Autodesk MAYA
The award-winning Autodesk Maya software is a powerful, integrated 3D modeling, animation, visual effects, and rendering solution that has become a favorite among professionals and 3D enthusiasts of all experience levels.
Because Maya is based on an open architecture, all your work can be scripted or programmed using a well-documented and comprehensive API (application programming interface) or one of two embedded scripting languages, the Maya Embedded Language (MEL) or Python.
This level of openness, combined with an industry-leading suite of 3D visual effects, computer graphics, and character animation tools is what that enables you to realize your creative vision for your film, television, game development, and design projects.
Because Maya is based on an open architecture, all your work can be scripted or programmed using a well-documented and comprehensive API (application programming interface) or one of two embedded scripting languages, the Maya Embedded Language (MEL) or Python.
This level of openness, combined with an industry-leading suite of 3D visual effects, computer graphics, and character animation tools is what that enables you to realize your creative vision for your film, television, game development, and design projects.
In The Spotlight
3D Face Animation Test by Daniel Szalko - Maya - (Sting - Roxanne 2003. L.A.)
Work video of the Plagium project. Created by Daniel Szalko. LipSync test of Character Dan.
Runtime: 0:50 | 10276 views | 40 Comments
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Maya, A short introduction
Maya started life as Wavefront's The Advanced Visualizer (in California), Thomson Digital Image (TDI) Explore (in France) and Alias' Power Animator (in Canada). The three 3D software lines went through various integration as it passes through various ownership before ending up with Autodesk with the completion of the acquisition on January 10, 2006, and known henceforth as Autodesk Maya.
Originally, Maya released for the IRIX operating system, and subsequently ported to the Microsoft Windows, Linux, and Mac OS X operating systems. IRIX support was discontinued after the release of version 6.5. When Autodesk acquired Alias in October 2005, they continued Maya development.
An important feature of Maya is its openness to third-party software, which can strip the software completely of its standard appearance and, using only the kernel, transform it into a highly customized version of the software. This feature in itself made Maya appealing to large studios, which tend to write custom code for their productions using the provided software development kit.
The latest version, 2009 (10.0), was released in October 2008 and it came in two flavors:
Originally, Maya released for the IRIX operating system, and subsequently ported to the Microsoft Windows, Linux, and Mac OS X operating systems. IRIX support was discontinued after the release of version 6.5. When Autodesk acquired Alias in October 2005, they continued Maya development.
An important feature of Maya is its openness to third-party software, which can strip the software completely of its standard appearance and, using only the kernel, transform it into a highly customized version of the software. This feature in itself made Maya appealing to large studios, which tend to write custom code for their productions using the provided software development kit.
The latest version, 2009 (10.0), was released in October 2008 and it came in two flavors:
Autodesk Maya Complete
A favorite among professionals and 3D enthusiasts of all experience levels who develop graphics or animation for film, television, game development, multimedia (print and web), or design visualization, Maya Complete 2009 includes toolsets for
- Modeling
- Animation
- Muscle and skin system
- Visual effects
- Rendering
- Paint tools
- Toon shading
- Maya API/SDK, Python®, and MEL (Maya Embedded Language) scripting
- Tutorials and documentation
- Demonstration Videos
- Download these easy-to-follow video modules to learn techniques for using the latest Autodesk Maya features.
Autodesk Maya Unlimited
Autodesk Maya Unlimited software, the ultimate version of Maya, includes all the functionality found in Autodesk Maya Complete and provides professional artists and animators with additional industry-leading innovations, such as Maya Fluid Effects, Maya nCloth, Maya nParticles, Maya Hair, Maya Fur, and Maya Live. Autodesk Maya Unlimited contains everything in Autodesk Maya Complete, plus the following:
- Maya Fluid Effects
- Simulate and render a huge variety of atmospheric, pyrotechnic, viscous liquid, and open ocean effects. Maya Fluid Effects overcomes one of the greatest barriers in computer animation.
