MEL Scripting for Maya Animators (The Morgan Kaufmann Series in Computer Graphics)

Learning how to unlock Maya's powerful programming capabilities can be a daunting task if you're not a programmer. Although the package's programming language, MEL (Maya Embedded Language), is easy to learn, virtually all available instruction assumes that the reader has some programming background-that is, until now.

You hold in your hands the first MEL tutorial written especially for non-programmers. MEL Scripting for MAYA Animators will quickly show any user how to go beyond Maya's built-in tools to create customized solutions, previously accessible only to programmers.

With this book, animators, artists, game developers, visual effects developers, and technical directors will master Maya's fundamentals from "under the hood;" then learn how to automate tasks, personalize user interfaces, build custom tools, and solve problems, by becoming an expert in the MEL scripting language-all with no programming experience required!

* Specifically addresses Maya users who want to develop MEL scripts
* Teaches only those programming concepts necessary to learning MEL
* Demonstrates scores of practical examples illustrating solutions to concrete problems
* Shows how to determine which problems are best solved using MEL
* Addresses the needs of experienced programmers wishing to learn MEL applications
* Provides numerous code segments and Maya scene files at www.melscripting.com

Mark R. Wilkins is a technical director at DreamWorks Animation SKG, where he helped develop a production pipeline using Maya for effects and character animation. Mark also provides training and technical assistance to animators using Maya. He previously worked at Walt Disney Feature Animation in a variety of positions including software engineer and scene setup supervisor. He has contributed to a number of films, including Dinosaur, Mission: Impossible 2, Minority Report, and Madagascar. Mark holds a degree in physics from Harvey Mudd College.

Chris Kazmier is a senior technical director at Sony Pictures Imageworks, where he creates computer-generated effects for live-action films. He has worked on projects ranging from The Haunted Mansion to Sony's first all 3D feature animation Open Season. Previously, Chris worked at DreamWorks on Sinbad and at PDI/DreamWorks on the Intel Aliens ad campaign. Credits also include Fox Animation Studio's Titan AE and Anastasia.