Creating Striking Graphics with Maya and Photoshop — why it's cool

Creating Striking Graphics with Maya and Photoshop isn't a how to book. If that's what you're looking for, you should look for something else. This isn't a click here, do this, click here, do this, drag that kind of book. Creating Striking Graphics with Maya and Photoshop is an inspirational book.

I've taken the liberty of borrowing the text from the back of the book. I think it explains things pretty well ...

Add Another Dimension to Your Portfolio—And Move to the Top of Your Craft

Professional artists who strive to bring a new look to their illustrations are using Alias' premier 3D software in tandem with Adobe's prominent digital imaging program to create cutting-edge graphics. Now, with Maya 6, this remarkable combo is even better integrated than before.

Creating Striking Graphics with Maya and Photoshop—brought to you from Maya Press, a publishing partnership between Sybex and Alias—is a dazzling introduction to the vibrant world of 3D and Maya. Graphics wiz Daniel Gray, with help from an elite group of pros, will inspire you to incorporate 3D into your graphics and think more artistically when approaching your creations. And if you're already familiar with Maya, you'll learn how Maya 6 makes it even easier to work between both applications.

First you'll get the essential Photoshop user’s introduction to Maya and learn how to make the leap from 2D to 3D. Then, you'll discover how high-profile artists use Maya and Photoshop together in real-world scenarios where 2D and 3D collide in a burst of creativity. Through a series of interviews that address a variety of 3D applications, you'll discover how:

• Maya Master Meats Meier depicts Mother Nature with otherworldly success

• Michael Elins combines photography and classical painting with the 3D world

• Damon Riesberg cranks out a daily comic strip by posing and rendering his cast of characters

• guru studios crafts beautiful 3D cartoons with a cool retro feel for TELETOON

• Meteor Studios brings ultra-realistic prehistoric creatures to life for the Discovery Channel's Dinosaur Planet

• IBM painstakingly re-creates ancient artifacts, such as the Sphinx, for the
  Egyptian Museum in Cairo

• Meshwerks digitizes automobiles for use in movies, advertising, and video games and creates the ultra-cool chopped and channeled Honda EleMENTAL Woodie!

Featured on the CD

The enclosed CD features your own copy of the Maya Personal Learning Edition software plus some support files to help get you started.

You'll find more info on the book here.