- Maya Fur
- Easily create realistic fur, short hair, wool and grass on NURBS, subdivision surfaces, or polygonal models. Incredibly realistic styling and rendering of short hair and fur, with Maya Artisan Brush Interface for painting fur attributes.
- Maya nCloth
- Efficiently direct and control cloth and other material simulations. Maya nCloth objects can be as stiff, viscous, or flowing, and as tightly or loosely woven as you desire. Bend, stretch, shear, dent, or even tear your Maya nCloth fabrics with ease. Create deformable plastic and metal simulations, inflatable objects, as well as rigid-body and fluidic-type effects.
- Maya nParticles
- Quickly simulate a wide range of complex effects, including liquids, clouds, smoke, spray, and dust. Maya nParticles features particle-to-particle collisions, particle and nCloth bidirectional interaction, powerful constraints, cloud and "blobby" hardware display, preset rendering, and dynamic behaviors.
- Maya Live
- Combine 2D live-action with 3D elements. Maya Live provides greater flexibility, a fast-integrated 2D Tracker, and an interactive Root Frame Solver. Maya Live also allows you to reconstruct live-action elements as 3D geometry as well as output to external applications.
- Maya Hair
- Create, style, and render fully dynamic long hair on NURBS or polygon objects. Make any NURBS curve dynamic for use in advanced character rigging and effects. Maya Hair can also be used to create a wide range of other, nonhair effects.
Maya Free Trial and Video Demostrations
- Maya 2009 Free Trial Version
- Autodesk Maya 2009 modeling, animation, visual effects, and rendering software, subject to the terms and conditions of the end-user license agreement that accompanies this software.
- Maya 2009 in Action
- Download these video demonstrations and learn about some Maya 2009 new features.
Learning the secrets
- Current Favorites
- The Learning Maya 2009 Collection: Foundation, Modeling & Animation, and Special Effects
- Learning Autodesk Maya 2009 - Foundation
- Learning Autodesk Maya 2009 - The Modeling & Animation Handbook
- Learning Autodesk Maya 2009 - The Special Effects Handbook
- Introducing Maya 2009
- Mastering Maya 2009
- Advanced Maya Texturing and Lighting
- Maya for Games: Modeling and Texturing Techniques with Maya and Mudbox
- Body Language: Advanced 3D Character Rigging
- Maya Online Tutorial Sites
- Top5 Tops2Day Featured Lenses
Current Favorites
Current best selling Autodesk Maya reference on Amazon.com
The Learning Maya 2009 Collection: Foundation, Modeling & Animation, and Special Effects
Your key to unlocking the power of Autodesk Maya, directly from the creators of one of the world's most powerful 3D animation and effects software products. The three books in this special box set cover all stages of the 3D production pipeline from start to finish.
The Learning Maya 2009 Collection: Foundation, Modeling & Animation, and Special Effects
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Amazon Price: $128.22 (as of 12/20/2009) 
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Learning Autodesk Maya 2009 - Foundation
A full-color book that offers students a hands-on approach for learning how to use Maya, the industry-leading 3D animation and effects software. You will work with real movie footage, interactive tutorials and step-by-step lessons to understand the basics of modeling, texturing, animating, and visual effects.
Learning Autodesk Maya 2009 Foundation: Official Autodesk Training Guide (Book & DVD-ROM)
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Learning Autodesk Maya 2009 - The Modeling & Animation Handbook
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.
Learning Autodesk Maya 2009 The Modeling & Animation Handbook: Official Autodesk Training Guide (Autodesk Maya Techniques: Offical Autodesk Training Guides)
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Learning Autodesk Maya 2009 - The Special Effects Handbook
Uses actual production files from an animated short film in tutorials that will get you familiar with Maya's tools, options and capabilities.
Learning Autodesk Maya 2009 The Special Effects Handbook: Official Autodesk Training Guide
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Introducing Maya 2009
Step-by-step tutorials and easy-to-follow explanations to teach you the basics and nuances of this complex software. Whether you're a student or a hobbyist, you can learn all about the Maya interface and the fundamentals of modeling, texturing, animating and visual effects with realistic examples.
