The premiere book on getting started with Maya 2014

Whether you're just beginning, or migrating from another 3D application, this step-by-step guide is what you need to get a good working knowledge of Autodesk Maya 2014. Beautifully illustrated with full-color examples and screenshots, Autodesk Maya 2014 Essentials explains the basics of Maya as well as modeling, texturing, animating, setting a scene, and creating visual effects. You'll absorb important concepts and techniques, and learn how to confidently use Maya tools the way professionals do.

Each chapter includes fun and challenging hands-on projects, which you can do as you go using the downloadable files from the book's website. They include starting and ending files, so you can compare your results to how professionals do the projects. This information-packed Autodesk Official Press book also helps you prepare for the Autodesk Maya 2014 certification exams.

• Helps beginners and those migrating from other 3D animation and effects programs get up and running on Autodesk Maya 2014
• Features step-by-step tutorials, hands-on exercises with downloadable files, and four-color examples and screenshots
• Covers modeling, texturing, animating, visual effects, lighting, compositing, setting a scene, and more
• Written by an Autodesk Authorized Author and is an Autodesk Official Press
• Autodesk Maya is the industry-leading 3D animation and effects software used in movies, games, cartoons, short films, commercials, and other animation

Get firsthand experience with Maya 2014, as well as an initial start on preparing for the Autodesk Maya 2014 Certified Professional exam, with Autodesk Maya 2014 Essentials.

Learn Maya Quickly and Easily

Featuring step-by-step tutorials, full-color illustrations, and hands-on exercises, this practical guide gets you up to speed on core Maya topics such as modeling, texturing, animating, rigging, lighting, rendering, and setting a scene. You'll develop real-world skills, get comfortable with Maya workflows, and increase your productivity, whether you're new to Maya or migrating from another 3D application. And, not only does this book thoroughly cover the fundamentals of Autodesk Maya, it also gives you a good start in preparing for the Autodesk Maya 2014 Certified Professional exam.

Learn these Autodesk Maya essentials--and more:

• The Maya 2014 interface, menus, and tools
• Simple animation--set keyframes, adjust tangents, and create playblasts
• Modeling with polygons--bodies, faces, and cleanup before rigging
• Adding character with blend shapes and surfaces
• Building bone structure, adding joints, and weighting joints
• Rigging, animating, and lighting basics
• How to render and composite an animation
• Setting the camera and setting up your scene

Model, rig, and animate a character

Build a set, apply surfaces, and light the scene

This striking Essentials book features:

• Chapter-opening learning objectives
• Step-by-step tutorials
• Full-color screenshots and illustrations
• Essentials and Beyond--summaries and additional suggested exercises
• Downloadable exercise files

The premiere book on getting started with Maya 2014

Whether you're just beginning, or migrating from another 3D application, this step-by-step guide is what you need to get a good working knowledge of Autodesk Maya 2014. Beautifully illustrated with full-color examples and screenshots, Autodesk Maya 2014 Essentials explains the basics of Maya as well as modeling, texturing, animating, setting a scene, and creating visual effects. You'll absorb important concepts and techniques, and learn how to confidently use Maya tools the way professionals do.

Each chapter includes fun and challenging hands-on projects, which you can do as you go using the downloadable files from the book's website. They include starting and ending files, so you can compare your results to how professionals do the projects. This information-packed Autodesk Official Press book also helps you prepare for the Autodesk Maya 2014 certification exams.

• Helps beginners and those migrating from other 3D animation and effects programs get up and running on Autodesk Maya 2014
• Features step-by-step tutorials, hands-on exercises with downloadable files, and four-color examples and screenshots
• Covers modeling, texturing, animating, visual effects, lighting, compositing, setting a scene, and more
• Written by an Autodesk Authorized Author and is an Autodesk Official Press
• Autodesk Maya is the industry-leading 3D animation and effects software used in movies, games, cartoons, short films, commercials, and other animation

Get firsthand experience with Maya 2014, as well as an initial start on preparing for the Autodesk Maya 2014 Certified Professional exam, with Autodesk Maya 2014 Essentials.