Designed for busy Maya users like you, this guide offers dozens of how-tos, workarounds, and shortcuts culled from years of experience in a fast-paced, deadline-driven production pipeline. You’ll discover tricks and timesavers on texturing particles, customizing Paint Effects brushes, modeling polygon faces, creating facial rigs with wire deformers, and much more—and helpful full-color illustrations reinforce the concepts. From modeling, animating, and rigging to texturing and lighting, this book will help you streamline workflow and improve your skills.

Well-known Maya professional, Michael Ingrassia, takes readers through his unique style of modeling: "Image Based Modeling" where efficient, realistic models can be created very quickly. Ingrassia's techniques allow modelers to create exact replicas of their concept characters or objects. The techniques presented are very efficient and allow game modelers to quickly build out stand alone props to populate environments and game levels. Presented are tried and true techniques that the author has used successfully in game production for the past 10 years. Most, if not all 3D books, focus on basic "box" modeling techniques, which are the basis for proper 3D modeling but not the complete solution. In the author's experience, students who have learned through the Image Based Modeling brand, have quickly excelled into effective modelers. One of the hardest things for any modeler to do is match their model EXACTLY to the concept art or photos they are provided. The insider tips in this book walk artists through this process. Artists begin with basic modeling and advance to a creating a complete scene and set design/game level. Rather than including sporadic models with zero association from to one another, each model in the book becomes an integral part of an overall theme realistic in game development today. The accompanying downloadable resources include 8 exclusive video tutorials on advanced Maya techniques as bonus tracks for artists providing invaluable modeling, rigging and texturing samples. Also, an in-depth video on assembling a "Killer Demo Reel" showing simple but effective video editing techniques used by the author so that artists can learn how to get their work seen. The book not only teaches effective methodology, but provides the user with impressive content for producing effective demo reels and portfolios. Pros and cons of demo reel, website and artist representation are given, along with insights into the expectations of game studios today. The video tutorials show users the finished product, and then run through the process of step by step creation of that particular technique.

Hyper-Realistic Creature Creation Step-by-step instructions combined with in-depth discussions of topics ranging from the importance of good topology to the subtlety of facial expressions, make Hyper-Realistic Creature Creation an excellent all-around resource for the modeling, texturing and rigging of characters. —William Dwelly, Senior Software TD Maya Techniques / Hyper-Realistic Creature Creation is you solution for creating convincing characters in Maya. Get hands-on experience with innovative tools and powerful industry-recognized techniques as you learn to model like a pro, set-up your skeleton in a fast and easy way and create realistic facial controls. This book will help you achieve hyper-real characters quickly and effectively. Get the inside scoop on high-end production techniques from industry pros Erick Miller, Paul Thuriot, and Jeff Unay! Through Project-based lessons, follow Jeff Unay's process for modeling the beast, Paul Thuriot's workflow for rigging the beast's body and Erick Miller's tips and techniques on complex facial rigging for maximum flexibility. The book car5efully delineates the entire production process for the beast's creation, so that you can both understand the individual techniques and how they relate to each other in a pipeline. You'll also take advantage of helpful video demonstrations so you can watch the experts at work. By examining the entire process, you will learn strategies for creating characters with an emphasis on anatomy and realism. Lessons are designed to cover effective workflows for devising models that can be easily manipulated and animated. The methods discussed in this book can be applied to any setup needs that you may have because you'll learn the rigging process from the concept stage through to pipeline integration. With this book you will: Be introduced to modeling theories Learn how to use powerful tools like the Soft Modification Tool and the Split Edge Ring Tool. Learn how to create custom hotkeys and marking menus Import image planes and block out a character Create an Adobe Photoshop network Use automation scripts Understand how to use a multiple rig workflow Lock, paint, mirror skin weights, and connect a bound rig to a control rig Create corrective blend shapes, and set-up cluster controls Learn how to create jaw, eye, and lip setups Discover concepts of a realistic skin shader What you need to use this book Maya Complete 7 or Maya Personal Learning Edition DVD-ROM drive Bonus Features Video demonstrations of workflows & animation skills Artist Interviews MELTM Scripts Scene Files Support Files

The Maya guide for animators, How to Cheat in Maya 2012 presents everything you need to know about character animation in Maya. Fully updated for the latest revision of Maya, this book provides you with complete, step-by-step walkthroughs of essential animation techniques to increase your efficiency and speed. This is an animator's workflow in book form, written by professional animators-not a software book with a few animation pointers thrown in. In addition to all the gold-mine coverage and interviews with expert animators from the previous edition, How to Cheat in Maya 2012 also features a new in-depth chapter on the principles of animation, updated information on camera settings and animation using Maya's new Camera Sequencer tool, the ins and outs of the brand new Editable Motion Trails tool, new techniques for working with characters in multi-shot animation tests and short films, a new cycles chapter covering actions like flying and walks, time-saving scripts, and advanced tricks with the new Graph Editor. The proven "How to Cheat" series gets you up to speed quickly, and in a way that's fun.

This is not a book about Maya software with a few animation pointers thrown in here and there. This is a guide to Maya software written by professional animators. This book provides you with complete, set-by-step walkthroughs of essential animation techniques that increase your speed and efficiency while using Maya 2017 for character animation. From curves to constraints, this book covers all of the methods available in the latest version of Maya. Featuring gold-mine coverage this book teaches you new techniques for working with characters in animation tests and short films. Accompanied by a companion site, this is the one and only guide to get you up to speed. Key Features Complete step-by-step, walkthroughs of essential techniques every animator needs to know. Features interviews with leading experts and experienced animation leads. Companion web site including all exercise/example scene files and extras such as video tutorials and animation files. Interlude articles covering everything from Reference Video to Resumes.

Maya is the most powerful and popular 3D graphics software in the film industry and is being increasingly adopted by games developers. Modeling believable human and non-human characters is an absolutely vital skill for 3D artists in both industries, and this book-and-DVD package shows them exactly how to do just that.

Maya Hyper-Realistic Creature Creation is your solution for creating convincing characters in Autodesk Maya. Get hands-on experience with innovative tools and powerful industry-recognized techniques as you learn to model like a professional; set-up your skeleton in a fast and easy way; and create realistic facial controls. This book will help you achieve hyper-real characters quickly and effectively. Get the inside scoop on high-end production techniques from industry pros Erick Miller, Paul Thuriot, and Jeff Unay. Through project-based lessons, follow Jeff's process for modeling the beast, Paul's workflow for rigging the beast's body, and Erick's tips and techniques on complex facial rigging for maximum flexibility. This book carefully delineates the entire production process for the beast's creation, so that you can both understand the individual techniques and how they relate to each other in a pipeline. The companion DVD includes helpful video demonstrations so you can watch the experts at work.