Maya 2 Character Animation
Authors: Nathan Vogel, Sherri Sheridan, Tim Coleman
Venue:  (1999)

:Maya 2 Character Animation>o? is actually about more than just Maya's animation capabilities. Check out the cover just above Lanker's head and you'll see that the full title is Maya 2 Character Animation with an appended second line that reads '3D Story Concept Development & Modeling'. Kind of a holistic approach to doing a book on Maya. Why this approach? Many of the people already using Maya probably don't need a review of the feature set. What they continually ask for--and the authors see this everyday in the Maya classes they teach--is techniques-based instruction that helps them to find their own creative and technical solutions for whatever project they're working on. But the authors didn't want to stop there. Again, in their extensive teaching and project development experience, they've learned that becoming successful in 3D CG means learning to appreciate the importance of story theory along with character design and development. Add to this the nuances of movement study and facial expression. Then you model; then animation; then...pull it all together. The book has 11 chapters covering everything from designing your characters to storyboarding them; to modeling, texture mapping and lighting; to myriad studies in animation. The CD-ROM contains the project files used in the book, as well as Adobe Acrobat Reader appendixes on MEL scripting and a review of Maya plug-ins (there are also some very interesting extras on the CD). In using Maya, CG artists have a tremendous tool with which to unleash their creativity. The entire development team of Maya 2 Character Animation truly understands this and have created a book on a particular 3D tool, yet they've gone far beyond that, adding an absolute wealth of information that should make this book a standard in classrooms and a must-have for every serious student and working professional who works with Maya. About the Authors: Nate Vogel (principal co-author): 3D Special Effects Director at Minds Eye Media, San Francisco; certified Maya Character Animation Instructor; co-created a 3D-fantasy game, and several original 3D-animated TV and film projects; received the 1998 World Animation Celebration Best Animated Music Video Award. Sherri Sheridan (principal co-author): Creative Director/co-founder, Minds Eye Media; currently working on a series of 2D and 3D animations for the web, film and TV, including the animated Web show 'Goth Grrls', the independent feature film The Sundial Solution, the upcoming children's HDTV show Sassafrass the Psychic Warrior, and a series of 3D meditation videos. Teaches at the Academy of Art College among other instructional gigs. Tim Coleman (principal co-author): Extensive 3D CG work with TV commerical, video game, and software development; certified Maya instructor; teaches at undergrad and graduate levels at the Academy of Art College (SF). Co-principal of Supergenius Animation, where he just finished the short film Bowling Fer Souls, (3-minutes, completed using Maya) which can/could be seen at Spike and Mike's Festical of Animation 1999. Alex Alvarez (contributor): Director of Gnomon, Inc., School of Visual Effects for Film, Television, and Games (Los Angeles), and generally considered to be one of the premier experts on Maya in the world. Writes for 3D Magazine and teaches seminars regularly when on the road. Creator of Lanker, the winsome dude on the cover of the book and CG-super-model in his own right. Jesse Andrewartha (contributing author): Alias|Wavefront Certified Instructor; taught classes in animation and VFX for the Ex'pressions Center for New Media. Writes regularly for SIGGRAPH and 3D Magazine. Kevin Cain (contributing author): Creative Director at the Pelleas Design Studios and director of the SGI/PC Computer Education Center at the Academy of Art in San Francisco. Matt Ontiveros (contributing co-author): Lab manager and principal Alias|Wavefront Maya instructor at Mesmer Animation Labs (SF & Seattle). David Tart (contributing co-author): His most recent work has been at Pixar Animation Studios on several projects, including Toy Story and A Bug's Life.