
Creating Visual Effects in Maya
Fire, Water, Debris, and Destruction
Lee Lanier(Author)
Routledge (Publisher)
1st Edition
Published on 20. March 2014
Book
Paperback/Softback
328 pages
978-0-415-83418-6 (ISBN)
Description
Produce mind-blowing visual effects with Autodesk Maya. Gain the practical skills and knowledge you need to recreate phenomena critical to visual effects work, including fire, water, smoke, explosions, and destruction, as well as their integration with real-world film and video.
In Creating Visual Effects in Maya, Maya master Lee Lanier has combined the latest studio techniques with multi-chapter, hands-on projects and professionally-vetted workflows to bolster your CG toolkit. Engaging, full-color tutorials cover:
Creating foliage, fire, and smoke with Paint Effects
Growing Maya Fur and nHair on clothing, characters, and sets
Replicating water, smoke, sparks, swarms, bubbles, and debris with nParticles and nCloth
Controlling scenes and simulations with expressions and MEL, Python, and PyMEL scripting
Adding dust, fog, smoke, rippling water, and fireballs with Fluid Effects containers
Creating damage with Effects presets, deformers, and animated textures
Matchmoving and motion tracking with Maya and MatchMover
Creating complex destruction by combining rigid bodies, nParticles, nCloth, and Fluid Effects
Setting up, rendering, and compositing mental ray render passes with Autodesk Composite, Adobe After Effects, and The Foundry Nuke
The companion website (www.focalpress.com/cw/lanier) features a treasure trove of Maya, MatchMover, After Effects, and Nuke project files, image sequences, texture bitmaps, and MEL, Python, and PyMEL scripts, allowing you to immediately apply the techniques taught in the book.
In Creating Visual Effects in Maya, Maya master Lee Lanier has combined the latest studio techniques with multi-chapter, hands-on projects and professionally-vetted workflows to bolster your CG toolkit. Engaging, full-color tutorials cover:
Creating foliage, fire, and smoke with Paint Effects
Growing Maya Fur and nHair on clothing, characters, and sets
Replicating water, smoke, sparks, swarms, bubbles, and debris with nParticles and nCloth
Controlling scenes and simulations with expressions and MEL, Python, and PyMEL scripting
Adding dust, fog, smoke, rippling water, and fireballs with Fluid Effects containers
Creating damage with Effects presets, deformers, and animated textures
Matchmoving and motion tracking with Maya and MatchMover
Creating complex destruction by combining rigid bodies, nParticles, nCloth, and Fluid Effects
Setting up, rendering, and compositing mental ray render passes with Autodesk Composite, Adobe After Effects, and The Foundry Nuke
The companion website (www.focalpress.com/cw/lanier) features a treasure trove of Maya, MatchMover, After Effects, and Nuke project files, image sequences, texture bitmaps, and MEL, Python, and PyMEL scripts, allowing you to immediately apply the techniques taught in the book.
Reviews / Votes
"Lee Lanier is a fantastic artist and teacher. These techniques for creating destruction using simulations are a critical part of the VFX workflow and should be in every artist's toolbox!"- Rob Garrott, Content Manager, Video Segment, lynda.com "Lee Lanier is a fantastic artist and teacher. These techniques for creating destruction using simulations are a critical part of the VFX workflow and should be in every artist's toolbox!" -- Rob Garrott, Content Manager, Video Segment, lynda.com
"Wow! What an exceptional book full of meticulously organised information. Lee Lanier is obviously not only a very talented Visual Effects artist but also a very intuative tutor." -- Wendy Laybourn, Network Nine
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Taylor & Francis Ltd
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Professional Practice & Development
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Unsewn / adhesive bound
Illustrations
23 farbige Tabellen
23 Tables, color
Dimensions
Height: 234 mm
Width: 191 mm
Thickness: 23 mm
Weight
839 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-415-83418-6 (9780415834186)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

Book
07/2017
1st Edition
Routledge
€248.50
Shipment within 10-20 days

E-Book
02/2014
1st Edition
Routledge
€69.99
Available for download

E-Book
02/2014
1st Edition
Routledge
€69.99
Available for download
Person
Lee Lanier has worked in the motion picture industry since 1989, having spent hundreds of hours on live-action sets and thousands of hours working with high-end animation and compositing software. He's created visual effects for Walt Disney Studios and served as a senior animator in the modeling and lighting departments at PDI/DreamWorks on Antz and Shrek. In addition to having taught at the Academy of Art University and Gnomon School of Visual Effects, Lee has written seven books on visual effects and digital compositing, has recorded tutorials for lynda.com and The Foundry, and is a member of the Visual Effects Society.
Content
Paint Effects; Fur and Hair; Particles and nParticles; Cloth and nCloth; Soft and Rigid Bodies; Fluid Dynamics; Ponds and Oceans; Motion Tracking; Expressions and Scripting; Render Passes;