David Stripinis
Copyright 2003 by CHARLES RIVER MEDIA, INC.
All rights reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced in any way, stored in a retrieval system of any type, or transmitted by any means or media, electronic or mechanical, including, but not limited to, photocopy, recording, or scanning, without prior permission in writing from the publisher.
Publisher
Jenifer Niles
Production
Publishers Design and Production Services, Inc.
Cover Design
The Printed Image
Cover Image
David Stripinis
CHARLES RIVER MEDIA, INC.
10 Downer Avenue
Hingham, Massachusetts 02043
781-740-0400
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David Stripinis. The MEL Companion: Maya Scripting for 3D Artists .
ISBN: 1-58450-275-4
All brand names and product names mentioned in this book are trademarks or service marks of their respective companies. Any omission or misuse (of any kind) of service marks or trademarks should not be regarded as intent to infringe on the property of others. The publisher recognizes and respects all marks used by companies, manufacturers, and developers as a means to distinguish their products.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Stripinis, David. The MEL companion : Maya scripting for 3D artists / David Stripinis.
p. cm.
ISBN 1-58450-275-4 (Paperback with CD-ROM : alk. paper)
1. Computer animation. 2. Maya (Computer file) 3. Three-dimensional
display systems. I. Title.
TR897.7.S78 2003 006.6'96--dc21
2003002079
Printed in the United States of America
03 7 6 5 4 3 2 First Edition
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Acknowledgments
The book you are holding in your hands is the product of a lot of hard work over the past year of my life, and I couldn t have done it without the aid and support of a few people, whom I d like to now thank.
First and foremost, Jenifer Niles and the entire staff at Charles River Media. You put up with a lot, and really made this book happen.
Paula Suitor, Danielle Lamonthe, Ken Knobel, and everyone at AliasWavefront.
Bryan Ewert and Julian Mann for being there when I was learning MEL.
The crew at Factor 5 who supported my learning MEL in the first place, especially Dean Giberson, Jamie Uhrmacher, and Thomas Engel.
My mentor and friend Hal Hickel.
Andre Bustanoby, Jarrod, DJ, Matt, and Tom at House of Moves for getting me into this whole thing.
Lisa and Deb, my muses.
And, of course, my family ”Thanks!