Product Description

Turn 3D models into film–worthy digital animations by mastering mental ray rendering once and for all. This must–have guide is the only book on the market to focus exclusively on mental ray in Maya, 3ds Max, and XSI, and it′s packed with techniques and insights you can′t get anywhere else. Best of all, the book′s advanced rendering concepts apply to other rendering software as well, including V–Ray, Brazil, Maxwell and RenderMan. Discover advanced lighting, camera, and workflow techniques that usually take professionals years to figure out.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #369551 in Books
• Published on: 2007-12-14
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 740 pages

From the Back Cover
Render them speechless with this in–depth guide to mental ray

Turn 3D models into film–worthy digital animations by mastering mental ray rendering once and for all. This must–have guide is the only book on the market to focus exclusively on mental ray in Maya, 3ds Max, and XSI, and it′s packed with techniques and insights you can′t get anywhere else. Best of all, the book′s advanced rendering concepts apply to other rendering software as well, including V–Ray, Brazil, Maxwell and RenderMan.

From scattering light to reducing render artifacts to deciphering rendering and shadow algorithms, you′ll get a high–level look at advanced lighting, camera, and workflow techniques that usually take professionals years to figure out. This valuable book also covers the very latest on HDR image editing, viewing, and compositing tools—and features a sixteen–page color insert that showcases final rendered images.

• Get the fundamentals on light, cameras, and mental ray output

• Render from the host application or from the stand–alone renderer

• Explore the full array of mental ray shaders and shader libraries

• Get exclusive coverage of custom shaders that don′t ship with any of the host applications

• Simulate light bounce with indirect illumination for more realism

• Apply textures, projections, and light profiles

• Perform subsurface scattering and Nuke compositing

• Master the fine points of Final Gather and ambient occlusion

• Create photo–realistic characters, objects, and landscapes

About the Author
Boaz Livny teaches mental ray and advanced Maya courses at New York′s prestigious Center for Advanced Digital Applications and heads the Advanced Maya training at the New York Film Academy. He is also owner of Vision Animation Studios, providing film, TV, and media services for clients such as Nicktoons, AOL, The Wilderness, Cinema Factory, and more.

Customer Reviews

An artists review
First let me say that this is an excellent book clearly written by someone with a deep knowlege of their subject and I would definately recommend it to anyone trying to get to grips with CG Rendering in general and Mental Ray rendering in particular.

The one caveat I would add is to say that this is a very technical book that goes deeply into the math behind the technology, in a way that I personaly did not find helpful since my ability to read equations is non existant.

Don't let this put you off too much though, as there is a huge amount of valuable information in this book that is well worth the price.

Mental Ray Bible
This book is excellant.

I already had a solid understanding of Mental ray but this book supplied me with a greater picture and understanding of the inner workings of Mental Ray, something i would not have been able to achieve with any number of interactive tutorials. Mental Ray is explained from the base up covering several advanced topics.

Buy this book if you'd like to know almost everything about mental ray there is to know....