Inside Maya 5

Rating:
Summary: Amazed by Inside Maya 5.0
Review: As the artist who created the cover for this book, I was sent a preview copy, so I have had a chance to read it cover to cover. I have been working with Maya since the first beta (and named a "Maya Master" by Alias at this years Siggraph) and thought that I had a pretty good grasp on what this program can do and how to go about doing it. I was wrong. There were many times while reading this title that I said, "Wow, I didn't know you could do it that way", or "Maya can do that?!"

I wish that I had this book when I was first attempting to do my short films, it would have saved me a lot of time. It covers everything that you would need to know in order to successfully bring your ideas to reality. This book is definitely not for beginners, it is for the artist that is looking for the knowledge that will get them to that next level....

Rating:
Summary: Amazed by Inside Maya 5.0
Review: As the artist who created the cover for this book, I was sent a preview copy, so I have had a chance to read it cover to cover. I have been working with Maya since the first beta (and named a "Maya Master" by Alias at this years Siggraph) and thought that I had a pretty good grasp on what this program can do and how to go about doing it. I was wrong. There were many times while reading this title that I said, "Wow, I didn't know you could do it that way", or "Maya can do that?!"

I wish that I had this book when I was first attempting to do my short films, it would have saved me a lot of time. It covers everything that you would need to know in order to successfully bring your ideas to reality. This book is definitely not for beginners, it is for the artist that is looking for the knowledge that will get them to that next level....

Rating:
Summary: Horribly Written
Review: I read up to Chapter 8, I finally get to do some work in Maya and what happens? The writer doesn't explain anything in depth on how to do the steps, he say's extrude the profile curb curve on the profile gap curve, I know how to use maya(I read 4.5 Fudamentals) I do it and it completely fails looks nothing like the diagram, after fiddling around with surface direction and varios options under exrude I finally get it to work, only to later see that it has nothing to do with the actual project(I looked at their files on the cd). I can't follow any of this without having to experiment for hours trying to get a singl step to work. Maya 4.5 Fundamentals was great, It tought you the tools and exactley what to do, I guess I'll need a better book to go more in depth Maya.

Rating:
Summary: terrible book
Review: I'm in page 133, and still haven't touch MAYA in my computer... and for what I see... I won't ever if I continue reading this...
I also bot maya 5 killer tips... now that's a good book...

Rating:
Summary: Weak Effort
Review: There seems to be a good start here, but it's as if it was rushed out without anyone reading it and trying to do the instructions it asks readers to perform. It's so frustrating that it is doubtful that I would ever purchase another technical
publication from this group.

-Murray Taylor
Digital Steamworks

Rating:
Summary: Weak Effort
Review: There seems to be a good start here, but it's as if it was rushed out without anyone reading it and trying to do the instructions it asks readers to perform. It's so frustrating that it is doubtful that I would ever purchase another technical
publication from this group.

-Murray Taylor
Digital Steamworks

Rating:
Summary: The BEST Maya Book I've ever Purchased
Review: This book is the best I've ever used to assist me in using a complex software like Maya. The writers did an excellent job delivering the subject matter in a user-friendly format. I've also had the pleasure of seeing many of the presentations made by the writers at international conferences. The sessions and the book have helped me learn how to use the software to do my job. I've told all my friends in the CG Industry to buy this book at Amazon! Good job guys!

Rating:
Summary: Less fiction, more facts please.
Review: This book reads more like an Autobiography on the writer than it does a textbook about Maya. It has some good 'basic' tips on Mental Ray in one of the last chapters but other than that I found it very frustrating to read and impossible to use as a reference library due to the messy structure. There are much better books out there.

Rating:
Summary: An Excellent Book
Review: Wow. After buying and reading several chapters of this book, I must say that it is has taught me alot of really good in-depth stuff so far, and that I whole-heartedly disagree with the previous post. It is true that this book is not a software manual... but anyone who needs a software manual should read the docs that ship with maya, and save your money for god sake!
This book seems to be geared specifically toward character work, but so far has been filled with tons of production "nuggetts" that I have immediately been able to use in the real world while currently working on a character project in Maya. I particularly enjoyed the Rigging chapter (nice!), Dynamics chapter, and the Advanced Connections chapter. All in all, having done professional film and commercial work already in Maya myself, I would recommend this book to anyone that isnt looking for a software manual, but instead is looking to learn the stuff that the manuals dont teach you, and that you normally end up learning the hard way!