This is an excellent book. I have already recommended it to my character animation class at the School Of Visual Arts.

Mastering Maya Complete 2 is a well rounded, well written presentation of maya that goes far beyond simple instruction. The authors offer that (unfortunately) rare commodity in books of this type: insight.

It is obvious that the authors have sorted through maya's extensive tool set and found what works ELEGANTLY. We are the beneficiaries.

It explains every tool and function. Most importantly it has "real world" tutorials to show how each tool fits into the modeling, animation, rendering, and effects workflow.

The offical maya manual explains functions well, but leaves you guessing as to when those functions can be actually used. I suppose that is part of the challenge of being a 3d artist, but if you're lazy like me and like to be held by the hand of professionals instead of wasting many hours/days experimenting, get this book. you'll cover ALOT of ground in very little time(compared to A/W's expensive maya encyclopedia).

I'm looking forward for the 3.5 Complete revision from the authors!

This book is like having a certified alias instructor right next to you! I literally created an animation--complete with particles--within an hour of reading this book. Unlike the manuals, that bog you down with "do this, do that" techniques; this book takes you by the hand and explains everything in a coherent manner; it gives you real-life examples, the way you would use it in a real-time project setting. Excellent, excellent book if you're a beginning to intermediate Maya user--it far exceeded my expectations; my only regret is not having found out about this book sooner. BUY IT, READ IT, USE IT!

It's still version 3, but it doesn't matter. Mastering Maya 3 is one of the best beginner/intermediate books you can buy. I used Maya 4 and now Maya 4.5 and have had only benefits using this book. It has helped me along from being a beginner to being very familiar and capable with the software. I've used and seen a lot of the other books out thee, but I haven't seen a better book that covers things in the depth and range that Mastering Maya does. It's not for people new to 3D, but if you have experience in another 3D package and are moving over to Maya, it is excellent.

This book is great for beginners. I can't really say anything about it's worth for professional artists and advanced Maya users, as I am but a mere beginner. Anyway, I downloaded the free trial version of Maya 4 and bought this book and I am now cranking away! I didn't know anything about 3D modeling before, although I have a CAD background.

The book is very well organized and each chapter (that I've worked through so far) has lots of examples of how to apply the techniques described in the book.

It is excellent with respect to teaching you how to do things in Maya, but it lacks in general 3D design principals, which is to be expected from a book with the word Mastering in its title.

Now, if I could just find some good books on basic techniques (ie. when to use NURBS over polygons), etc. I'd be set!

After reading the various reviews already posted here, I have come to the realization that there are two distinctly different kinds of beginners. One is people with no background in 3D modeling and animation. The other has experience with the digital arts, but none with Maya itself. If you are in the first category, then this book is probably not for you. Then again, Maya itself probably isn't, either. It is a very complicated program, with tremendous power, and this book is not meant to teach the basics of 3D Modeling, Texturing, or Lighting. It IS meant to teach the basics of translating your skills into Maya know-how, and it does that admirably through the use of a series of hands-on projects that allow you to experiment with your burgeoning skills.