"Learning Maya 6: Character Rigging" will teach you everything you need to achieve effective character set-up and animation in Maya. With this book: learn what you need to become a true puppet master; and get hands-on experience with the innovative tools and powerful techniques available in Maya, as you learn to make your rigs more customizable and easier for artists to work with. "Learning Maya 6: Character Rigging" will allow you to explore character rigging based on a human character - walking you through the process as you rig arms, legs, a face and more. You’ll learn the fundamentals of properly setting up a character to avoid pitfalls as you animate. Working with a low-count polygonal model, you’ll learn to work with complex joints such as shoulders and hands. "Learning Maya 6: Character Rigging" teaches you to make the right decisions in the planning stages so that you can save time and frustration at the animation stage. Each chapter includes a theoretical discussion to help you understand the concepts at play, as well as easy to follow step-by-step tutorials so that you can start working right away.

The book also includes an accompanying DVD-ROM featuring chapter-by-chapter overviews offered by Alias Certified Instructors. It allows you to gain additional insight and assistance from these valuable bonus discussions. You’ll also take advantage of "Maya Beginner’s Guide: Animation" to help you get started right away! With this book, you will: use layers to organize your work; create Skeleton Chains and edit joint orientation; set up Single Chain, Rotation Plane, and Spline IK Solvers; use Set Driven Key to create powerful yet simple control systems; understand and use of both; Forward and Inverse Kinematics; simulate the deformation of clothing using Wire Deformers and Set Driven Key Drive joint rotation with a Blendshape Slider to help consolidate your control windows; understand the difference between Smooth and Rigid binding; use Pole Vector constraints as a fast and easy way of achieving realistic motion in arms and legs; and create complex and subtle character deformations through the use of Clusters and Lattices. What you need to use this book are "Maya Complete 6", "Maya Unlimited 6", or "Maya Personal Learning Edition". It also includes a DVD-ROM drive or set top player.

Learning Maya 6: Character Rigging will teach you everything you need to achieve effective character set?up and animation in Maya. Learn what you need to become a true puppet master! Get hands?on experience with the innovative tools and powerful techniques available in Maya as you learn to make your rigs more customizable and easier for artists to work with.

Learning Maya 6: Character Rigging will allow you to explore character rigging based on a human character ? walking you through the process as you rig arms, legs, a face and more. You?ll learn the fundamentals of properly setting up a character to avoid pitfalls as you animate. Working with a low?count polygonal model, you?ll learn to work with complex joints such as shoulders and hands. Learning Maya 6 | Character Rigging teaches you to make the right decisions in the planning stages so that you can save time and frustration at the animation stage.

Each chapter includes a theoretical discussion to help you understand the concepts at play, as well as easy to follow step?by?step tutorials so that you can start working right away. The book also includes an accompanying DVD?ROM featuring chapter?by?chapter overviews offered by Alias Certified Instructors. Gain additional insight and assistance from these valuable bonus discussions. You?ll also take advantage of Maya Beginner?s Guide: Animation to help you get started right away!

With this book you will:

• Use layers to organize your work
• Create Skeleton Chains and edit joint orientation
• Set up Single Chain, Rotation Plane, and Spline IK Solvers
• Use Set Driven Key to create powerful yet simple control systems
• Understand and use of both Forward and Inverse Kinematics.
• Simulate the deformation of clothing using Wire Deformers and Set Driven Key
• Drive joint rotation with a Blendshape Slider to help consolidate your control windows
• Understand the difference between Smooth and Rigid binding.
• Use Pole Vector constraints as a fast and easy way of achieving realistic motion in arms and legs.
• Create complex and subtle character deformations through the use of Clusters and Lattices.

What you need to use this book
Maya Complete 6, Maya Unlimited 6, or Maya Personal Learning Edition.
A DVD?ROM drive or set top player.

This official book is written by Alias, the creators of Maya.

Learning Maya 6: Character Rigging will teach you everything you need to achieve effective character set-up and animation in Maya. Learn what you need to become a true puppet master! Get hands-on experience with the innovative tools and powerful techniques available in Maya as you learn to make your rigs more customizable and easier for artists to work with.

