and only have the particles chapter to read.

Fantastic and Well Done on it. Easy to read and I didn't fall asleep once ;).

Nitro, the problem with level design is that a book would have to cover multiple game engines and sooooo many different apps.

HL2 - Source
FarCry - FarEngine
Unreal Series - UnrealEd/Unreal Warfare Engine

There are other engines out there to cover platform games, try the following sites for info:

GameStudio
BlitzBasic

Have Fun