Mastering Maya Complete 2

Rating:
Summary: A great book for Maya beginners through intermediates
Review: An excellent book for those whom have never worked with Maya. Not for the absolute novices - it assumes SOME basic knowledge. This book is best suited for those who are used to using a different 3D program, like SoftImage or 3DS Max and wish to start using Maya instead. The book is an excellent tutorial in the unique features of Maya and is an invaluable starting guide.

Check out the Maya Character Animation book, too. Unlike 3DS Max, Maya has a FUNCTIONAL skeleton/bone system :)

All in all - well worth the money.

Recomendation is that you use a graphics tablet for Maya - makes life a tad simpler.

Rating:
Summary: Two thumbs up!
Review: As a newbie to the (often challenging) Maya environment, I have found this book to be indispensable. It's the kind of roll-your-sleeves-up-and-get-busy book which gives you plenty of hands-on exercises. Some of the exercises are very quick 'try this tool' examples, while others are large projects spanning several chapters. By the time you've worked your way through all the topics covered, and experimented with the concepts which are introduced, you can't help but learn a lot. I especially like the way that this book puts so many Maya tools in the context of a workflow (unlike the Maya manuals, most of which are very abstract). If the tutorials which accompany the software left you wanting more, then this is probably the book for you!

Rating:
Summary: It is all online
Review: I have started using maya almost 3 mounths ago and I started it with this book right away. And although I am not new to 3d animation and I can say that I have read various 3d animation books but I have to say that I was realy amazed by the lights this book put in my way of using MAYA. And I sort of envy the authors for thair ability in using the software and thair ability in comunicating with others in a understandable way. They dont pay me to write this thing But for the efforts they have put in their job I just couldn't resist to share this with you guys.

Rating:
Summary: It is all online
Review: The tutorial is old - is has been online for years. It was presented at SIGGRAPH over three years ago.

The front of the book is obviously filler - over 50 pages rehashing 'story' and 'character' information that is so bland and unstudied it could be written by an accountant. This section should be left out of future tutorial books.

Rating:
Summary: Mastering Maya Complete 2
Review: This book is like having a certified alias instructor right next to you! I literally created an animation--complete with particles--within an hour of reading this book. Unlike the manuals, that bog you down with "do this, do that" techniques; this book takes you by the hand and explains everything in a coherent manner; it gives you real-life examples, the way you would use it in a real-time project setting. Excellent, excellent book if you're a beginning to intermediate Maya user--it far exceeded my expectations; my only regret is not having found out about this book sooner. BUY IT, READ IT, USE IT!

Rating:
Summary: Recommended!
Review: This is an excellent book. I have already recommended it to my character animation class at the School Of Visual Arts.

Mastering Maya Complete 2 is a well rounded, well written presentation of maya that goes far beyond simple instruction. The authors offer that (unfortunately) rare commodity in books of this type: insight.

It is obvious that the authors have sorted through maya's extensive tool set and found what works ELEGANTLY. We are the beneficiaries.

Rating:
Summary: Very Nice book for learning this complicated application
Review: Trying to learn maya 2 with the manuals that came with it was a very daunting task. I quickly found I needed help. I ordered this book and after only 15-20 minutes knew more than hours of reviewing the manuals. I highly recommend this book. If you are running Maya 2.5 Complete or Unlimited there are some small differences in the user interface but if you review the online help and just play around with it you shouldn't have any problems. Good Luck and really try to learn this excellent package from Alias.

Rating:
Summary: Forget the official MAYA manuals - this is the boy!
Review: With such a complex program as Maya, you really need all the help you can get right at the beginning. Unfortunately the official set of manuals, though very good, are not really the best way to learn this fantastic 3D package and tend to be better purely as reference. Even the Learning Maya book that comes with the package can be misleading and overly complex for the beginner. Ideally you'd have a tutor sat next to you - or the next best thing, a copy of Mastering Maya Complete. I learnt more in one hour reading this book, going through the tutorials than I did in several days struggling through the official manuals. Within minutes you can be creating models and getting to grips with the wonderful interface - all explained in easy to understand terms, with very useful tips and notes as you go along. Even though my copy of Maya is 2.5, the book serves extremely well and is a damn-sight more intuitive than the other manuals. Very highly recommended - put your official manuals on the shelf (where they look very nice Indeed) and get this book - it's all you'll need if you're a beginner - it's probably all you'll need for most things ... Great!