Maya® Visual Effects: The Innovator's Guide

Introduction

One of the things that makes effects animation so engaging is that there are rarely cut-and-dried solutions to any given problem. Most books on computer animation software focus on the most common uses for the tools the software offers. A standard Maya book consists of chapters devoted to modeling cars, rigging characters, and creating plumes of smoke. These are all very important techniques to learn and master, but what happens when you get a job and the art director asks for a squishy kind of energy? Or a fuzzy blob of bacteria that schlorps past the camera? Suddenly you're faced with finding a way to use the Maya toolset in a much less-typical fashion. This book is designed to help you move beyond the basics so that you feel comfortable ...