One of the first books on Autodesk's new Mudbox 3D modeling and sculpting tool! Autodesk's Mudbox was used to create photorealistic creatures for The Dark Knight, The Mist, and others films. Now you can join the crowd interested in learning this exciting new digital modeling and sculpting tool with this complete guide. Get up to speed on all of Mudbox’s features and functions, learn how sculpt and paint, and master the art of using effective workflows to make it all go easier. Introduces Autodesk's Mudbox, an exciting 3D modeling and sculpting tool that enables you to create photorealistic creatures for film or games; it is interoperable with Autodesk's 3ds Max and Maya products Explains what digital sculpting is—and what it isn’t—and how to fit it into the pipeline when creating assets for film, television, games, and advertising Shows you how sculpt and paint a model in Mudbox; breaks down the complexities and gets you started right away with interesting projects Helps you set up workflows to cut the time you spend on the technology, freeing you to focus on the creative aspects Includes case studies and examples from industry leaders as well as a DVD with movies, sample project files, MELscripts, and more Develop skills as a digital content creator or visual effects or CG artist with a good understanding of Mudbox and this valuable guide.

Go from 'beginner' to 'expert' with this professional, tutorial-based guide to Maya 2016 Mastering Autodesk Maya 2016 is your professional hands-on coverage to getting the most out of Maya. If you already know the basics of Maya, this book is your ticket to full coverage of all Maya 2016's latest features, and showcases the tools and methods used in real-world 3D animation and visual effects. From modeling, texturing, animation, and effects to high-level techniques for film, television, games, and more, this book expands your skill set, and helps you prepare for the Autodesk Maya certification exam. Filled with challenging tutorials and real-world scenarios this book provides valuable insight into the entire CG production timeline. Take your Maya skills to the next level with step-by-step instruction and insight from the industry professionals. Learn professional techniques used in real-world visual effects Master Dynamics, Maya Muscle, Stereo Cameras, mental ray, and more Expand your skills with advanced techniques for cloth, fur, and fluids Understand everything you need to know for the Maya certification exam

Expand your skills with complete Maya mastery Mastering Autodesk Maya is the ultimate guide to the popular 3D animation software. Author Todd Palamar draws on his extensive professional animation experience to help readers take their Maya skills to the next level. Written for those who already know the basics of this enormous program, the book covers advanced topics and professional techniques for modeling, animation, texturing, and visual effects. Fully updated to reflect Maya's latest features, the book takes a hands-on approach to instruction, providing readers with a diverse set of tutorials designed by real-world professionals to showcase 3D animation and visual techniques used in industry settings. Complete and comprehensive, the book makes an excellent desk reference for the working animator, and is an ideal resource for those seeking Maya certification. The unique combination of challenging material and practical instruction make this one-of-a-kind guide the ultimate Maya handbook. Topics include: Animation using inverse kinematics, keyframes, and deformers Hard surface and organic modeling Proper rigging techniques, and working with Maya Muscle Xgen, Paint Effects, and rendering with mental ray Texture mapping, compositing, nParticles, and more Virtual filmmaking and scene management The most complex skills are useless if they can't be applied, so the book emphasizes the practical, day-to-day uses of each skill, and discusses which solutions best fit which scenario. For the computer animation professional seeking a more in-depth mastery of this popular animation program, Mastering Autodesk Maya is an excellent investment in the future of your career.

Design remarkably realistic creatures, people, and objects using ZBrush and the new edition of this top-selling book. Professional Hollywood animator and ZBrush artist Eric Keller combines his firsthand experience with detailed, step-by-step explanations to make you feel right at home with the interface and tools. The book reinforces the core concepts of ZBrush through fun, hands-on tutorials that will help you achieve amazing results. Understand ZBrush's unique sculpting and painting technology Take a tour of ZBrush 4's innovative interface and powerful toolkit Work with digital clay and effectively use the full array of sculpting brushes Master ZSpheres for armature and ZSketching for creating meshes Explore exciting new tools for creating hard surface objects Learn how to set lighting, create materials, and render in ZBrush Create animated turntables within ZBrush to show off your work The book includes a DVD with example files and models to help guide you through each lesson, as well as movies to show you the sculpting techniques used to create many of the digital sculptures. Note: CD-ROM/DVD and other supplementary materials are not included as part of eBook file.

The exclusive, official guide to the very latest version of Maya Get extensive, hands-on, intermediate to advanced coverage of Autodesk Maya 2012, the top-selling 3D software on the market. If you already know Maya basics, this authoritative book takes you to the next level. From modeling, texturing, animation, and visual effects to high-level techniques for film, television, games, and more, this book provides professional-level Maya instruction. With pages of scenarios and examples from some of the leading professionals in the industry, author Todd Palamar will help you master the entire CG production pipeline. Provides professional-level instruction on Maya, the industry-leading 3D animation and effects software used in popular films, games, and commercials Covers the very latest Maya 2012 tools and features, including the new fluid simulation tools Showcases the techniques of professionals through numerous examples, demonstrating how to set up and manage 3D animation and visual effects pipelines Includes challenging tutorials and real-world scenarios from some of the leading professionals in the industry If you're looking for an in-depth, professional Maya resource to turn to again and again, this is the book you need.

