StephenElliot.com

After reading the previous version, I knew this one would be great, but it didn’t seem like there was that much new info. Instead it felt more like they just condensed it by taking out the stuff that most people presumably already know about. Thus, if you’re new to Photoshop, don’t reach for the “Professional Edition” because there will definitely be some gaps in your understanding. Make sure you have a solid foundation before reading this book. Nevertheless, it’s a great refresher course. Highly recommended.

So far, this is the first and only Maya book I’ve read worthy of 5 foots! I give it 5 because it is packed cover to cover with golden tips and tricks for speeding up your work. Imagine that you’ve read 10 books on Maya; now take everything you’ve highlighted and put it in a single book. That’s the beauty of Killer Tips.  It will speed up your work flow and give you a host of helpful ideas and techniques. (Note that this book is not intended for beginners, but rather intermediate to advanced users.)

Eh, good and bad here. First of all, it’s 500 pages and only four chapters long, so it’s not laid out very well. I heard someone say it was unevenly paced; I would have to agree.  The author really lingers on some parts and flies through others without rhyme or reason. The second half of the book assumes that you have a working knowledge of C++ even though the author clearly says that he assumes no knowledge on the part of the reader. This book is a common case where the author has an amazing resume, but not a natural ability to teach. The section about MEL was definitely beneficial –that made it worth the purchase, but I kind of wish I chose MEL Scripting for Maya Animators instead.

I had read four other books from the Bible series, so I expected this one to be on par with the others in the series. However, I was slightly disappointed with this one. Mind you, it’s still a good book, but perhaps it seemed a little bit incomplete. To be fair, I had been using this program for a few years before I read this book, so I already knew a thing or two. The book affirmed that I had a good handle on how the program works, but I was never wowed. If you’re interested in learning to use Premiere make sure to look for an updated version of this book. I hear that the newer version has been revamped with some 200 new pages, so I’m sure it’s up to par now.

Perhaps another reviewer said it best when he said this book lacks focus. It reads like a series of unrelated master classes. Each chapter offers excellent “how to” and problem solving techniques, but it focuses on the details without relating those details to the larger picture. It falls short of giving solid advice that can be applied universally because the 12 examples given in the book are very specific. Don’t get me wrong; there are definitely some golden tips sprinkled throughout and there is much to be learned by hearing how various professionals work, but it is not overtly stated. Most of what I learned from this book is what I inferred, rather than what I read.

Winning the prize for the single biggest book I’ve ever read, this book is an excellent reference. There were no doubt some issues in getting this book released, and unfortunately that becomes apparent in the text; but I gotta give it to ‘em for tackling such an immensely deep program in a single book. If I had to learn Maya all over again, I would definitely get this book and Maya Savvy to help me work it out. I found that those two books seem to complement each other well. This one is more descriptive while Savvy is more hands-on.

I had just finished a book about 3D Studio Max when I picked up this book, eager to start learning Maya. Boy was I ever disappointed. No more than 20 pages into it I realized that this book was little more than a distant overview of 3D with Maya. There are some useful parts to it, but don’t expect to learn anything specific from this book. It’s like a cookbook without recipes; “Look at this; doesn’t it look great?! …but we’re not gonna tell you how to make it.” It is little more than a promo piece for the makers of Maya. Keep it on the coffee table, or better yet, the bookstore shelf.

In hindsight, this book was fantastic, but it was a long, laborious journey to get through it. This book felt like every other page was a tutorial, but there’s an important lesson to be learned from that. Maya is best learned by doing, not just reading about it. I constantly refer back to this book because it has proven so useful.

This book is a bit nostalgic for me. It was the first computer book I ever read –my first class at the University of Barnes and Noble if you will. After reading just the first chapter, I knew I wanted to look into the Bible series books some more. I’m still a little bit confused at why they chose to arrange the chapters the way they did (such as talking about deformers before talking about modeling). I don’t use Max anymore, so it’s not like I refer back to it or anything. According to other reviewers, the consensus seems to say it’s a good book, and I don’t have reason to believe otherwise.

Definitely a solid book. I didn’t have the slightest idea what After Effects was used for when I bought this book. A friend of mine told me I should learn to use the program if I wanted to learn 3D animation, so I did. The book does a terrific job of covering every detail of AE and putting it in simple English. The only thing keeping me from giving it that 5th foot is that there wasn’t anything that really stood out and gave it that added element.

This book was so rowdy good, I had to give it five foots (yes, foots) I knew nothing about Photoshop when I started reading this book; 1200 pages later I felt like a pro. Deke McClelland is the best author I’ve found when it comes to informational books. If you want to learn Photoshop, look no further than the latest Photoshop Bible, you won’t be disappointed.