Maya Visual Effects: The Innovator's Guide

Learn smart ways to make inspiration happenWhen a director tells you to produce that next great visual effect, your job may depend on knowing fast, creative ways to get things done in Autodesk Maya. The new edition of this full-color guide is what you need to get more out of Maya and boost your professional creativity at the same time. As you work through a series of challenging projects, you'll not only discover inspired solutions and helpful shortcuts, you'll also gain valuable studio smarts from professional CG artist and author Eric Keller. The book also features mini lessons in MEL scripting from veteran Maya wizard Max Dayan to help you automate the setup of complex effects rigs. Written for Maya versions 2012, 2013, and 2014, this guide provides expertise to all Maya users wishing to up their game.* Propel a rocket through the air using Maya Fluids* Orchestrate a beautiful flowering cherry tree with nParticle collisions* Choreograph a dynamic school of fish with a custom-built flocking simulator* Use Paint Effects to create bursts of electric energy shooting sci-fi style through a cave* Grow a beard of bees on a character's face using nCloth and nParticles* Use Maya's nHair to create a swimming jellyfish with stinging tentaclesRig Medusa's snakey hair to react dynamically to flying batsUse MEL scripting to create an animation rig for a magic stone pathMelt a highly detailed gun model using nCloth