Rig it Right!


Book Description

Pull Enhance your 2D skillset to the benefit of your own 3D animations to develop characters that are technically and artistically dynamic and engaging. With side by side comparisons of 2D and 3D character design, improve your character animation and master traditional principles and processes including weight and balance, timing and walks. Includes practical, hands-on examples, now fully updated to include 3ds Max, Maya and Blender tutorials. Master the fundamental techniques with the companion website which includes short demonstrations, 2D and 3D exercises and 20 fully rigged character models.




Rig it Right! Maya Animation Rigging Concepts, 2nd edition


Book Description

Rig it Right! breaks down rigging so that you can achieve a fundamental understanding of the concept. The author will get you up and rigging with step-by-step tutorials covering multiple animation control types, connection methods, interactive skinning, BlendShapes, edgeloops, and joint placement, to name a few. The concept of a bi-ped is explored as a human compared to a bird character allowing you to see that a bi-ped is a bi-ped and how to problem solve for the limbs at hand. Rig it Right! will take you to a more advanced level where you will learn how to create stretchy rigs with invisible control systems and use that to create your own types of rigs. Key Features Hone your skills every step of the way with short tutorials and editable rigs that accompany each chapter. (17+ rigs!!). Read "Tina’s 10 Rules of Rigging" and build the foundational knowledge needed to successfully rig your characters. Visit the companion website and expand your newfound knowledge with editable rigs, exercises, and videos that elaborate on techniques covered in the book. Companion data filled with example files at http://routledgetextbooks.com/textbooks/_author/ohailey/ AR(Augmented Reality) enabled images throughout the book! Coffee is not required – but encouraged.




Rig it Right! Maya Animation Rigging Concepts, Second Edition


Book Description

Breaking it down so that you can achieve a fundamental understanding of the concept, this book will get you up and rigging with step-by-step tutorials covering multiple animation control types, connection methods, interactive skinning, and much more. --




How to Cheat in Maya 2014


Book Description

All professional animators know a handful of secrets that give them an edge in a production environment. "How to Cheat in Maya" puts these secrets in your hands! Learn time and energy-saving techniques tested in real Hollywood productions in this book, jam-packed with screenshots and scene files designed to get you up to speed quickly. From menus to modeling, lipsync to lighting, How to Cheat in Maya 2014 covers all of the methods available in the latest version of Maya. Get up to speed quickly and produce stellar results with these insider workflows. With new, updated cheats for the latest version of Maya, How to Cheat in Maya 2014 is an essential guide for amateur and professional 3D animators alike. Fully updated with gold-mine coverage including: expanded sections on production workflow, all new chapters covering rigging cheats and Maya's referencing tools, and brand new project files demonstrating production-proven techniques. The companion website includes complete scene files for exercises and techniques, extra rigs, Quicktime movies of full projects, and video tutorials.




Stop Staring


Book Description

The de facto official source on facial animation—now updated! If you want to do character facial modeling and animation at the high levels achieved in today’s films and games, Stop Staring: Facial Modeling and Animation Done Right, Third Edition, is for you. While thoroughly covering the basics such as squash and stretch, lip syncs, and much more, this new edition has been thoroughly updated to capture the very newest professional design techniques, as well as changes in software, including using Python to automate tasks. Shows you how to create facial animation for movies, games, and more Provides in-depth techniques and tips for everyone from students and beginners to high-level professional animators and directors currently in the field Features the author’s valuable insights from his own extensive experience in the field Covers the basics such as squash and stretch, color and shading, and lip syncs, as well as how to automate processes using Python Includes a CD with sample projects from the book, models, and textures Breathe life into your creations with this important book, considered by many studio 3D artists to be the quintessential reference on facial animation.




Body Language


Book Description

Whether you're a professional Character TD or just like to create 3D characters, this detailed guide reveals the techniques you need to create sophisticated 3D character rigs that range from basic to breathtaking. Packed with step-by-step instructions and full-color illustrations, Body Language walks you through rigging techniques for all the body parts to help you create realistic and believable movements in every character you design. You'll learn advanced rigging concepts that involve MEL scripting and advanced deformation techniques and even how to set up a character pipeline.




Tradigital Maya


Book Description

Finally a book that bridges the world of software instruction with the classical principles of animation - for animators. Lee Montgomery offers the only artistic guide to applying the principles of traditional animation with Maya's tool set.




Rig it Right! Maya Animation Rigging Concepts


Book Description

Rigging a character can be a complicated undertaking. Move from a bi-pedal character to a quad- or poly-pedal and, well, things just got real. Where do you begin? Unlike all of those button-pushing manuals out there, Rig it Right! breaks down rigging so that you can achieve a fundamental understanding of the concept, allowing you to rig more intuitively in your own work. Veteran animation professor Tina O’Hailey will get you up and rigging in a matter of hours with step-by-step tutorials covering multiple animation control types, connection methods, interactive skinning, BlendShapes, edgeloops, and joint placement, to name a few. The concept of a bi-ped is explored as a human compared to a bird character allowing you to see that a bi-ped is a bi-ped and how to problem solve for the limbs at hand. After you have moved beyond basic bi-pedal characters, Rig it Right! will take you to a more advanced level where you will learn how to create stretchy rigs with invisible control systems and use that to create your own types of rigs. Hone your skills every step of the way with short tutorials and editable rigs that accompany each chapter. (17+ rigs!!) Read "Tina’s 10 Rules of Rigging" and build the foundational knowledge needed to successfully rig your characters. Visit the companion website (www.focalpress.com/cw/ohailey) and expand your newfound knowledge with editable rigs, exercises, and videos that elaborate on techniques covered in the book Coffee is not required – but encouraged.




Rigging for Games


Book Description

Rigging for Games: A Primer for Technical Artists Using Maya and Python is not just another step-by-step manual of loosely related tutorials. Using characters from the video game Tin, it takes you through the real-world creative and technical process of rigging characters for video games and cinematics, allowing readers a complete inside look at a single project. You’ll explore new ways to write scripts and create modular rigs using Maya and Python, and automate and speed up the rigging process in your creative pipeline. Finally, you’ll learn the most efficient ways of exporting your rigs into the popular game engine Unity. This is the practical, start-to-finish rigging primer you’ve been waiting for! Enhance your skillset by learning how to efficiently rig characters using techniques applicable to both games and cinematics Keep up with all the action with behind-the-scenes images and code scripts Refine your rigging skills with tutorials and project files available on the companion website




Inspired 3D Advanced Rigging and Deformations


Book Description

More than just a step-by-step tutorial on rigging in Maya, "Inspired 3D Advanced Rigging and Deformations" helps you develop the skills you need to successfully manage your rigging process from start to finish. You'll learn the reasons behind each step in developing a character rig and learn how that rig fits into the entire pipeline process. The authors provide a unique glimpse at the real-world problems and choices that professional Character Technical Directors face, as well as the solutions they have developed for dealing with high-end digital characters. A follow-up to "Inspired 3D Character Setup," this book takes this difficult and sough-after skill and provides in-depth explanations and techiques.