Maya Character Animation
"The best character animation book available." --Ian Cairns, Editor, MAYA Association This second edition of the popular Maya Character Animation is an in-depth, step-by-step guide to perfecting your modeling and animation skills. Abundantly illustrated tutorials teach you how to build life-like characters from the ground up, with detailed coverage of effective subdivision surface and polygon modeling techniques. You'll master the intricacies of rigid and smooth character binding, discover the art of convincing facial expressions, and conquer post-modeling challenges ranging from character setup to non-linear animation editing to mapping and rendering. Benefit from this edition's coverage of inverse and forward kinematics, 3D character animation for character modeling and character setup, and valuable info on rigging your characters. Put your new skills to the test by completing a realistic project in which you plan, create, and refine your own short-piece animation. Throughout, you'll find hundreds of full-color images that demonstrate what you can--and will--accomplish. You also get bonus coverage of Deep Paint 3D, the premier texture-painting program.
Format:Paperback
Language:English
ISBN:0782143288
ISBN13:9780782143287
Release Date:February 2004
Publisher:Sybex
Length:852 Pages
Weight:4.60 lbs.
Dimensions:1.7" x 8.0" x 8.8"
Customer Reviews
4 ratings
Still THE book on Maya
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 16 years ago
Over the past three years, I've accumulated a modest library of over 30 books and DVDs on Maya and 3D. Only two have risen to the level of "essential:" Maya Character Animation and Jeremy Birn's [Digital] Lighting & Rendering. I had some background using Maya before I bought this book, so I can't speak to it's appropriateness to complete newcomers. But for people who have the basic fundamentals down and want to improve their knowledge, I don't believe there's a single volume that will be more effective than Maya Character Animation. Far too many training books and DVDs walk you through the steps for a particular project without spending enough time explaining what the actions your taking do. Jae-jin Choi explains every tool and command you're working with clearly before walking you through creating a character. It's easy to skip around, using the text as a reference, as well as reading it straight through. While aimed at people who are fairly new to Maya/3D, Choi includes more advanced techniques in an accessible way. If you spent a year with this book and no others, you'd like come out much better than sampling a dozen different training resources.
Excellent, but not for beginners
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 19 years ago
I have found this to be a remarkable book which has helped me take my skills to another level. That said, if you're starting out, you will probably be overwhelmed and frustrated for awhile. It's less of a how-to book and more of a "looking over the shoulder of an expert" book. He illustrates how he does things and it's pretty much up to you to experiment with the concepts/techniques and adopt them as you see fit. Thousands of pictures and full color - very beautiful book. It also extensively covers areas like rigging and deep paint, which are difficult subjects to find books about, as well as modeling and animation. But, if you're just starting out in 3D, hold off until you have a solid foundation and good basic skills.
Full of Must Know Techniques
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 19 years ago
Though this book is quite thick it doesnt have a lot of jargon. It is easy to go through and everything it tells you is of use. Its a very good choice for anyone who is interested in the 3D animation field.
Not for the Newbie
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 20 years ago
If you're looking for something to introduce you Maya... this ain't it. It is however one of the most informative books I've found on building characters using NURBS and Subdiv modelling along with excellent sections on rigging and binding. The texturing section could use a little extra work, but for what this book does that's just niggling. Readers should be warned that the author's native tongue is probably not english, so there will be occasional phrasing that may read oddly. Great book for intermediate and advanced Maya users. Definitely not for the newbie.
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