Maya Studio Projects Texturing and Lighting (Wiley Desktop Editions)

Maya Studio Projects Texturing and Lighting (Wiley Desktop Editions), 9780470903278 (0470903279), Sybex, 2011

“Half of good lightingâ•‡ is good texturing, and half of good texturing is good lighting” is my favorite sage advice to new animators. It’s difficult to separate the two areas of computer animation. Texturing—the re-creation of specific surface qualities through the application of shaders, procedural textures, and bitmap textures—is dependent on an understanding of light and how it interacts with various real-world materials. Lighting, the act of placing and adjusting virtual lights in a 3D environment, becomes a difficult and possibly pointless exercise if no appropriately textured surfaces exist. Conversely, even a beautiful texturing job can be ruined by poor lighting.

Although large animation studios separate the texturing and lighting into two distinct departments, it pays to have a firm understanding of both areas. Hence, this book covers the most important texturing and lighting techniques available in Maya. Whereas other books (some of which I have written) concentrate heavily on theory, this one presents the material through four step-by-step tutorials.

Who Should Buy This Book

Maya Studio Projects: Texturing and Lighting is written for beginning- to intermediatelevel Maya users who want to refine their lighting and texturing skills. Although the projects in this book require a basic knowledge of the Maya user interface, it’s possible to light and texture successfully with little prior experience.

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