Rating: 
Summary: Rushed in....
Review: As an average Maya user,I definitely agree on this comment "rushed, incomplete, cashing in on Maya user" Seen better, done better...
Rating: 
Summary: A complete maya book!
Review: Finally got my hands on this first Maya book! What can I say?! Excellent! Coming from 3DMax background, I find the book's tutorials and tips and introductions VERY useful. Now I know why MAYA is THE TOOL to go! Buy it! You cant get a MAYA INSTRUCTOR for to teach you even half of these stuff!
Rating:
Summary: Informative and one of the better CG books!
Review: I placed my order when I was in Siggraph and picked it up only recently. It certainly looks better than before! This book is very informative and easy to follow. The theory part tends to be academic and so is a little dry. But it explains to the point about those things like noise, octaves, render, light etc. If there is something I want to bark about, it's give me MORE theory. The author seems to have a way to arose your interest but stop at the point when u get really excited and want to know more. The tutorials are well organized. I managed to get a really cool fire effects out from the first two tutorials. But if this is your first Maya tutorial, better not jump pages. You'll sure hit the walls. This book is not a spoon-fed book. So you got to tickle your brain a little and analyze some TASK and NOTES. I find the method of presentation VERY useful and informative for me. One place you will want to visit is the book's website (4deffects.com). There are some useful info and updates. Overall I think it is more than worth my money that I spent attending some useless CG classes in downtown!
Rating:
Summary: Good!
Review: I'm a student taking some graphics and animation courses. I bought this book for study of Maya since my school teach maya. Before I read the book I dont have any idea of production. But now, I got a much better idea of what happens in production. I agree that Maya is just a tool. And there are many things needed for a real work in a production environemnt. One thing about the book, I think the publisher did not do a good job by editing it. Also, whoever proofed read the book must be half asleep. This cause the book with several errors. But lucky the book is still contain good stuff. In conclusion, I recommend it to people who like to learn effects animation, especially using Maya to do effects and especially if you are student like me.
Rating:
Summary: A serious review
Review: I've read almost every graphics books (3D and games). So, let me give my analysis of this book.My opinion is this book is a very GOOD book. I've seen other books that give all kind of false advertising - duplicate half of the manuals, copy articles from all over the places etc. (You will be surprise how many of these are lying around) Those deserve a one star rating. But this book is one of a kind that serve as a good reference for Maya. It doesnt take the manual and repeat them here, which is what I love about. But, I believe because this is the first book on Maya, many people would probably rush to buy it without reading from the author that it is not a beginner book but one specifically written for effects wannabe. That probably explain why some of the readers are pulling out their hair while doing the tutorials. The other reason I believe is likely due to the printing errors. But hack, programs have bugs, system has flaws. There are more books that have more errors than this one! Besides, those errors are really minor. So, my recommendation is very simple: a. If you're first time Maya user, buy the learning maya book from alias wavefront. This one is not for you. b. If you're experience user, but know nothing more than those from the manuals, buy this book. It has some really good theory and practice of effects. c. If you like books that tell you and explain very thing step by step, this one is not for you. d. If you dont mind people throwing the codes and answers to you and expect you to think, this is the book you should get.
Rating:
Summary: F/X Extrordinaire!
Review: One of the best things that Maya brought to the 3D creation community was it's character animation, and digital effects capeabilities. This books concentrates on the later. Kian patiently walks you through a series of tutorials, jogging through the center, where the reader ends up running with his new tool set of F/X animation techniques.
Rating:
Summary: F/X Extrordinaire!
Review: One of the best things that Maya brought to the 3D creation community was it's character animation, and digital effects capeabilities. This books concentrates on the later. Kian patiently walks you through a series of tutorials, jogging through the center, where the reader ends up running with his new tool set of F/X animation techniques.
Rating:
Summary: It was in a rush to be the first Maya book printed.
Review: Perhaps this book deserves two or three stars, but I felt I had to offset the bizarre five star reviews that this book has been getting. Some of the techniques might be useful, but the final results of the tutorials are not worthy of the potential of Maya (except the cake tutorial). Most of the expressions don't work if you type them in straight from the book, and the printed screenshots border on useless. It would have been nice to have a little more explanation on WHY a certain shader utility was used or a certain expression, instead of just following the instructions. This is sure to be a favorite among warez users because of the lack of Maya documentation available though.
Rating:
Summary: Like and dislike
Review: Reading this book is frustrating to say the least! You got to type the MEL and you got to scratch your head to think (I'm almost bald now, BTW). But now that I got through all the tutorials, I got to say it is a good book!! Because it force you to think and learn!
Rating:
Summary: poor
Review: rushed, incomplete, cashing in on Maya user
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