Learning Maya 6 | Rendering

Rating:
Summary: Very informative, in-depth coverage
Review: It comes at a rather hefty $60 price, and it's not for novice users at all. But if you've been doing Maya for awhile now, this is definitely worth it.

First, if you *are* still at a beginning/intermediate level, the included Rendering DVD has 5 or 6 lessons (if I recall) to bring you up to speed. The presenter (Bob Gundu) isn't terribly exciting, but his walkthroughs are fairly clear and presented at an understandable speed.

At a higher level, the book really gets into how the software renderer works, with useful tips on how to get rid of banding in depth-map shadows, and how to use shading map nodes. There are some Mental Ray-specific chapters included as well; this renderer usually never gets decent coverage in other introductory Maya books. This isn't a comprehensive reference (i.e. it won't cover in painstaking detail *every* single texture node), but it's a pretty useful tool for learning. I'd say this product is well worth the money.

Oh, and yeah, from what I recall, this book almost looks the same as Learning Maya 5, so don't expect much of an update from that volume.

Rating:
Summary: A little disappointed.
Review: This book I was a little disappointed in. It's pretty much a mirror of the Maya 5 Rendering book. It even has the same color showcase of images. The only true addition to the book is the Maya Basics Rendering tutorial video thats located on the DVD (worth $34.99). If you previously purchased the Maya Basics Rendering DVD you pretty much have a revised Maya 5 Rendering book. The only reason I am giving it a three is because there is really nothing new.

Rating:
Summary: Poorly Written - not a good teacher
Review: This book is the most dissapointing of a good series.

The author gives little or no explanation of rendering concepts or even simple explanation of what is going on through the examples. This makes completing tutorials difficult, and when you do battle through them, the concepts of rendering in Maya are still a mystery!

Please someone give us a book that teaches well.