"The bar keeps getting higher for Maya artists to create human characters that look more, well, human. Autodesk Maya 2012 has the sophisticated tools to make realistic characters, but human artists still need to know how to harness them to get results that audiences believe.Maya Studio Projects: Photorealistic Characters is an all-projects book that shows you how to use Maya 2012's tools to make realistic characters that are ready for professional-level films, videos, and games. Start with a skeleton to create a character; build a facial rig; create different hair styles; use Maya's Fur to create swarthy facial hair such as a beard; experiment with textures and nParticles; fashion your character's shirt and bomber jacket using Maya's nCloth; and understand the process of Performance Capture.Projects serve as a guide for readers to complete their own version. Each project comes with starter, intermediate, and final Maya scene files to validate results, as well as real-world videos for reference.The projects are ideal for professionals already in the field who want to enhance their skill set and also for advanced students who are getting ready to break into the field"--

"What's The Economy For, Anyway? is a thought-provoking, funny, readable, anti-ideological book based on the cult hit film of the same name. Here, scholars John de Graaf (author of Affluenza) and David Batker tackle thirteen touchstone economic issues and challenge readers to consider just what the point of our economy is. Emphasizing powerful American ideals such as working together, pragmatism, and equality for all, de Graaf and Batker set forth a simple, powerful goal for any economic system: the greatest good for the greatest number, over the longest run. Their vision will appeal to a wide array of readers across traditional silos. Drawing from this nation's rich economic history, the book shows that the good life in America is achieved when people and markets work together with an active government to create a better economy, one that works for everyone, not just the privileged few. Beginning by taking our fetish for GDP and shattering it, the chapters touch on quality of life, health, security, time management, worklife, leisure, social justice, and perhaps most important, sustainability. This sparkling, message-driven book is exactly what we need: a guide to what really matters, and how we can use the resources of our economy to make the world a better place"--