Learn 3D Maya animations from an award-winning insider in the movie business Best-selling author, visual effects supervisor, and technical educator Dariush Derakhshani brings you a newly-updated, step-by-step guide to the most popular and complex 3D application on the market?Autodesk Maya. Introducing Autodesk Maya lets you dive deep into the industry's top software choice for 3D animation professionals from an award-winning visual effects supervisor. The book includes straightforward text, colorful real-world examples, detailed tutorials, and downloadable project files that get you designing and animating your own digital models and scenes right away. You will start with the latest CG concepts and production workflows, and create a solar system to help you familiarize yourself with the basic tool set in Maya. The book will also help you: Learn the entire Maya user interface, including menus and plug-ins Build simple animations and 3D images right away Explore polygons, modeling, and NEX tools Get started with HDRI lighting, rendering, dynamics, simulations, and effects Whether you're new to 3D or migrating from another 3D application, Introducing Autodesk Maya will kick-start your creativity and get you up and running on Maya. Dariush Derakhshani has worked on movies such as The Fantastic Four and Pan's Labyrinth , the South Park TV series, and numerous commercials and music videos. The previous editions of his book have been the best-selling Maya books on the market. He teaches 3D animation and is the author of all of Sybex's Introducing Maya books, as well as a co-author of Autodesk 3Ds Max Essentials books.