The Art of Maya 3rd edition is an introduction to 3D computer graphics unlike any other. Join the thousands of users who’ve garnered the knowledge they needed to enter the 3rd dimension with this full color visual exploration of the theory of Maya. Rich with diagrams and illustrations that demonstrate the critical concepts of 3D time and space, this book will help you understand the concepts critical to conveying your artistic vision through the medium of 3D. If you are an artist looking to incorporate 3D into your toolkit, this is the resource you need.

Understand:
* 3D Computer Graphics
* Time and Space
* Animation
* Setting Keys
* Non-linear Animation
* Rigid Body Dynamics
* Modeling
* NURBS
* Polygons
* Subdivision Surfaces
* Deformations
* Deforming Objects
* Lattices and Clusters
* Character Animation
* Materials and Textures
* Shading Networks
* Texture Maps
* Bumps and Displacements
* Digital Cinematography
* Shadows
* Lighting
* Cameras
* Rendering
* Effects
* Particle Effects
* Paint Effects
* Maya Fluid Effects
* Maya Cloth
* Maya Long Hair
* Interactive 3D
* Game Creation
* Building Levels

The Art of Maya includes Maya Personal Learning Edition to allow you to start practicing right away. The book closes with a series of Production Notes detailing how skilled Maya artists have worked with the software to create production quality films, games, visualizations and animations.
Get an inside look at the use of Maya by:
* The Canadian Broadcast Corporation
* Turner Studios
* Digital Domain for the making of I-Robot
* Weta Digital in the making of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
* The AOES Medialab
* BioDigital
* The Mill
* Oddworld Inhabitants in the making of Oddworld Stranger’s Wrath

a theory book, but useful

This is a THEORY book. If you don’t understand the theory behind maya, pick this up. If you want tutorials, pick something else up.

This book is not another picture book, and its not really a tutorial book either. Its more of an explanation of how maya works and what things are used for, in a general sense. If you’re picking up Maya for the first time I’d recommend Learning Autodesk Maya (and your version, which I’d recommend 8, which so far the tutorials are working fine in 8.5) If you’re already a novice or higher maya user, and know your way around, this could prove useful.

After you’ve covered the material in a big tutorial book, keeping this one handy will help if you were to struggle on a specific task or forget how to do something, because theres plenty of explanation in this book.

I like how it explains the typical work pipeline, if you’re doing this as a hobby but want to enter the industry someday, it will explain to you how daily work usually goes for each person, when working in teams on a pipeline, or how one person can control the entire pipeline when working alone.

A useful add to any maya users library, and one book can never cover everything there is to know about this program. This is my 2nd book covering just maya and found it interesting to read, but I’d start with a tutorial book for new maya users like myself.

Good book

This book was pretty good, although it was a little more "begginner" than i would of liked. Also, if you get a used copy, it might have a few dings but who cares right? as long as you can read it.. I love Maya books and this is a great addition to my Maya library!

The Art of Maya: An Introduction to 3D Computer Graphics

It is always the same thing that in other editions. When you will stop to copy and to put something new.
The covers and the works of the experts in 3D, are perfect. The price is also something expensive, being the same thing that in previous editions. I Offer you that you can be but original. Thank you and a cordial greeting.

Basically a Maya product guide

You know how some companies offer really slick little illustrated booklets detailing their products, the advantages they offer, and all the features they have in an attempt to get you to buy the product? Well that’s basically what this book is. It’s essentially a 200+ page advertisement for Maya. It doesn’t really attempt to teach you how to do anything in particular using Maya, but it does gloss over most of the features and the sorts of things you can do once you learn it.

As a new Maya user and being brand new to 3-D modelling in general, I actually found it to be a decent and useful read. But I have to admit that I was hoping for, and expecting more of a tutorial. But it still gave me a decent "view from 10,000 feet" of the program, which is something few if any other books will give you. Also it is well written and very well illustrated, it just wasn’t at all what I expected.

If you are considering buying it to learn Maya, look elsewhere. But if you are looking for a decent overview of Maya, or are evaluating various 3-D tools, this may be a decent book to buy.

introduction to the software maya

This book gives you an idea what maya is. There are simple explanations throught the book about most of the elements of maya. It does not teach you how to do things. It is like an encyclopedy about Maya. There is also a CD with MAYA PLE(personal learning edition software), MAYA Mentor some scene files and a movie that support concepts from the book.

What they mean by "Art"

I think some readers may be confused by the title, "The Art of Maya." This is not a coffe tale book showing some art made by Maya users. The title is a play on Sun Tzu’s book, "The Art of War." That is exactly what this book is, it is a soup to nuts explaination of the "art" of using Maya.
This is a beginer’s book that goes into great detail about the concepts of using Maya. Many newbies might prefer to just by advanced books and learn all the WOW tricks that Maya has to offer. Of course then those users don’t know why they went through the process they did to create a stunning image, and are left without any creative energy.
This makes this book a MUST HAVE for beginers and intermediate users. Every bit of the under lying logic in how Maya works is explained.
This is also a good "reading" book too. The problem with other Maya books that have projects is that you can not sit down and read them without being in front of your computer to do the projects. With "The Art of Maya," you can set it next to your nightstand and just read a chapter or two before bedtime; you can learn things without having to sit in front of the box.

