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850 Pages·2007·25.29 MB·English
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08547ffirs.qxd 10/24/07 4:05 PM Page iii mental ray for Maya , ® ® 3ds Max and XSI ® ® A 3D ARTIST’S GUIDE TO RENDERING BOAZ LIVNY WILEY PUBLISHING, INC. 08547ffirs.qxd 10/24/07 4:05 PM Page ii 08547ffirs.qxd 10/24/07 4:05 PM Page i mental ray for Maya , ® ® 3ds Max and XSI ® ® 08547ffirs.qxd 10/24/07 4:05 PM Page ii 08547ffirs.qxd 10/24/07 4:05 PM Page iii mental ray for Maya , ® ® 3ds Max and XSI ® ® A 3D ARTIST’S GUIDE TO RENDERING BOAZ LIVNY WILEY PUBLISHING, INC. 08547ffirs.qxd 10/24/07 4:05 PM Page iv Acquisitions Editor: Mariann Barsolo Development Editor: Jim Compton Technical Editor: Keith Reicher and Geordie Martinez Production Editor: Christine O’Connor Copy Editors: Judy Flynn & Kim Wimpsett Production Manager: Tim Tate Vice President and Executive Group Publisher: Richard Swadley Vice President and Executive Publisher: Joseph B. Wikert Vice President and Publisher: Neil Edde Media Associate Project Manager: Laura Atkinson Media Assistant Producer: Kate Jenkins Media Quality Assurance: Kit Malone Compositor: Happenstance Type-O-Rama Proofreader: Candace English Indexer: Ted Laux Anniversary Logo Design: Richard Pacifico Cover Designer: Ryan Sneed Cover Image: Boaz Livny Copyright © 2008 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana Published by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana Published simultaneously in Canada ISBN: 978-0-470-00854-6 No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise, except as permitted under Sections 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, (978) 750-8400, fax (978) 646-8600. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Legal Department, Wiley Publishing, Inc., 10475 Crosspoint Blvd., Indianapolis, IN 46256, (317) 572-3447, fax (317) 572-4355, or online at http://www.wiley.com/go/permissions. Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty: The publisher and the author make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this work and specifically disclaim all warranties, including without limitation warranties of fitness for a particular purpose. No warranty may be created or extended by sales or promotional materials. The advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for every situation. This work is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting, or other professional services. If professional assistance is required, the services of a competent professional person should be sought. Neither the publisher nor the author shall be liable for damages arising herefrom. The fact that an organiza- tion or Website is referred to in this work as a citation and/or a potential source of further information does not mean that the author or the publisher endorses the information the organization or Website may provide or recommendations it may make. Further, readers should be aware that Internet Websites listed in this work may have changed or disappeared between when this work was written and when it is read. For general information on our other products and services or to obtain technical support, please contact our Customer Care Depart- ment within the U.S. at (800) 762-2974, outside the U.S. at (317) 572-3993 or fax (317) 572-4002. Wiley also publishes its books in a variety of electronic formats. Some content that appears in print may not be available in electronic books. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available from the publisher. TRADEMARKS: Wiley, the Wiley logo, and the Sybex logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of John Wiley & Sons, Inc. and/or its affiliates, in the United States and other countries, and may not be used without written permission. mental ray is a registered trade- mark of Mental Images. Maya and 3ds Max are registered trademarks of Autodesk, Inc. XSI is a registered trademark of Avid Tech- nologies, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Wiley Publishing, Inc., is not associated with any product or vendor mentioned in this book. 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 08547ffirs.qxd 10/24/07 4:05 PM Page v Dear Reader Thank you for choosing mental Ray for Maya, 3ds Max and XSI: A 3D Artist’s Guide to Rendering. This book is part of a family of premium-quality Sybex books, all written by outstanding authors who combine practical experience with a gift for teaching. Sybex was founded in 1976. More than 30 years later, we’re still committed to pro- ducing consistently exceptional books. With each of our titles we’re working hard to set a new standard for the industry. From the paper we print on, to the authors we work with, our goal is to bring you the best books available. I hope you see all that reflected in these pages. I’d be very interested to hear your comments and get your feedback on how we’re doing. Feel free to let me know what you think about this or any other Sybex book by sending me an email at [email protected], or if you think you’ve found a technical error in this book, please visit http:// sybex.custhelp.com. Customer feedback is critical to our efforts at Sybex. Best regards, Neil Edde Vice President and Publisher Sybex, an Imprint of Wiley 08547ffirs.qxd 10/24/07 4:05 PM Page vi Dedication To Jolie, Bill, Mom, Dad, Abigail, my family, friends, and students. 08547ffirs.qxd 10/24/07 4:05 PM Page vii Acknowledgements My thanks to the outstanding editorial, production, and compositing staff at Sybex and John Wiley & Sons, including acquisitions editor Mariann Barsolo and devel- opment editor Jim Compton, whose patience and support have been key to the produc- tion of this book. I would also like to thank production editors Christine O’Connor and Martine Dardignac, technical editors Keith Reicher and Geordie Martinez, copy editors Judy Flynn and Kim Wimpsett, and proofreader Candace English.■ Special thanks to Sameer Shah, Yorie Kumalasari, and Santosh Sailesh Gunaseelan, who first unknowingly provided me with support and motivation for writing this book, then helped me prepare the educational support materials, and finally provided critique for chapters as well as images for the color gallery. I would also like to thank Patrick Walsh from Walsh Family Media and Dale Carman from Reel FX for their contributions to the color gallery.■ Spe- cial thanks to www.RenderRocket.com, an online render farm that made their fantastic ren- der services available for rendering the high-resolution cover image and some of the color gallery’s images. They customized their services for my purposes so I can easily man- age my projects and use custom plug-in shaders, and they provided constant technical support.■ A very special thanks to my dearest Jolie, who encouraged and supported this ambitious project, and to Bill and my mom, who both motivated and pushed me to write this book. Without your support and encouragement, I would have never done it. To Gordon Skadberg, thank you for your support and constant interest in this book, provid- ing me with help in explaining some of the more complex mathematical concepts presented in this book, and proofing them for accuracy.

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A lot of people have said great things about this book, and for the most part, I agree. After checking out a few other books, this seems to be THE book to get, for learning about mental ray. The author spends a significant time talking about rendering theory, which is helpful for learning any modern
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