"David Gould is an expert at using, programming, and teaching Maya, and it shows. People who need to program Maya will find this book essential. Even Maya users who don't intend to do extensive programming should read this book for a better understanding of what's going on under the hood. Compact yet thorough, it covers both MEL and the C++ API, and is written to be informative for both novice and expert programmers. Highly recommended!" -Larry Gritz, Exluna/NVIDIA, co-author of Advanced RenderMan: Creating CGI for Motion Pictures "This book should be required reading for all Maya programmers, novice and expert alike. For the novice, it provides a thorough and wonderfully well thought-out hands-on tutorial and introduction to Maya. The book's greatest contribution, however, is that in it David shares his deep understanding of Maya's fundamental concepts and architecture, so that even the expert can learn to more effectively exploit Maya's rich and powerful programming interfaces." -Philip J. Schneider, Disney Feature Animation, co-author of Geometric Tools for Computer Graphics "Having provided a technical review of David Gould's Complete Maya Programming, I must say that this book is the definitive text for scripting and plug-in development for Maya. Never before has there been such a concise and clearly written guide to programming for Maya. Any user smart enough to pick up this book would be better off for it." -Chris Rock, a Technical Director at "a Large Animation Studio in Northern California" "If you ever wanted to open the Maya toolbox, this is your guide. With clear step-by-step instructions, you will soon be able to customize and improve the application, as well as create your own extensions, either through the MEL scripting language or the full C++ API." -Christophe Hery, Industrial Light & Magic Learning Maya, the world's leading 3D animation and effects package, is a challenge, especially for those who want to master Maya's versatile programming features in addition to its built-in tools. Finally, here is a practical, step-by-step guide that shows how to use Maya to its fullest potential, beginning with the basics. Readers of Complete Maya Programming will first gain a thorough understanding of Maya's inner workings, and then learn how to customize and extend Maya with scripts and plugins that take control and productivity to new levels. Users new to programming can apply Maya's easy scripting language MEL (Maya Embedded Language), while more advanced users can work with the C++ API (Application Progamming Interface). Both a fundamental tutorial for Maya beginners and a solid reference for experienced developers, Complete Maya Programming is every user's guide to Maya mastery. FEATURES: *Demonstrates how to use MEL to control Maya, customize its interface, automate procedures, and more *Details how to use the C++ API to modify Maya functionality and develop tools and features to meet any need *Explains when to use MEL, when to use the C++ API, and how to use them together *Provides a multitude of real-world examples illustrating applications of Maya programming *Ideal for technical directors, developers, or anyone wishing to master Maya *Provides a storehouse of MEL scripts and C++ source code, glossary, and list of resources, available at www.davidgould.com

David Gould's acclaimed first book, Complete Maya Programming: An Extensive Guide to MEL and the C++ API, provides artists and programmers with a deep understanding of the way Maya works and how it can be enhanced and customized through programming. In his new book David offers a gentle, intuitive introduction to the core ideas of computer graphics. Each concept is explained progressively and is fully implemented in both MEL and C++ so that an artist or programmer can use the source code directly in their own programs. Geometry and modeling are covered in detail with progressively more complex examples demonstrating all of Maya's possible programming features. David Gould's first volume is widely regarded as the most authoritative reference on Maya programming. Volume II continues this tradition and provides an unmatched guide for the artist and programmer tackling complex tasks. Covers a spectrum of topics in computer graphics including points and vectors, rotations, transformations, curves and surfaces (polygonal, NURBS, subdivision), and modeling Offers insights to Maya's inner workings so that an artist or programmer can design and develop customized tools and solutions Discusses problem solving with MEL (Maya's scripting language) and the more powerful and versatile C++ API, with plenty of code examples for each

Learning Maya, the world's leading 3D animation and effects package, is a challenge, especially for those who want to master Maya's versatile programming features in addition to its built-in tools. Finally, here is a practical, step-by-step guide that shows how to use Maya to its fullest potential, beginning with the basics. Readers of Complete Maya Programming will first gain a thorough understanding of Maya's inner workings, and then learn how to customize and extend Maya with scripts and plugins that take control and productivity to new levels.Users new to programming can apply Maya's easy scripting language MEL (Maya Embedded Language), while more advanced users can work with the C++ API (Application Progamming Interface). Both a fundamental tutorial for Maya beginners and a solid reference for experienced developers, Complete Maya Programming is every user's guide to Maya mastery. * Provides a multitude of real-world examples illustrating applications of Maya programming.* Demonstrates how to use MEL to control Maya, customize its interface, automate procedures, and more* Details how to use the C++ API to modify Maya functionality and develop tools and features to meet any need* Explains when to use MEL, when to use the C++ API, and how to use them together* Ideal for technical directors, developers, or anyone wishing to to master Maya* Provides a storehouse of MEL scripts and C++ source code, glossary, and list of resources, available at www.davidgould.com

