Amazon.co.uk Review
If thickness were a guide to quality, books on 3D graphics would be among the best in the world, bettered only by medical texts, dictionaries and encyclopaedias. If you're starting out in 3D CG, this can be more than a little intimidating.
Maya 4 for Windows 3.5 for Macintosh Visual Quickstart Guide is reassuringly slim.
One of Maya's strengths is that beginners can quickly get the hang of its interface and the book builds on this accessibility by quickly but thoroughly covering the basics in two introductory chapters. Subsequently, each aspect of 3D modelling and animation using Maya's tools is explored in the clear, succinct style that has become the Visual Quickstart trademark.
Each topic gets a concise introduction followed by a selection of step-by-step demos. Chapter 5 "Transforming Objects and Components" is a typical example, and kicks off with 'Moving, Rotating and Scaling Objects, followed by "To translate and object or component using the move tool", "To Scale and object or component" and "To rotate an object or component".
The design--text in the outside columns and screengrabs on the inside--is easy to follow, and parcelled up in portions that could be managed in a 10-minute coffee break. Alternatively you could complete an entire chapter in a couple of hours.
Maya 4 for Windows 3.5 for Macintosh Visual Quickstart Guide would be an ideal companion to Maya's Personal Learning Edition for anyone looking for an inexpensive introduction to 3D modelling and animation and a useful primer. --Ken McMahon
Product Description
Maya is the high-end tool responsible for bringing to life many of the 3Dhumans, animals, plants, cars, and machines you see in film, videos, andgames. This all-in-one modeling and rendering package is a favorite amonganimators, thanks to its extensive tool set, speed, and easy extensibility.Maya: Visual QuickStart Guide walks you through the program'selementary theory, interface, and features--there's no quicker, easier wayto get up and running with Maya.
Maya: Visual QuickStart Guide's task-based format makes it both aneasy-to-follow introduction for beginners and an indispensablequick-reference guide for more seasoned users, who can use the page tabs toskip straight to specific topics. No wordy explanations here; each task isbroken down into simple, concise steps, accompanied by numerous screenshotsto keep you on track as you work. With Maya: Visual QuickStartGuide, you'll be producing professional-looking 3D models, texturedobjects, and animations in no time.
See all Product Description
With an Amazon.co.uk 
