The magazine of the Melbourne PC User Group Maya Programming - For the bookshelf Major Keary |
Maya is a powerful tool for creating computer graphics and mastery of its "sheer depth and breadth of features" requires more than a superficial introduction.
Complete Maya Programming, a recent release by Morgan Kaufmann, is designed for those users who want to learn Maya thoroughly, which requires an understanding of its concepts. The book discusses Maya at three levels: an explanation of fundamental concepts; a discussion of the Maya Embedded Language (MEL); and a discussion of the C++ API. MEL is a Maya-specific scripting language, which means a user does not have to learn it from A to Z. Because MEL is a scripting language it can be used for experimentation; visible results are immediate-as are errors-which makes for faster programming. In short, MEL is job-oriented.
The C++ API provides an object-oriented approach that provides developers with "access to the underlying system" and enables the creation of plug-ins that will not be disabled by changes to the program's core.
The introductory part of the book runs to fifty pages. The rest is divided evenly between descriptions of MEL and the C++ API. The discussions are technical and detailed. Unlike many texts on this kind of software, there are no glossy illustrations showing the marvellous results of someone else's work.
Maya novices, provided they understand the principles of scripting, should be able to learn how to use the application effectively with this text. There is no hand holding, or screen shots that walk the reader through simple exercises. This is a text book in the academic sense of the term. Anyone who is serious about learning Maya should have it as a principle resource. The author, incidentally, is a New Zealander with an international reputation in 3-D graphics and animation technology; he worked on the Lord of the Rings and has developed technology for Walt Disney Feature Animation.
Texts of this calibre are often not readily available from resellers; it can be obtained directly from the Australian distributor, Elsevier Australia, online at http://www.elsevier.com.au.
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David Gould: Complete Maya Programming ISBN 1-55860-835-4 Published by Morgan Kaufmann, 503 pp., RRP $117.15 incl. GST. |
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Reprinted from the December 2003 issue of PC Update, the magazine of Melbourne PC User Group, Australia
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