Dive into the nuances of visual effects (VFX) design, from planning to execution, using Autodesk Maya. This book introduces the methods and techniques required for your first foray into 3D FX generation from scratch. You will start with the fundamentals of visual effects, including a history of VFX, tools and techniques for creating believable visual effects, and popular tools used in the industry. Next, you are introduced to Autodesk Maya and its various components that make it a favorite among professionals. You will learn how to create rigid body collisions and simulate realistic particles such as dust, fire, water, and more. This book also presents strategies for creating a vortex, rain, hair, fluids, and other soft body simulations and also demonstrates nature element simulations for computer-generated production. At the end of the book, there is a capstone project to make your own visual effects scene in a practical way. After going through this book, you will be able to start building computer-generated visual effects from your imagination through to production. What You Will Learn Understand the basic physics behind effect creation Create 3D visual effects scenes from scratch Know the details of dynamic simulation in the computer generation space using various functionalities available in Autodesk Maya Who This Book Is For Beginning-level users; students from the field of visual effects design, 3D modeling, and simulation; game designers; those creating computer graphics; FX artists and aspirants looking for a career in the field of 3D

Produce mind-blowing visual effects with Autodesk Maya. Gain the practical skills and knowledge you need to recreate phenomena critical to visual effects work, including fire, water, smoke, explosions, and destruction, as well as their integration with real-world film and video. In Creating Visual Effects in Maya, Maya master Lee Lanier has combined the latest studio techniques with multi-chapter, hands-on projects and professionally-vetted workflows to bolster your CG toolkit. Engaging, full-color tutorials cover: Creating foliage, fire, and smoke with Paint Effects Growing Maya Fur and nHair on clothing, characters, and sets Replicating water, smoke, sparks, swarms, bubbles, and debris with nParticles and nCloth Controlling scenes and simulations with expressions and MEL, Python, and PyMEL scripting Adding dust, fog, smoke, rippling water, and fireballs with Fluid Effects containers Creating damage with Effects presets, deformers, and animated textures Matchmoving and motion tracking with Maya and MatchMover Creating complex destruction by combining rigid bodies, nParticles, nCloth, and Fluid Effects Setting up, rendering, and compositing mental ray render passes with Autodesk Composite, Adobe After Effects, and The Foundry Nuke The companion website (www.focalpress.com/cw/lanier) features a treasure trove of Maya, MatchMover, After Effects, and Nuke project files, image sequences, texture bitmaps, and MEL, Python, and PyMEL scripts, allowing you to immediately apply the techniques taught in the book.

Create positively dazzling effects with the unique insights and practical advice in this innovative guide from a working professional Maya artist. Need to create plasmatic energy by lunch? Animate a field of sprouting daisies before tomorrow’s meeting? Fashion a force field by Friday? With Maya’s flexible toolset and the unique tutorials in this book, you’ll learn how to solve real-world problems, improvise, and finish your professional assignments on time and with flair.

Create innovative CG solutions with Maya and this creative guide Professional Maya artists have to think on their feet. It's nothing for them to receive just vague sketches or incomplete ideas of what the studio wants and have to come up with something brilliant. If you're an intermediate to advanced Maya user, Maya Visual Effects: The Innovator's Guide, Second Edition is what you need to meet the challenge. Professional Maya artist Eric Keller offers inspired solutions and hands-on projects, as well as numerous practical shortcuts and deadlines, so you learn to produce innovative CG assets from scratch, using Maya, on a deadline. Shows intermediate to advanced Maya users new solutions, workarounds, and shortcuts for creating Maya visual effects on deadline Gives readers plenty of hands-on projects, so they come up with solutions that they can add to their Maya toolsets Offers workable ideas that can be applied, no matter which version of Maya software is being used Presents projects in an engaging style, with pages of full-color imagery to illustrate concepts Create amazing effects with the creative insights and fresh advice in this new edition of Maya Visual Effects: The Innovator's Guide.

Produce mind-blowing visual effects with Autodesk Maya. Gain the practical skills and knowledge you need to recreate phenomena critical to visual effects work, including fire, water, smoke, explosions, and destruction, as well as their integration with real-world film and video. In Creating Visual Effects in Maya, Maya master Lee Lanier has combined the latest studio techniques with multi-chapter, hands-on projects and professionally-vetted workflows to bolster your CG toolkit. Engaging, full-color tutorials cover: Creating foliage, fire, and smoke with Paint Effects Growing Maya Fur and nHair on clothing, characters, and sets Replicating water, smoke, sparks, swarms, bubbles, and debris with nParticles and nCloth Controlling scenes and simulations with expressions and MEL, Python, and PyMEL scripting Adding dust, fog, smoke, rippling water, and fireballs with Fluid Effects containers Creating damage with Effects presets, deformers, and animated textures Matchmoving and motion tracking with Maya and MatchMover Creating complex destruction by combining rigid bodies, nParticles, nCloth, and Fluid Effects Setting up, rendering, and compositing mental ray render passes with Autodesk Composite, Adobe After Effects, and The Foundry Nuke The companion website (www.focalpress.com/cw/lanier) features a treasure trove of Maya, MatchMover, After Effects, and Nuke project files, image sequences, texture bitmaps, and MEL, Python, and PyMEL scripts, allowing you to immediately apply the techniques taught in the book.

This book is your perfect hands‐on guide to start animating quickly. Using approachable, real‐world exercises, you’ll master the fundamentals of this animation software by following full‐color screenshots step by step. Each chapter opens with a quick discussion of concepts and learning objectives, and then launches into hands‐on tutorials that give you firsthand experience and a good start. You’ll learn the basics of modeling, texturing, animating, and visual effects. Whether you’re a complete beginner or migrating from another 3D application, this task‐based book provides the solid grounding you need in Autodesk Maya. Key Features Model with polygons, meshes, and more Add motion with simple and complex animations Add color and textures to visualize materials and surfaces Render scenes with great lighting and camera placement

The exclusive, official guide to the very latest version of Maya Get extensive, hands-on, intermediate to advanced coverage of Autodesk Maya 2012, the top-selling 3D software on the market. If you already know Maya basics, this authoritative book takes you to the next level. From modeling, texturing, animation, and visual effects to high-level techniques for film, television, games, and more, this book provides professional-level Maya instruction. With pages of scenarios and examples from some of the leading professionals in the industry, author Todd Palamar will help you master the entire CG production pipeline. Provides professional-level instruction on Maya, the industry-leading 3D animation and effects software used in popular films, games, and commercials Covers the very latest Maya 2012 tools and features, including the new fluid simulation tools Showcases the techniques of professionals through numerous examples, demonstrating how to set up and manage 3D animation and visual effects pipelines Includes challenging tutorials and real-world scenarios from some of the leading professionals in the industry If you're looking for an in-depth, professional Maya resource to turn to again and again, this is the book you need.