David Gould’s acclaimed first book, "Complete Maya Programming: An Extensive Guide to MEL and the C++ API", provides artists and programmers with a deep understanding of the way Maya works and how it can be enhanced and customized through programming. In his new book, David offers a gentle, intuitive introduction to the core ideas of computer graphics. Each concept is explained progressively and is fully implemented in both MEL and C++ so that an artist or programmer can use the source code directly in their own programs. Geometry and modeling are covered in detail with progressively more complex examples demonstrating all of Maya’s possible programming features. David Gould’s first volume is widely regarded as the most authoritative reference on Maya programming. Volume II continues this tradition and provides an unmatched guide for the artist and programmer tackling complex tasks. It covers a spectrum of topics in computer graphics including points and vectors, rotations, transformations, curves and surfaces (polygonal, NURBS, subdivision), and modeling.

It offers insights to Maya’s inner workings so that an artist or programmer can design and develop customized tools and solutions. It discusses problem solving with MEL (Maya’s scripting language) and the more powerful and versatile C++ API, with plenty of code examples for each.

"A great follow-up to Volume I! Volume II is an in-depth guide to the mathematical and geometric concepts indispensable to advanced Maya programmers."
—Larry Gritz, Exluna/NVIDIA

David A. D. Gould is an award-winning computer graphics artist and programmer with over a decade of distinguished accomplishments that span the globe. Among his diverse credits are technology development for Walt Disney Feature Animation, development of the Entropy renderer at Exluna, and 3D graphics chip design at Nvidia. He also developed Illustrate!, the leading toon and technical illustration renderer. David’s filmography includes such films as The Lord of the Rings and King Kong.

David Gould’s acclaimed first book, Complete Maya Programming: An Extensive Guide to MEL and the C++ API, provides artists and programmers with a deep understanding of the way Maya works and how it can be enhanced and customized through programming. In his new book David offers a gentle, intuitive introduction to the core ideas of computer graphics. A solid understanding of these concepts is critical to solving a wide variety of problems. Each concept is explained progressively and is fully implemented in both MEL and C++ so that an artist or programmer can use the source code directly in their own programs. Geometry and modeling are covered in detail with progressively more complex examples demonstrating all of Maya’s possible programming features.
David Gould’s first volume is widely regarded as the most authoritative reference on Maya programming. Volume II continues this tradition and provides an unmatched guide for the artist and programmer tackling complex tasks.

* Covers a spectrum of topics in computer graphics including points and vectors, rotations, transformations, curves and surfaces (polygonal, NURBS, subdivision), and modeling.
* Offers insights to Maya’s inner workings so that an artist or programmer can design and develop customized tools and solutions.
* Discusses problem solving with MEL (Maya’s scripting language) and the more powerful and versatile C++ API, with plenty of code examples for each.

Great book and information difficult to find

I search the information about programming in Maya for weeks. This book is essential for maya programming (MEL and C++ API) and I only find it about this theme.

I bought the volume I (Complete Maya Programming: An Extensive Guide to MEL and C++ API) and is great book too. If you going to buy this book, read before the first volume.

Excuse my english.

it is just ok

compared with the first book, this one is much less interesting or useful. The examples about the polygonal meshes, nurbs, and subdivision surfaces look useful at the beginning, but they are just so similar to each other and finally turned out to be boring and a waste of time. Lots of mathematical errors, especially in the part of matrices, transformations. So I guess I will recommend the first book than this one.

One of the best Maya book out there

I can’t say enough good things about the book. Not only is it extensive, but its really well written. Its written in a way that you would want to read it and the explanation are among the best in a maya book, not to mention typically technical books are boring to read. The examples the author gives and the analogies he makes are dead on and simple to make the reader understand. Again, well written and written in a way that makes you continue to read. This is rare and I feel it deserves recognition in this achievement. On top of all this, the book content is actually Really good, very detail, and advance enough for power users. And for anyone that Really wants to know the ins and outs of maya, its architecture, and how everything works internally. Also to know some pitfalls, and there are quite a bit of tips and know hows in there from someone who has been through production and are solutions that are realistic and practical. Great Book, Highly Recommend it!

the trouble with tribbles and typos

great book on programming maya mel and api. It is the only references on this material. However my biggest complaint is that the proof reading on these sorts of manuals is just as bad as I have seen. Double negitives, typos galour, confusing examples rule the content here. I sometimes wonder if David Gould speaks english. It is as if he is explaining it to himself and not the reader. Changing emphasis in mid thought really makes for some guesswork on the readers part. A necessary evil, I guess as, I recommend his series whenever someone is asking about mel or the api.

Not for beginners

This book gets into the area where math and computers really mix. It does a thurough job of explaining how the geomitry of maya works. Hopefully there will be a third volume that covers shaders and rendering.