Alias Launches Learning Maya 7 Foundation

[Tami]

Press Release -
Alias Launches Learning Maya 7 Foundation

First of Learning Maya 7 Book Series

Los Angeles, California - SIGGRAPH® (Booth #1312) - August 1, 2005 - Maya® 7 software builds upon the architecture and performance enhancements in Maya 6.5 to deliver a feature-packed release offering new and improved tools for fast, realistic character animation, streamlined modeling and texturing, ground-breaking visual effects, and increased productivity. With the powerful new product features and the enhanced benefits of Maya Platinum Membership, including extended hotline access and improved response times, 3D professionals working in film, games, broadcast, digital publishing and design visualization are set to achieve more with the latest edition of this award-winning software.


Innovative Learning
Offering self-paced learning for 3D professionals, students and enthusiasts, Learning Maya 7 Foundation is accompanied with a DVD-ROM containing resources such as tutorial files and three hours of instructor-led overviews guiding each project. These resources provide readers with a feel for the entire production process as they work with the robot "Blue" from the award-winning short film Blue by Christopher Mullins. Every Foundation project is based on the theme and artwork of the film.

"With project-based lessons, readers will learn to model, animate, render, and add dynamic effects to their creations," says Danielle Lamothe, product manager, learning tools and training at Alias. "With Learning Maya 7 Foundation, we retired all of our old projects and tutorials and started afresh. The combination of compelling artwork from an award-winning film, clear hands-on learning, and Alias technology is truly unique and valuable - something only Alias could provide."

The easy-to-follow step-by-step lessons in Foundation teach readers about storyboarding and planning while they explore modelling with NURBs and polygons, animation, texture maps, visual effects and scene rendering.

A featured bonus of Foundation is the inclusion of a free, permanent version of Alias Sketchbook" Pro software (valued at US $179*) to help further develop digital art skills. Learning Maya 7 Foundation will be priced from US $69.99*.

* International pricing may vary


More to Come
Other books to follow over the next couple of months and completing the Learning Maya 7 series include: The Modeling and Animation Handbook, The Special Effects Handbook and Maya Unlimited Features - an excellent resource package for beginner to intermediate users.