Suggestions on Maya books

# 1 13-01-2005 , 01:23 AM

Subscriber
Join Date: Mar 2004

Location: Miami, Fla

Posts: 149

I was wondering what you guys might suggest for good Maya books. I've been using maya for quite some time now, but I still have a hard time getting things stated, like I can't really seem to know where to start. I want towork on that and I want to see if you guys would know of any good books that could help me with that. (Or if there is anything else that I could try). I'm also looking for something on Organic modeling (i.e. humans, animals, etc).
Any suggestions would be awesome.
Thanks a mil! user added image

Quote

# 2 13-01-2005 , 09:39 AM

Registered User
Join Date: Sep 2002

Location: Beyond Oblivion

Posts: 471

Well as far as I knwo it depend on what you want to learn about.
Maya comes with a set of books that are good to read as they provide enough information and tutorials.

If you want to model characters fiction/non-fiction you must get some anatomy books, as they will give you much info on how the human character is beneath the skin user added image

.

If you want to learn about animation - the Animation Survival kit - is a must as ity provide you the info and the concept of animation.

There are a whole range of books that you can buy for maya (5 of 6) -

If you are a beginner: Maya 6 foundation is a good start if you are new - also Introducing Maya 6: 3D for Beginners
is a good way to get to know the application.

As you stated that you want to learn some organic modeling:
- Learning Maya 6 | Modeling or
- Maya Character Creation: Modeling and Animation Controls

You can also get some tutorials on character animation and modeling.

The Important Thing is NOT to Stop Questioning.
--- Albert Einstein ---
www.ProtheusWorld.tk

Quote

# 3 13-01-2005 , 02:30 PM

Subscriber
Join Date: Mar 2004

Location: Miami, Fla

Posts: 149

Dude awesome
Thanks a mil.....thought no one would reply lol.

Well I think I underestimate my skills at Maya but I want to get like....tons better. I want to learn the most I can about modeling and texturing before I go into animation itself.
Any suggestions on like that sort of thing?
(if I sound like.........confusing im sowy :o )
Anyway thanks again!
(i'll try to post anything I have done so i can get some crits...i'll put it in the WIP section)

Quote

# 4 13-01-2005 , 02:42 PM

Registered User
Join Date: Sep 2002

Location: Beyond Oblivion

Posts: 471

Well you can also try video tutorials as they are sometimes much clearer. Simplymaya has some excellent tutorials.. and there are ******. You can chekc out there website as they have tons of materials to look at.

Also alias self has video tutorials from beginner to advanced. I like the Alias more, they alos handle other stufff then only modeling with maya

Have fun...

The Important Thing is NOT to Stop Questioning.
--- Albert Einstein ---
www.ProtheusWorld.tk

Quote

# 5 14-01-2005 , 10:14 AM

Subscriber
Join Date: Sep 2004

Location: Waianae, HI

Posts: 1,275

Book quality is a subjective area. Different authors have different styles so you'll really have to check out the books first hand before spending any cash on them. Alias has an entire line of books covering different areas, and I have found each useful to a certain degree. I have yet to find a really good book on UV mapping though.

Some of the books I use and have found particular insighful:

Maya Character Animaton (second addition) by Jae-Jin Choi.
-It is a more advanced book and assumes familiarity with Maya, but it has some of best info on NURBs modelling and weighting I've found so far.

Visual Quickstart for Maya 6 (windows & Mac) by Danny Riddell and Adrian Dimond
- I keep this around as handy reference when I can't remember which menu something is under or if run across a term I either don't know or don't remember. Maybe I'm getting alzheimers...but thats another issue.

The Art of Maya by Alias/Wavefront (2003 edition)
- Absolutely useless for learning any particular methods, but invaluable at a conceptual basis. If you're thinking of getting this, hold off a few months as the 2005 edition will be out soon.

Learning Maya 5 Fundamentals by Gerry Lewis/Jim Lammers
- This is the one I started with. It is project based and introduces most the concepts for modelling and animation. Not much use after completing as it is project based (this holds true for most project based books, they don't tend to make great reference books).

Since you have a solid foundation, that should make reviewing books easier for you. So again, I strongly encourage to get your hands on any prospective book and check out the authors style to see if it suites your learning type and if the book really covers the areas you need,

Not to jump ship or anything, but there is great Lightwave Eight book dedicated to texturing, which with a little extrapolation can be applied to Maya.

Happy learning,
r/ Michael

AIM: mhcannonDMC

"If you love your job, you'll never work another day in your life."

Last edited by mhcannon; 14-01-2005 at 06:57 PM.

Quote