Maya Visual Effects The Innovator's Guide: Autodesk Official Press, 2nd Edition

Table of contents

1. Cover
2. Acknowledgments
3. About the Author
4. About the Contributor
5. Introduction
   1. Who Should Buy This Book
   2. What’s Inside
   3. How to Contact the Author
6. Chapter 1: Texture Effects
   1. Create Animated Effects with a Ramp Texture
   2. Use Ambient Occlusion for Holographic Effects
   3. Generate Creative Text Effects
7. Chapter 2: Particle Effects
   1. Orchestrate a Flowering Tree with nParticles
   2. Create a Beard of Bees Using a Force Field
   3. Choreograph a School of Fish by Layering Particles
8. Chapter 3: Joint Rigging for Effects
   1. Animate a Growing Bacterial Colony Using Joints
   2. Use Joints to Jiggle Geometry
   3. Animate a Magic Curling Brick Road Using Joints
9. Chapter 4: Creative Blend Shape Techniques
   1. Create an Interactive Blend Shape Rig
   2. Combine Blend Shapes and Other Deformers to Create Swimming Plankton
   3. Automate Blend Shape Sequences Using MEL
10. Chapter 5: Paint Effects
    1. Create Bursts of Electric Energy
    2. Animate a Blood Vessel Growing on an Eyeball
    3. Use Paint Effects Modifiers to Deform Geometry
11. Chapter 6: nCloth Techniques
    1. Use nCloth to Melt a Complex Gun Model
    2. Trap 3D Text in a Spider Web with nConstraints
    3. Use nCloth to Animate a Drop of Water
12. Chapter 7: Fluid Effects
    1. Create Shockwaves for a Futuristic Spaceship
    2. Propel a Rocket Using Fluids
    3. Use a Fluid Mesh to Build a Head
13. Chapter 8: nHair and Fur Effects
    1. Create an Animated Jellyfish with nHair
    2. Create a Dynamic Rig for Medusa’s Snakes
    3. Animate Crop Circles Using Fur
14. Index