Michael McKinley 
The Game Artist’s Guide to Maya [PDF ebook] 

Introduction.
Chapter 1 The Game Industry.
Developers and Publishers.
Artist Jobs.
Getting the Job.
Art Tests.
Crunch Time.
The Game Development Pipeline.
Chapter 2 Polygonal Modeling.
Game Art Limitations.
Game Modeling Common Tools and Commands.
Game Modeling Pointers.
Efficiency.
Edge Flow.
Articulation.
Cleanup.
Reference Usage.
Symmetry.
Scale and Orientation.
Tutorial: Creating the Weapon.
Creating the Blade.
Creating the Hilt and Grip.
Tutorial: Creating the Character Model.
Creating Silenus’s Head.
Creating Silenus’s Body.
Creating Silenus’s Armor.
Chapter 3 Texturing.
Texturing in the Gaming World.
Mapping UVs.
UV Projection Commands.
The UV Texture Editor.
Texture Resolutions and Formats.
Alpha Channel and Pixel Shader Effects.
UV Mapping the Sword.
UV Mapping the Body.
UV Mapping the Torso.
UV Mapping the Leg.
UV Mapping the Arm.
UV Mapping the Armor.
UV Mapping the Head.
The Hypershade.
Applying a Material to a Model.
Applying a Texture to a Material.
Optional Procedures.
The 3D Paint Tool.
Vertex Coloring.
Baking Normal Maps.
Texture Painting Tips.
The Finished Model.
Chapter 4 Rigging.
Skeletons and Joints.
Creating a Skeleton.
The Pelvis and Legs.
The Spine.
The Arms.
The Hands.
Extra Joints.
Setting the Local Rotation Axis.
Forward and Inverse Kinematics.
Leg IK.
Displaying Selection Handles.
Armor Parenting.
Binding to the Skeleton.
Painting Weights.
Joint Rotation Limits.
Eye Controls.
Rigging the Face.
Blend Shapes.
Binding the Head.
Set Driven Key.
Facial Skeletons.
Creating SDK Controls.
Sword Constraints.
Chapter 5 Animation.
Creating a Character Set.
Editing the Character Set.
Creating a Subcharacter Set.
Creating a Quality Animation.
Animation Reference.
Making an Attack Animation.
Creating Emphasis.
Modify Timing in the Trax Editor.
Secondary Motion.
Idle Animation.
Forward Movement.
Blending Between Clips.
The End?
Chapter 6 Particle Effects.
Sprites.
Creating a Sprite Effect.
Adjusting the Effect.
Creating a Second Effect.
Continuing the Dust Effect.
Geometry Effects.
Creating Impact Effects.
Additional Helpful CD Files.
Final Thoughts.
Index.

Michael Mc Kinley is a 3D artist at Warthog Games in Austin, Texas. He is an online instructor at simplymaya.com as well as simplyphotoshop.com, and previously taught a Maya course at Collins College (Phoenix).