Complete Maya Programming Volume II: An In-depth Guide to 3D Fundamentals, Geometry, and Modeling

by David Gould

Overview

David Gould's acclaimed first book, Complete Maya Programming: An Extensive Guide to MEL and the C++ API, provides artists and programmers with a deep understanding of the way Maya works and how it can be enhanced and customized through programming. In his new book David offers a gentle, intuitive introduction to the core ideas of computer graphics.

Each concept is explained progressively and is fully implemented in both MEL and C++ so that an artist or programmer can use the source code directly in their own programs. Geometry and modeling are covered in detail with progressively more complex examples demonstrating all of Maya's possible programming features.

David Gould's first volume is widely regarded as the most authoritative reference on Maya programming. Volume II continues this tradition and provides an unmatched guide for the artist and programmer tackling complex tasks.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780120884827
Publisher:	Elsevier Science
Publication date:	08/05/2005
Series:	The Morgan Kaufmann Series in Computer Graphics , #2
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	744
Product dimensions:	7.50(w) x 9.25(h) x (d)

About the Author

David A. D. Gould is an award-winning computer graphics artist and programmer with over a decade of distinguished accomplishments that span the globe. Among his diverse credits are technology development for Walt Disney Feature Animation, development of the Entropy renderer at Exluna, and 3D graphics chip design at Nvidia. He also developed Illustrate!, the leading toon and technical illustration renderer. David's filmography includes such films as The Lord of the Rings and King Kong.

Table of Contents

Preface; 1 Introduction; 2 Points; 3 Vectors; 4 Rotations; 5 Transformations; 6 Transform Nodes; 7 Coordinate Frames; 8 Polygonal Meshes; 9 Nurbs; 10 Subdivision Surfaces; 11 Contexts (Tools); A Further Learning; B Further Reading; Glossary; Index

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

Second in a series from the bestselling Maya author

Editorial Reviews

"A great follow-up to Volume I! Volume II is an in-depth guide to the mathematical and geometric concepts indispensable to advanced Maya programmers." —Larry Gritz, Exluna/NVIDIA

From the Publisher

The Barnes & Noble Review
In the first volume of Complete Maya Programming, CG legend David Gould offered the definitive introduction to programming Maya with both MEL and C++. Now, in Volume II, Gould systematically links Maya programming to the core concepts of computer graphics development.

Gould demystifies points, vectors, rotations, and transformations; then moves on to more complex topics, such as polygonal meshes, NURBS, and subdivision surfaces. For each area, Gould presents code for both MEL and C++, and all the information you’ll need to customize it effectively.

Calling Gould an expert would be an understatement. For The Lord of the Rings, he developed custom shader technology for Gollum’s hair and completed shots ranging from the Isengard battle to the ring’s final destruction. Then he began work on Peter Jackson’s King Kong. You’ll be thankful he found time to write this book. Bill Camarda, from the August 2005 Read Only

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