Learning Maya, the world's leading 3D animation and effects package, is a challenge, especially for those who want to master Maya's versatile programming features in addition to its built-in tools. Finally, here is a practical, step-by-step guide that shows how to use Maya to its fullest potential, beginning with the basics. Readers of Complete Maya Programming will first gain a thorough understanding of Maya's inner workings, and then learn how to customize and extend Maya with scripts and plugins that take control and productivity to new levels. Users new to programming can apply Maya's easy scripting language MEL (Maya Embedded Language), while more advanced users can work with the C++ API (Application Progamming Interface). Both a fundamental tutorial for Maya beginners and a solid reference for experienced developers, Complete Maya Programming is every user's guide to Maya mastery. * Provides a multitude of real-world examples illustrating applications of Maya programming. * Demonstrates how to use MEL to control Maya, customize its interface, automate procedures, and more * Details how to use the C++ API to modify Maya functionality and develop tools and features to meet any need * Explains when to use MEL, when to use the C++ API, and how to use them together * Ideal for technical directors, developers, or anyone wishing to to master Maya * Provides a storehouse of MEL scripts and C++ source code, glossary, and list of resources, available at www.davidgould.com.

Master complex workflows and conquer the world with Python and Maya About This Book Improve your modelling skills and reduce your scripting problems using Python in Maya Learn to communicate with web applications using Python for easier team development A quick and practical answer to every problem you can have whilst scripting in Maya with Python Who This Book Is For This book is for Python developers who have just started scripting with Maya. What You Will Learn Find out how to use Python scripting to automate tedious tasks Create functional user interfaces to make scripts easy to share with others Add new functionality to Maya via the power of scripting Import and export arbitrary data into and out of Maya Improve your workflow, and that of your team Create custom create custom controls to make rigs that are easy to work with Implement a system to render 3D assets for isometric games Use script jobs to trigger actions automatically in response to user interaction Open a command port to allow other applications to communicate with Maya In Detail Maya is a 3D graphics and animation software, used to develop interactive 3D applications and games with stupendous visual effects. The Maya Programming with Python Cookbook is all about creating fast, powerful automation systems with minimum coding using Maya Python. With the help of insightful and essential recipes, this book will help you improve your modelling skills. Expand your development options and overcome scripting problems encountered whilst developing code in Maya. Right from the beginning, get solutions to complex development concerns faced when implementing as parts of build. Style and approach This book is comprised of a set of practical recipes, grouped under specific topics, which can be referred to independently or in sequence. These recipes provide quick solutions to common problems, and cover most of the real-world scenarios that developers are likely to face when working with Maya.

Maya ebook Collection contains 4 of our best-selling titles, providing the ultimate reference for every computer graphics professional's library. Get access to over 2400 pages of reference material, at a fraction of the price of the hard-copy books. This CD contains the complete ebooks of the following 4 titles: Gould, Complete Maya Programming Vol.I, 9781558608351 Gould, Complete Maya Programming Vol.II, 9780120884827 Wilkins, MEL Scripting for Maya Animators, 9780120887934 Patnode, Character Modeling with Maya and ZBrush: Professional polygonal modeling techniques, 9780240520346 *Four fully searchable titles on one CD providing instant access to the ULTIMATE library of materials for computer graphics professionals *2400 pages of practical and theoretical Maya information in one portable package. *Incredible value at a fraction of the cost of the print books

Practical Maya Programming with Python is a practical tutorial packed with plenty of examples and sample projects which guides you through building reusable, independent modules and handling unexpected errors. If you are a developer looking to build a powerful system using Python and Maya's capabilities, then this book is for you. Practical Maya Programming with Python is perfect for intermediate users with basic experience in Python and Maya who want to better their knowledge and skills.