Learning Maya 6: Character Rigging will allow you to explore character rigging based on a human character – walking you through the process as you rig arms, legs, a face and more. You’ll learn the fundamentals of properly setting up a character to avoid pitfalls as you animate. Working with a low-count polygonal model, you’ll learn to work with complex joints such as shoulders and hands. Learning Maya 6 | Character Rigging teaches you to make the right decisions in the planning stages so that you can save time and frustration at the animation stage.

Each chapter includes a theoretical discussion to help you understand the concepts at play, as well as easy to follow step-by-step tutorials so that you can start working right away. The book also includes an accompanying DVD-ROM featuring chapter-by-chapter overviews offered by Alias Certified Instructors. Gain additional insight and assistance from these valuable bonus discussions. You’ll also take advantage of Maya Beginner’s Guide: Animation to help you get started right away!

With this book you will:

• Use layers to organize your work
• Create Skeleton Chains and edit joint orientation
• Set up Single Chain, Rotation Plane, and Spline IK Solvers
• Use Set Driven Key to create powerful yet simple control systems
• Understand and use of both Forward and Inverse Kinematics.
• Simulate the deformation of clothing using Wire Deformers and Set Driven Key
• Drive joint rotation with a Blendshape Slider to help consolidate your control windows
• Understand the difference between Smooth and Rigid binding.
• Use Pole Vector constraints as a fast and easy way of achieving realistic motion in arms and legs.
• Create complex and subtle character deformations through the use of Clusters and Lattices.

What you need to use this book
Maya Complete 6, Maya Unlimited 6, or Maya Personal Learning Edition.
A DVD-ROM drive or set top player.

Learning Maya 6: Character Rigging will teach you everything you need to achieve effective character set-up and animation in Maya. Learn what you need to become a true puppet master! Get hands-on experience with the innovative tools and powerful techniques available in Maya as you learn to make your rigs more customizable and easier for artists to work with.

Learning Maya 6: Character Rigging will allow you to explore character rigging based on a human character - walking you through the process as you rig arms, legs, a face and more. You’ll learn the fundamentals of properly setting up a character to avoid pitfalls as you animate. Working with a low-count polygonal model, you’ll learn to work with complex joints such as shoulders and hands. Learning Maya 6 | Character Rigging teaches you to make the right decisions in the planning stages so that you can save time and frustration at the animation stage.

Each chapter includes a theoretical discussion to help you understand the concepts at play, as well as easy to follow step-by-step tutorials so that you can start working right away. The book also includes an accompanying DVD-ROM featuring chapter-by-chapter overviews offered by Alias Certified Instructors. Gain additional insight and assistance from these valuable bonus discussions. You’ll also take advantage of Maya Beginner’s Guide: Animation to help you get started right away!
With this book you will:
* Use layers to organize your work
* Create Skeleton Chains and edit joint orientation
* Set up Single Chain, Rotation Plane, and Spline IK Solvers
* Use Set Driven Key to create powerful yet simple control systems
* Understand and use of both Forward and Inverse Kinematics.
* Simulate the deformation of clothing using Wire Deformers and Set Driven Key
* Drive joint rotation with a Blendshape Slider to help consolidate your control windows
* Understand the difference between Smooth and Rigid binding.
* Use Pole Vector constraints as a fast and easy way of achieving realistic motion in arms and legs.
* Create complex and subtle character deformations through the use of Clusters and Lattices.

What you need to use this book
Maya Complete 6, Maya Unlimited 6, or Maya Personal Learning Edition.
A DVD-ROM drive or set top player.

Another excellent book

This book forms part of the official training series for Maya.

The book is well layed out and the graphics are clear.

The language used is appropriate for the level of user and I have found all the parts of the training series to be of similarly high quality.

If you use Maya or wish to start in 3d graphics give this series a try.

Another excellent book

This book forms part of the official training series for Maya.

The book is well layed out and the graphics are clear.

The language used is appropriate for the level of user and I have found all the parts of the training series to be of similarly high quality.

If you use Maya or wish to start in 3d graphics give this series a try.

lots of mistakes

This book is headed for a rewrite - found a large percentage of mistakes. Good explaination of joint set up.

A Rehash!

Nothing really new here. The only reason I gave this book an extra star is because it includes a DVD which contains Maya Animation (sold for $34.99) and it contains quicktime movie tutorials that come in handy. No color pages throughout the book.