Hands-on intermediate-to-advanced coverage of the leading 3D software Autodesk Maya is the industry-leading 3D animation and effects software used in movies, visual effects, games, and other genres. If you already know the basics of Maya and are ready to elevate your skills, then this book is for you. Nearly 1,000 pages are packed with organized, professional, and valuable insight on the leading 3D application on the market, enabling you to unlock the software's more complex features. Ideal as both a tutorial and study guide for the Autodesk Maya exam, this Autodesk Official Press book gets you up to speed on Maya's latest features and expands your skills with advanced instruction on cloth, fur, and fluids. Features challenging tutorials and real-world scenarios from some of the leading professionals in the industry Provides you with valuable insight into the entire CG production pipeline Covers the very latest Maya 2014 tools and features, including updates to dynamics, Maya muscle, stereo cameras, assets, rendering with mental ray, and more Helps you gain proficiency in high-level techniques for film, television, game development, and more If you've been looking for a complete, professional quality Maya resource to turn to again and again, look no further than Mastering Autodesk Maya 2104.

Use Maya to create realistic environments and props for digital games Weapons, vehicles, tools, buildings, trees, plants, walls, ceilings, and floors-these items may seem secondary to the game environment, but they are integral parts of the game and they all need to be created. Maya Studio Projects: Game Environments and Props is a step-by-step project guide to creating some of the most popular game art. Author Michael McKinley shares techniques for getting the most out of Maya to create realistic, vivid, and compelling worlds and otherworldly props. Along the way, he provides notes and FYIs that give readers depth and breadth for bringing both reality and creativity to their game art. A bonus DVD features step-by-step videos to help drive home concepts. The Studio Projects series offers projects that start from nothing, just as they do in the studio; these books provide you with a step-by-step guide to software attributes and tools that encompass multiple disciplines so that you can create a finished, renderable object Many games have only a few characters, and multiple levels and environments, and hundreds of props-this book focuses on projects and techniques for creating everything but the character Maya is the top 3D app for creating console and computer games such as: Rock Band, Gears of War, James Bond: Quantum of Solace, Fallout 3, and Far Cry 2 Learn effective Maya studio techniques with this handy, step-by-step, full-color book. Note: CD-ROM/DVD and other supplementary materials are not included as part of eBook file.

Digital sculpting is the use of tools to push, pull, smooth, grab, pinch or otherwise manipulate a digital object as if it were made of a real-life substance such as clay. Mudbox is the premier sculpting solution for digital artists, in that it allows them to naturally and easily sculpt detailed, organic characters and models in a way that feels like traditional sculpting. This book guides CG professionals through the process of creating amazing digital sculptures using the Mudbox arsenal of ground-breaking digital sculpting and 3D painting tools, and porting the models into their Maya or Max work. Artists will explore tried and true, traditional, sculpting techniques and learn to apply them to digital sculpting. A series of in-depth tutorials are incluced, each challenging them with progressively more complex models as they go on. Unique to this book are topics specific to fine art sculptors transitioning from traditional sculpting to digital sculpting. information found nowhere else for professional sculptors shows them how to successfully integrate digital sculpting into their workflow. Associated web site with: support files, models, materials, and textures for completing the tutorials in the book.

Provides hands-on intermediate-to-advanced coverage of the leading 3D software Maya is the industry-leading 3D animation and effects software used in movies, visual effects, games, and other genres. For intermediate and advanced users who already know Maya basics, this official Maya guide provides the detailed coverage you need to unlock the software's more complex features. Elevate your skills in modeling, texturing, animation, and visual effects, and gain proficiency in high-level techniques for film, television, game development, and more. Artists who are already proficient in Maya basics can elevate their skills and increase their marketability with the techniques in this official Maya guide This fully updated book brings you up to speed on Maya's latest features and expands your skills with advanced instruction on cloth, fur, and fluids Offers intermediate-level projects on Dynamics, Maya Muscle, Stereo Cameras, Assets, rendering with mental ray, and more Offers challenging tutorials and real-world scenarios from some of the leading professionals in the industry Provides valuable insight into the entire CG production pipeline Mastering Autodesk Maya gives the serious Maya student a head start toward a successful career in 3D animation.

A beautifully-packaged, advanced reference on the very latest version of Maya If you already know the basics of Maya, the latest version of this authoritative book takes you to the next level. From modeling, texturing, animation, and visual effects to high-level techniques for film, television, games, and more, this book provides professional-level Maya instruction. With pages of scenarios and examples from some of the leading professionals in the industry, this book will help you master the entire CG production pipeline. Provides professional-level instruction on Maya, the industry-leading 3D animation and effects software Covers the very latest Maya tools and features, including Dynamics, Maya Muscle, Stereo Cameras, rendering with mental ray, and more Offers complete coverage of advanced topics such as cloth, fur, and fluids Showcases the techniques of professionals through numerous examples and real-world scenarios, showing you how to set up and manage 3D animation and visual effects pipelines Includes a CD with all support files from the book, along with movies to illustrate concepts If you're looking for an in-depth, professional Maya resource to turn to again and again, Mastering Maya is the book you need. Note: CD-ROM/DVD and other supplementary materials are not included as part of eBook file. For Instructors: Teaching supplements are available for this title.