I found this book to be a useful Maya primer, combining both practical lessons with a broad explanation of some of the theory behind using one tool or method over another.

Note that this book is a very general introduction and does not go into any one area in particular depth (I recommend the other dedicated Alias publications for that).

There are a few errors and places where the author seems to have skipped a step but nothing drastic. Perhaps the biggest issue I have with this book is that the illustrations are black and white (actually, more grey and white). Whilst I understand that this keeps the cost down, given that the default Maya interface is largely grey'ish in colour, it can make figuring out what has been "selected" on an object, particularly vertices or CVs, a little difficult. Perhaps in future Sybex could place color illustrations on the accompanying DVD.

Overall a good book and one that has certainly whetted my appetite for some of the more advanced features, such as dynamics and particles. I recommened reading this before moving on to the specialist books on modelling, rigging etc.

This book seems to me to be a great starting point for a new Maya user. I had previously tried to go through the Foundation book and got lost many times. After several months I tried this book and was pleased with the clarity of the information presented. I was able to work through all the lessons without much difficultly and feel as though I have a much better understanding of the program and how it works. I read every word of the book though. I you just do the lessons and skip the introductions it would be difficult to learn anything. I would highly recommend this book to anyone. I use a Mac and did not have any trouble follwoing along (the only trick was pressing the "home" key instead of the insert key to switch to pivot mode)

I am a graduate student at USC in the Animation Division and am a teaching assistant for s visual FX, and intermediate Maya class. I just started this semester using this book as a teaching aid for my students, and it was been 100x more helpful than any intro book Alias has put out. This book starts from the ground up, and gives a very clear and readable foundation on not only the digital image, but 3d in general. If anyone is serious about really learning Maya and 3d graphics, not just knowing where the buttons are, you need this book. Practical, informative, easy to understand, and is laid out in a logical fashion.

David Conlon

USC Cinema Television

Division of Animation and Digital Arts