Book Description

In this complete how-to guide, expert Sue Ki Wilcox takes a hands-on approach to teaching you how to use and get the most out of the avatar tools currently on the market. For each tool covered, she walks you through all the steps involved in using that tool to create a CyberAndroid. She also uses numerous examples taken from sites around the world to give you an idea of the various ingenious ways avatars are being used in business and entertainment, and to acquaint you with the crucial issues surrounding the creation and use of avatars. With Web Developer.com Guide to 3D Avatars, you'll quickly master: * Body geometry and texture mapping for avatars * Techniques for making photographic replicas of faces and bodies for avatars * Motion-capture and other advanced techniques to give your avatar cool moves * Techniques for creating avatars that think for themselves * Browser compatibility, file formats, multiuser servers, and interfaces. From a talking head to a fantasy heroine, or even a photorealistic representation of yourself, equipped with naturalistic body movements and emotional responses, the options for how you represent yourself or your organization on the Internet are limited only by your imagination. The CD-ROM gives you: * Avatar models that you can customize for your own use * Demos of various avatar creation software packages * Complete copy of 3D Planet's(r) 3D Assistant(TM) * A variety of 3D viewers for entering multiuser worlds * Authoring tools for creating your own 3D world * Tutorials from professionals in the field of avatar design. Visit our Web site at www.wiley.com/compbooks/