MEL Scripting for Maya Animators
Published on 5. January 2003
Book
Paperback/Softback
520 pages
978-1-55860-841-2 (ISBN)
Description
Learning how to unlock Maya's powerful programming capabilities can be a daunting task if you're not a programmer. Although the package's programming language, MEL (Maya Embedded Language), is easy to learn, virtually all available instruction assumes that the reader has some programming background-that is, until now.
You hold in your hands the first MEL tutorial written especially for non-programmers. MEL Scripting for MAYA Animators will quickly show any user how to go beyond Maya's built-in tools to create customized solutions, previously accessible only to programmers.
With this book, animators, artists, game developers, visual effects developers, and technical directors will master Maya's fundamentals from "under the hood;" then learn how to automate tasks, personalize user interfaces, build custom tools, and solve problems, by becoming an expert in the MEL scripting language-all with no programming experience required!
You hold in your hands the first MEL tutorial written especially for non-programmers. MEL Scripting for MAYA Animators will quickly show any user how to go beyond Maya's built-in tools to create customized solutions, previously accessible only to programmers.
With this book, animators, artists, game developers, visual effects developers, and technical directors will master Maya's fundamentals from "under the hood;" then learn how to automate tasks, personalize user interfaces, build custom tools, and solve problems, by becoming an expert in the MEL scripting language-all with no programming experience required!
Reviews / Votes
"This book fills a huge void of material on learning the MEL Language... A great first step for Maya users who want to make the leap to becoming Maya technical directors."-Doug Cooper, Digital Supervisor, DreamWorks Feature Animation
"Mel Scripting for Maya Animators is well written for both technical and nontechnical animators. It is an essential tool in making sophisticated animation not only possible, but also practical."
-Henry LaBounta, Senior Art Director, Electronic Arts
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
San Francisco
United States
Publishing group
Elsevier Science & Technology
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Dimensions
Height: 235 mm
Width: 187 mm
Weight
1020 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-55860-841-2 (9781558608412)
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
New editions
Mark R. Wilkins | Chris Kazmier
MEL Scripting for Maya Animators
Book
08/2005
2nd Edition
Morgan Kaufmann
€68.00
Shipment within 15-20 days
Persons
Mark R. Wilkins is a technical director at DreamWorks Animation SKG, where he helped develop a production pipeline using Maya for effects and character animation. Mark also provides training and technical assistance to animators using Maya. He previously worked at Walt Disney Feature Animation in a variety of positions including software engineer and scene setup supervisor. He has contributed to a number of films, including Dinosaur, Mission: Impossible 2, Minority Report, and Madagascar. Mark holds a degree in physics from Harvey Mudd College. Chris Kazmier is a senior technical director at Sony Pictures Imageworks, where he creates computer-generated effects for live-action films. He has worked on projects ranging from The Haunted Mansion to Sony's first all 3D feature animation Open Season. Previously, Chris worked at DreamWorks on Sinbad and at PDI/DreamWorks on the Intel Aliens ad campaign. Credits also include Fox Animation Studio's Titan AE and Anastasia.
Content
Preface
Chapter 1. Maya Under the Hood
Chapter 2. The Basics of MEL Commands
Chapter 3. Using Expressions
Chapter 4. Controlling Particles with Expressions
Chapter 5. Problem Solving with MEL Scripting
Chapter 6. Variables and Data Types
Chapter 7. Using MEL Commands
Chapter 8. Manipulating Nodes in MEL
Chapter 9. Controlling the Flow of Execution
Chapter 10. Procedures and Functions
Chapter 11. Naming Nodes, Scripts, and Variables
Chapter 12. Designing MEL User Interfaces
Chapter 13. Simple MEL User Interfaces
Chapter 14. Custom Dialog Boxes
Chapter 15. Installing MEL Scripts
Chapter 16. Examples Using MEL with Particle Dynamics
Chapter 17. Examples Using MEL with Solid Body Dynamics
Chapter 18. Example of a Simple Crowd System
Chapter 19. Examples Using MEL in Character Rigging
Appendix A. A MEL Script Design Checklist
Chapter 1. Maya Under the Hood
Chapter 2. The Basics of MEL Commands
Chapter 3. Using Expressions
Chapter 4. Controlling Particles with Expressions
Chapter 5. Problem Solving with MEL Scripting
Chapter 6. Variables and Data Types
Chapter 7. Using MEL Commands
Chapter 8. Manipulating Nodes in MEL
Chapter 9. Controlling the Flow of Execution
Chapter 10. Procedures and Functions
Chapter 11. Naming Nodes, Scripts, and Variables
Chapter 12. Designing MEL User Interfaces
Chapter 13. Simple MEL User Interfaces
Chapter 14. Custom Dialog Boxes
Chapter 15. Installing MEL Scripts
Chapter 16. Examples Using MEL with Particle Dynamics
Chapter 17. Examples Using MEL with Solid Body Dynamics
Chapter 18. Example of a Simple Crowd System
Chapter 19. Examples Using MEL in Character Rigging
Appendix A. A MEL Script Design Checklist