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Creating Visual Effects in Maya

Fire, Water, Debris, and Destruction
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
Creating Visual Effects in Maya by Lee Lanier teaches you how to produce stunning visual effects using Autodesk Maya. The book offers practical, hands-on projects and studio techniques to recreate phenomena like fire, water, smoke, explosions, and destruction, integrating them seamlessly with real-world film and video.

It covers advanced topics including Paint Effects for foliage and fire, Maya Fur and nHair, nParticles and nCloth for various effects, scripting with MEL and Python, Fluid Effects containers, matchmoving, and compositing with tools such as mental ray, Adobe After Effects, and The Foundry Nuke.

Readers gain access to a companion website filled with project files, texture bitmaps, and scripts to enhance learning and application.
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Format: Paperback / softback
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

This comprehensive guide is ideal for visual effects artists, 3D animators, and digital content creators who want to master complex visual effects using Maya. Suitable for users with intermediate to advanced experience in 3D software and scripting, it offers valuable techniques for professionals and students in film, television, and game production.

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Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

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-colour 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.

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780415834186

Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 20 March 2014

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Routledge

Illustration: 23 Tables, color

Audience: Professional and scholarly

DIMENSIONS

Width: 191.0mm

Height: 235.0mm

Weight: 786g

Pages: 328

About the Author

Lee Lanier has worked in the motion picture industry since 1989, having spent hundreds of hours on live-action sets and thousands of hours working with high-end animation and compositing software. He’s created visual effects for Walt Disney Studios and served as a senior animator in the modeling and lighting departments at PDI/DreamWorks on Antz and Shrek. In addition to having taught at the Academy of Art University and Gnomon School of Visual Effects, Lee has written seven books on visual effects and digital compositing, has recorded tutorials for lynda.com and The Foundry, and is a member of the Visual Effects Society.

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