Develop out of this world modeling and animation skills with this official guide to Autodesk Maya 2009. With this expert guidance from the makers of Maya software, you’ll discover how to make sound decisions from the start of your projects and save yourself valuable time by avoiding unnecessary challenges further down the pipeline. You’ll get hands-on instruction to production-quality modeling and animation using artwork from the animated short, Theme Planet, and learn to:

• Model with polygons and NURBS
• Work with skeletons, joint orientation, and inverse kinematics
• Set up a leg, arm and spine, and create constraints
• Skin your characters and work with blend shapes
• Create a run cycle and keyframed animation
• Enhance your skills with bonus DVD content including free 3D models from TurboSquid, instructor-led videos and reference guides

For Instructors: Teaching supplements are available for this title.