Trying to learn Maya programming from the documentation can be daunting whether or not you are a programmer. The first edition of MEL Scripting for Maya Animators earned the reputation as the best introductory book on MEL, Maya's scripting language. Now fully revised and updated, the second edition also includes new features, such as a discussion of global procedures, new chapters on fixing programming bottlenecks, advanced user interface techniques, and optimizing character rigs. New chapters on utility nodes and Maya's Web Panel feature provide new ideas on how to use MEL in applications. This new edition has kept the popular style of the first edition that offered very clear explanations of programming concepts to those without programming experience. A generous collection of code examples and Maya scene files is included on the companion Web site. This is a book for animators, artists, game developers, visual effects developers, and technical directors who want to learn the fundamentals of Maya, how to automate tasks, personalize user interfaces, build custom tools, and solve problems with MEL. - Fully updated with several new chapters - Profusely illustrated and includes a companion Web site with numerous code examples and scene files - The authors bring their extensive experience in professional production studios to provide expert guidance

Mark R. Wilkins is a technical director at DreamWorks Animation SKG, where he helped develop a production pipeline using Maya for effects and character animation. Mark also provides training and technical assistance to animators using Maya. He previously worked at Walt Disney Feature Animation in a variety of positions including software engineer and scene setup supervisor. He has contributed to a number of films, including Dinosaur, Mission: Impossible 2, Minority Report, and Madagascar. Mark holds a degree in physics from Harvey Mudd College.

1. Maya Under the Hood
2. The Basics of MEL Commands
3. Using Expressions
4. Controlling Particles with Expressions
5. Problem Solving with MEL Scripting
6. Variables and Data Types
7. Using MEL Commands
8. Manipulating Nodes in MEL
9. Controlling the Flow of Execution
10. Procedures and Functions
11. Naming Nodes, Scripts, and Variables
12. Designing MEL User Interfaces
13. Simple MEL User Interfaces
14. Custom Dialog Boxes
15. Making Advanced Dialog Boxes with formLayout
16. Making Advanced Dialog Boxes with Web Panels
17. Improving Performance With Utility Nodes
18. Installing MEL Scripts
19. Examples Using MEL with Particle Dynamics
20. Examples Using MEL with Solid Body Dynamics
21. Example of a Simple Crowd System
22. Examples Using MEL in Character Rigging