Written by the mental ray software project leader, this book gives a general introduction into rendering with mental ray, as well as step-by-step recipes for creating advanced effects and tips and tricks for professional users. A comprehensive definiton of mental rays scene description language and the standard shader libraries are included as the basis for all examples. The third, completely revised edition covers the latest version of the new generation of mental ray, version 3. 4. A CD with a fully programmable demo version of the software, together with example scene data and shaders that are described in the book, is enclosed.