Book Description
In the first part of the book, you’ll learn about the syntax, vocabulary, and structure of MEL—its grammar. You’ll learn some basic math concepts, such as types of numbers and simple math equations, and at the end of part one you’ll explore concepts for building and constructing programs. The second part covers the construction of scripts that detail some of the ways you can use MEL. You’ll learn about expressions, primitive objects, lighting and rendering, tool creation, interface customization, and reading and writing files in and out of Maya.
The MEL Companion was written by an artist for artists. To get the most out of this book, you should have a fundamental knowledge of working in 3D and the Maya program. In addition, although you might not have an extensive knowledge and understanding of mathematics, you should have some willingness to learn the basics of working with numbers. Other than that, everything else is explained in language that is hopefully as clear as it is entertaining.
On the CD!
* Scene files
* Complete text of all scripts covered in the book
* Full color images of some of the project results
SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
All projects will work in Maya 4.0 or later. Any computer meeting the specified recommendations for your version of Maya will be capable of executing the included projects. Users of Maya PLE will not be able to complete the file handling projects covered in Chapter 12.
