Who Should Read This Book?

Maya 5 Fundamentals is designed for the beginner, but many segments are worthwhile for an intermediate Maya user. Maya is a complex package, and even seasoned animators who use Maya might find some unexplored areas of the software. Maya is well designed and uses similar conventions throughout, so you'll find that the more you know about Maya, the easier it is to learn more Maya. It's consistent and logical, so you don't need to memorize endless exceptions to the rule.

The 3D beginner should not be a beginner at both computers and art, however. Ideally, you'll bring to this book some skills with traditional art and a basic knowledge of a computer operating system. The animator is at heart an artist, however, and must embrace principles of color, design, contrast, motion, direction, and other creative aspects. The animator's primary tool is the computer, so you must be able to at least navigate its storage areas and perform the tasks that don't happen automatically in Maya.

Most 3D animators come to Maya by way of 2D bitmap image-editing programs, such as Photoshop, Fractal Painter, and Corel PhotoPaint. Many also use 2D vector art ("line art") programs, such as Corel Draw, Freehand, or Illustrator. Some have experience with animation in compositors, programs that combine a timeline with a bitmap editor, such as After Effects or Combustion. Some Internet-oriented animators have experience with products that combine a timeline with vector art, such as Flash animation. Experience with these software programs helps you understand parts of Maya. At a minimum, you should investigate bitmap image editors; for example, Paint Shop Pro is available at http://www.jasc.com in an evaluation version. Bitmaps are used frequently in creating 3D animation.

Bring tenacity: 3D animation is challenging because it requires using both technical and artistic mindsets, often simultaneously. Don't be discouraged if you struggle at times; all computer animators hit challenges that take some time to solve. As you progress through this book, and through Maya, remember to allow time to reinforce the concepts you learn and to consolidate your learning frequently with small projects and experiments. Each chapter includes a "Going Further" feature to give you some ideas for this sort of excursion. Complete the experiment and move on: If some rendered results look promising, you can return to them after you have more mastery over other parts of Maya and refine the project to make it worthy of your portfolio. You need to get the big picture of animation production before working in earnest on a single project, and you should have that overview by the time you complete the tutorials in this book.