* In this unique full-color guide, Maya expert Lee Lanier presents a series of tips, tricks, solutions, and key time-savers for all the major areas of Maya: customization, modeling, texturing, lighting, rendering, dynamics, character set-up, and project management
* Intermediate-level and seasoned users alike will improve their skills by jumping around to their specific topics of interest
* Offers everything from the less-well-known shortcut, to providing the "easy button" for a complex procedure, to the flat-out "cheat" that’s been culled from years of experience in a fast-paced, demanding production pipeline where every second counts
* Quick how-to’s cover the entire gamut of using Maya, such as creating a game inside Maya, curling particles for smoke, texturing individual particles, and more
* The CD-ROM includes Maya demo software, scene files, and texture bitmaps to match every technique in the book