Learning Autodesk Maya 2008, (Official Autodesk Training Guide, includes DVD): Foundation

Author - Autodesk Maya Press ... [Goo?] [Posters]

This Paperback Book item from Sybex was reviewed on 4-Nov-2008.

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1) Paperback Book Learning Autodesk Maya 2008, (Official Autodesk Training Guide, includes DVD): Foundation by Sybex. Loved this book, my only concern was occasionally they would tell you to set a parameter as a certain number, but not explain the parameter or tell you what it does. You can tweak it yourself and kinda figure it out on your own, but an explanation would be nice. Other than that I loved this book, learned a lot too!¤

2) Paperback Book Learning Autodesk Maya 2008, (Official Autodesk Training Guide, includes DVD): Foundation by Sybex. I´m a beginner using Maya so I bought this book because I like the project and the fact you could recreate a scene from Surf Up was very appealing to me.
The book is relatively easy to follow most of the time but the main issue is that it tells you to do this and this but with no explanation. It would have been nice to have the author explaining why we should uncheck this check box or not, why do we have to click on this button so I feel like I´m just following a tutorial and don´t learn more about the functionalities of the soft.
Anyway I´m still glad that I bought it.¤

3) Paperback Book Learning Autodesk Maya 2008, (Official Autodesk Training Guide, includes DVD): Foundation by Sybex. Maya strikes me as a program that is intensely difficult to learn if you don´t already have an objective in mind. As a student of architecture in one of the few programs that encourages its use for design purposes I have found this book indispensable not only for its easy introduction to the virtually limitless Maya interface, but also for its excellent explanations of the three common 3D techniques available within (polygon, NURBS, and subD modeling). Although in general I had no use for the animation or effects chapters they did serve to give a glimpse into the overwhelming possibilities of the program.

The book is not for beginners per se, but if you have a working familiarity with a computer interface, a little 3D modeling under your belt and a reason to be lurking around in the machine then the book will provide a solid ´foundation´, as its title suggests. If what you need is rather an ´introduction´ then you might look elsewhere.¤

4) Paperback Book Learning Autodesk Maya 2008, (Official Autodesk Training Guide, includes DVD): Foundation by Sybex. The book is poorly written with grammatical and technical errors throughout. For example, uses "MMB" as a verb with no prior definition, which is not appropriate for a book advertised as a training manual for novice users (what´s wrong with "press the middle mouse button"?). Freely mixes different names for the same object or operation, which makes it harder to understand the software and the book.

Contains an uneven mix of gesture emphasis with no conceptual explanation, and conceptual instruction without explanation of how to accomplish the task. Missing steps in several examples, and contains obvious copy & paste errors (which I assume are from some previous edition).

Lots of time spent developing the particular scene, which may be useful if you are planning to reproduce "Surf´s Up", but very few explanations of what the tools you use actually do, and no systematic exploration of various settings. For example, you will often be told to set controls to particular values, with no indication of why, what that setting means, how to use it, or when else it might apply. This makes it very hard to generalize, which again hampers efforts to learn the software.

The book is probably twice as long as it needs to be, but contains about half of what it should. A simpler example, consistent terminology, and more logical flow would be a good start. For example, cover polygon, subdivision, NURBS modeling in one chunk, then move on to animation instead of throwing animation, rigging, IK, etc. in between polygon and NRUBS modeling; it will make it easier to understand the set of modeling tools if you don´t try to interpose a whole new animation skill set in between.

Many of the illustrations are rendered nearly unreadable because of their microscopic nearly-gray green lines on a 50% gray background (yes, this accurately reflects the unfortunate UI in Maya itself, but that´s no excuse -- the other books I´ve seen on this software increased the line thickness so that the illustrations are at least legible). Further, the illustrations frequently show whole screenshots with little or no indication of which exact features the reader is encouraged to notice.

Too much space is wasted on "make the penguin look like this" in both the text and illustrations. I would prefer some simpler example that gave me a chance to practice the tools to achieve some more obvious result.

The bottom line is that although the book contains a lot of useful information, it is made much less accessible by poor technical writing, an inappropriate example, poor illustrations, and bad organization. Very disappointing, especially given the price of the book and the software, and that this is an official publication from Autodesk.¤

5) Paperback Book Learning Autodesk Maya 2008, (Official Autodesk Training Guide, includes DVD): Foundation by Sybex. This is a very powerful tool for everyone who doesn´t know how to use Autodesk maya but want´s to learn it.¤

6) Paperback Book Learning Autodesk Maya 2008, (Official Autodesk Training Guide, includes DVD): Foundation by Sybex. Learning Autodesk Maya 2008 I Foundation is your key to unlocking the power of Autodesk Maya software, directly from the creators of one of the world´s most powerful 3D animation and effects software products. Get hands-on experience with the innovative tools and powerful techniques available in Autodesk Maya 2008. You´ll gain a sense of the entire production process as you work on creating and animating characters from Sony Pictures Animation´s feature film, Surf´s Up. You´ll even learn about compositing your characters into alternate environments in a bonus chapter on Autodesk Combustion software. Explore the Maya user interface, create organic structures with NURBS, apply forward and inverse kinematics, deform surfaces, learn to use Trax non-linear animation, discover rendering techniques, and so much more with this easy to follow guide to Maya. Includes bonus DVD with scene files, instructor-led podcasts, and other reference guides to give you a solid foundation in the art of animating with Maya.¤

Page Updated: Robert N. Goolsby, 2-Dec-2008, 18971774299781897177426, 470-050-3X0-6X0-330-080-4X0-801-991-291-8

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