Introducing Maya 2009
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Mastering Maya 2009
Professional-level techniques that are used in the world of 3D animation and visual effects, and you'll examine the key intermediate and advanced usages for modeling, texturing, animation, and visual effects tools, DVD includes tutorial files and movies.
Mastering Maya 2009
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Advanced Maya Texturing and Lighting
Detailed, easy-to-follow instructions will teach you the real-world production secrets that professional animators use to achieve amazing results. You will find extensive and updated coverage of the latest theories and trends in addition to an enclosed CD with exclusive content to help you sharpen your skills.
Advanced Maya Texturing and Lighting
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Maya for Games: Modeling and Texturing Techniques with Maya and Mudbox
Ingrassia's techniques allow you to create exact replicas of their concept characters or objects. The techniques presented are very efficient and allow game modelers to quickly build out stand alone props to populate environments and game levels.
Maya for Games: Modeling and Texturing Techniques with Maya and Mudbox
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Body Language: Advanced 3D Character Rigging
Detailed guide reveals the techniques you need to create sophisticated 3D character rigs that range from basic to breathtaking. You'll learn advanced rigging concepts that involve MEL scripting and advanced deformation techniques and even how to set up a character pipeline.
Body Language: Advanced 3D Character Rigging
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Maya Online Tutorial Sites
A pick of the few
Image Streams
Image streams tagged 'maya 3d' from Flickr Photos
portraits
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catching the angel s...
catching the angel s...
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catching the angel s...
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hokudai ibl texture
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nagoya ibl texture
three quarter view
buffalo side
3-quarters long
Esferas / Spheres
automatically generated by Flickr
OneHotPick Recommends
Fetching RSS feed... please stand byAutodesk MAYA on the Blogs
- Gaming Nexus - Ready at Dawn and Autodesk Maya hook up - by ...
- Autodesk will be the first software tech partner to join up with the Ready at Dawn Engine, the upcoming console development platform. The Ready at Dawn Engine's game editing environment will be integrated with Autodesk Maya software to ...
- eleco”autodesk maya” | max 3d models
- eleco?autodesk maya?. Written by 3D Max on December 20th, 2009. If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting! Posted in Autodesk Maya | Tags: Autodesk, Eleco, elecoautodesk, Maya'. Leave a Comment ...
- Autodesk Maya 2010: A Comprehensive Guide | max 3d models
- Product DescriptionAutodesk Maya 2010: A manual includes all the features of Autodesk Maya 2010 in a simple, clear and complete. It aims to harness the.
- Snowspeeder – Autodesk Maya 7.0 PLE | max 3d models
- Snowspeeder ? Autodesk Maya 7.0 PLE. Written by 3D Max on December 19th, 2009. If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting! Work in progress of Star Wars Snowspeeder. Posted in Autodesk Maya | ...
Autodesk MAYA in the News
- Autodesk Maya 2009 New Features: Using nParticles
- In Maya 2009 New Features, George Maestri demonstrates several breakthrough updates in the latest version of this 3D modeling, rendering, and animation tool ...
- Ready At Dawn Studios to Integrate Autodesk Maya with the Developer's Upcoming ...
- The studio will work to integrate Ready At Dawn Engine's game editing environment with Autodesk Maya software, with the intention of providing an interface ...
- “Planet 51”: Autodesk 3D Technology Powers First Animated Feature Movie and ...
- The film team at Ilion Animation Studios used Autodesk 3ds Max and Autodesk Maya software to help create the ?Planet 51? movie ? at the beginning of ...
- Autodesk Tools Help Destroy the Universe in Roland Emmerich's Movie "2012”
- It eased file exchange between the various Autodesk software packages and helped us deliver on budget and on schedule.? Double Negative used Maya to help ...
Top5 Tops2Day Featured Lenses
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