On The Money

My Book arrived in great condition and on time.
Thanks A Mil!!!

Very good overall Maya book

It’s a very good book if you knew how to use Maya.
It is a very good visual reference that shows the average scope of Maya as a CG tool.
It doesn’t go through fine details or tutorials, but that is not the purpose of the book anyway.
I like to have this book when I am about to start a project or when I forget some basic commands of the tools it self.
It’s sort of a main guide for when you get a little lost inside Maya features, or when you have a new idea and kind of looking for a better way to start your project. The book inspires your mind by visually showing many possible ideas related to the commands and features of Maya.
It also helps when you get too deep in the waters and you don’t know where you are going anymore but all your valves and instruments are working ... then you resurface in order to see in which direction you were heading and what is the direction you want to go without loosing too much time researching...
A must have in your library this was my 12th book of Maya in my shelf and well worthy.

Negative 352 stars

This book is USELESS!!! I bought it expcting to learn Maya and all I got was a bunch of pictures with crappy captions. You could probably learn more about Maya by asking a hobo for his stupid hat.

THE END

If you know nothing about 3D or Maya, this book is for you.

This book is excellent explaining all the concepts of the 3D world. And it explains all the interface, metodology and use of Maya in various projects. It’s beautiful, is very informative, and you’ll know every important detail about Maya and 3D in general.

You can do better

This book is an interesting combination of styles... It’s not a tutorial book and it’s not a gallery of pretty pictures either. It actually comes across more like a promotional pamphlet than anything else. The book will show a picture illustrating a feature of Maya, then explain the benefits of the feature in general terms, and occasionally give a hint about how to actually use the feature in the software. It’s probably too general to be of much use to a Maya beginner (or at least there are better books for beginners) but it does give a pretty nice overview of computer graphics concepts in general. Seasoned Maya users certainly won’t find much use for the book (try the Killer Tips book for a similar feel but more useful information) though the last 20 pages of the book contain some interesting tales about how Maya is used by the professionals. This certainly isn’t a bad book; it just seems to go in too many directions and tries to cover too many topics in too little space.

Good lay-out of the book, informative guide, but...

The "Art of Maya" is a real good starting point if you are new to 3D stuff, like me. The book gave me a good guiding to everything needed to know about 3D. There are no step-by-step tutorials so you can’t jump into work, but the accompanying CD with the educational version of Maya has a tutorial in the software and parallel with the book you can start 3D!

Absolutely the finest in foundations for Maya!!

I have seen the older editions of this book and was not impressed. This edition (3rd) however, is the finest book you can get for a Maya foundation. You learn about every aspect of Maya and work with fun projects. This book is so well laid out that I would rather go through this book than watch a tutorial DVD. It’s amazing!

Good lay-out of the book, informative guide, but...

The "Art of Maya" is a real good starting point if you are new to 3D stuff, like me. The book gave me a good guiding to everything needed to know about 3D. There are no step-by-step tutorials so you can’t jump into work, but the accompanying CD with the educational version of Maya has a tutorial in the software and parallel with the book you can start 3D!

Great to use with a Foundation Book

First off, this book has very little to no procedures, step-by-step lessons, etc. I found this book to be great to be used in conjunction with a foundation book to learn Maya, or other 3D Software. The book is filled with little tidbits of information that you would not get unless you were immersed in the world and business of 3D animation/modeling/rendering, or had been using Maya for a while. A good is example is how the book almost immediatley begins with the general workflow, how things work in big production houses, and what programs are usually used for different steps of the animation process. I have found this book to be invaluable in furthering my knowledge of 3D animation and Maya, but I stress that it must be used hand in hand with a book such as Maya Foundation if you are starting from the very beginning.
This is worth every penny.

Great for concepts, low on procedures.

First off, if you have the second edition, there probably isn’t enough new in the third edition to require the purchase. Noteable additions include features from Maya Unlimited, more on effects, mental ray, and longer production notes (industry profiles) section. The physical size has also been reduced, so it’s less of a coffee table book and more of a practical reference book.

For those considering this book for the first time... "This book is designed to give you a conceptual understanding of how Maya works" as stated on page 5. In this capacity, the book succeeds. If you’re looking for a how to book or projects to work though, this isn’t the book for you. If you’re looking for an introduction to 3D in general, then read on...

The book gives a firm foundation to begin understanding 3D with Maya, but most of the concepts presented are applicable to every major 3D modeling/animation program. It helps if you have at least played with Maya, but it is not required. It provides a good overview of modeling, texturing, rendering, effects, and animation. The entire book is packed with sample images and screen shots, which greatly clarify the concepts in the text. It is also full color throughout (which makes the price here exceptional).

In all, a great introduction to 3D concepts and terminology.