Mastering Autodesk Maya 2012

Believe or not, about 100 pages of content were deleted between the 2011 edition and this new edition. The print edition of 2012 edition is 950 pages and the ebook edition of the 2011 edition is 1050 pages. The bonus chapters included in the DVD might make up from some of this deleted content, but definitely not all of it. I've been comparing my two editions and have found numerous examples of content that has been inexplicably deleted. In all cases, the deleted content had value. Note that the deleted content that I have encountered so far has not been entire chapters but a few pages here and there.The latest examples that I've encountered were sections called "Animation Using Expressions" and "MEL in Action: Quick Object-Reposition Script" from the chapter 5: Animation Techniques. I've noticed several deleted sections from the modeling chapters as well. As you work through those chapters, you might even notice the skipped steps, as new parts of the space suit that you didn't model suddenly appear in later steps.I can only assume some sort of page limit was imposed on the authors and they were forced to go back and hack and whack content. That must have been very difficult because there is no "fluff" that I've seen in this book. To add insult to (minor) injury, I have noticed very little new content (admittedly, I've only made it through the 5th chapter of the new edition).Don't get me wrong either edition of this book is more than worth its purchase price. I absolutely love these books, hence my 5 star rating. But from what I've seen so far, the 2011 edition might actually be the better edition! This is unexpected and disappointing. Normally, I would expect each new addition to be an improvement on the last. I'm not convinced that expectation holds true here.I typically prefer video training for software rather than books and was concerned that this book wouldn't be able to keep up my interest. I was wrong. It's very well constructed and I love that it includes completed project files for each step of the tutorials. I have gotten stuck in a couple of places and it's really nice to be able to open the completed solution and move on to the next steps.If you are brand new to Maya and looking for video training, check out Maya Fundamentals from 3DBuzz.com. Although its based on a much earlier version of Maya (6.5), most of it's content is still very applicable. It includes over 80 hours of training and is still considered the gold standard.UPDATE: I'm now in the middle of Chapter 13. I've noticed no additional missing content along the way (other than what I already mentioned), but I've noticed hardly any new content, either. In fact, one of the few new topics that I did notice (sorry, I can't remember the topic) was only briefly discussed and didn't include any examples. It felt tacked on and without enough substance to add any real value.Perhaps, the order of the authors of 2012 edition was changed because Todd Palamar made the few updates to this new edition and did so with less care than Eric Keller. Regardless, I stand by my original premise that this book is not much, if any, improvement over the previous version.Even so, my love of this book has not been diminished. This is by far the most valuable resource that I've come across for exploring the numerous features of Maya. You won't be a "master" by the time you finish the book, but you will have at least gotten exposure to almost every facet of the program.I stumbled in a couple of places in the book, most notably in the texturing chapter. No matter how hard I tried, my initial unwrapping of the giraffe's leg did not look like the picture in the book. In the end, it didn't matter, but at that point, I didn't know that and wasted a lot of time as a result. I also found the discussion and examples around subsurface scattering left me more confused than enlightened. But these were the exceptions rather than the rule. Most the examples are simple and straightforward and designed to illustrate a specific point with a minimal number of steps. I applaud the authors for taking this approach rather than taking you through a complicated project from start to finish, illustrating all of the features of the program along the way. I find the latter much more time consuming and monotonous to follow along, and in the end, less rewarding, since the final product isn't really your work anyway.It's taken me so long to get through, this book almost feels like an old friend that I'll miss when I'm finally finished. Of course, I'm sure that I'll be referring back to it constantly as I try to incorporate what I've learned into my own projects. If you've read this far, stop and just BUY THE BOOK!

Just as a caution: do NOT attempt to use this book until you at the very least have learned the basics of Maya. I would recommend either going through and actively participating in the Autodesk Maya Document Guide (free on Autodesk's website) and/or Introducing Maya 2012 (not free obviously, but will prepare you very well for this book).This book is unbelievable; even Maya intermediates will be intimidated by it. You will never look at Maya the same way once you have completed this book. The book is thick, much more than I had expected and the font is smaller than most Maya books. The information is incredible; your skills will leap bounds. As usual, these Autodesk books throw you into projects that leave you with all the skills you need as well as some incredibly impressive models you can truly call your own, perfect for your demo reel. The different techniques you learn will far surpass anything you may have learned from Youtube and most smaller animation schools (makes sense since this book prepares you for the Maya Certification Test).If you hope to one day become a professional, I highly recommend this book. Participate, don't just use the program files, apply what you learn to your own personal projects, and you'll be working in no time.

Quick background: I have what many would consider limited experience with Maya. I have only modeled 3 simple handheld tools from my garage and worked through the online Autodesk tutorial/help file up to NURBS modeling. So, I really am a newbie.Having just received the book, I'm only 1 chapter deep and feel that the book fills all of the little gaps/questions I had from the online tutorial. I would agree with the author that the book is NOT for a person who has absolute zero experience with Maya. I liked the fact that they start from the most fundamental concept and build from there. For example, the very first thing mentioned in the book are nodes and their relationship to objects and how to work with them. I know the online tutorial works through nodes and the hierarchy, but this just seems like the right way to go.Like I said, I am new to Maya and not very far into the book. For what it's worth, I feel that this is seems to be a good investment and a solid reference.

I'm a professional in the industry and this is a great addition to my maya books. It was time to upgrade from my master maya 7.The book is a great reference for newer features in maya and a nice read once in a while to remember features you don't use often.My one stink would be that they add a digital copy or offer a discount to those who have purchased a physical copy already. Too often I'm in and out of the office freelancing and working from home, lugging around a large book(it's big to carry around)is impractical but I still love having a real book to read. $50 for a physical copy then another $50 for a kindle is just a little high for this book. Digital books are really the way of the future so to keep books in the market they should really offer incentive's.Good book for professionals and for new to intermediate. I would however suggest a "Intruducing Maya" book if your just starting in 3D.Dev

Was a student a few years ago, but never really worked on any animation projects. But I have something coming up soon. This huge book will help me re-awaken skills long gone dormant. I am confident I will be able to do what I envision. Good thing I have no deadline, as this book is choked full of information (not all of it I will use, of course, but it's nice to know) and will take some time to go through. It will be a pleasure to do so.

This has been purchased for my son who has been doing the Maya course, he is going to be thrilled. Thank you so much for your very prompt despatch job this order.

If you looking to learn Maya or just brush up your knowledge this book is a great place to start. It breaks down the nicely all the different aspects of the program, in walk through tutorials. Which can be followed or simply read. Couldn't fault this book.

Late delivery but product as described

Oggetto come descritto e in perfette condizioni, nuovo e nella scatola originale, senza alcuna crepa e difetti.Imballaggio e spedizione eccellenti.Non compratevi libri di Software a meno che non vogliate riempire una libreria, sono inutili ormai.

As the title says it is not an introduction, but if read (worked through) after "Introducing Autodesk Maya, Derakhshani", it contains many, many interestinging and very, very fun new insights into Maya. It is not (just) a cookbook, but offers details about the structure that you need for getting more out of Maya.