Synopses & Reviews
It's all about creating believable 3D animation and visual effects. And this very practical and motivating book, written by two leading animators, delivers the kind of detailed knowledge of Maya® that's needed to make truly lifelike characters. Step-by-step tutorials defining the entire animation process take readers through all the tools available in Maya for making refined movement. Drawing on their years of experience animating characters for "The Simpsons" and "King of the Hill," the authors provide plenty of opportunity for readers to practice using these tools, instilling confidence and a sound grasp of traditional and non-traditional character design and animation. Topics covered include the Animation Curve Editor, basic walking, the dope sheet, facial and hand animation, emotional adjustment, the use of the five-panel story structure, and more. Users thoroughly explore the powerful features and functions of Release 6 resulting in a solid understanding of Maya's interface and techniques.
About the Author
Patricia Beckmann is the Manager of Artist Professional Development at the Disney Circle Seven studios in Burbank. She is responsible for training and artist development.
Circle Seven is a division of Walt Disney Feature Animation, and their first production will be ?Toy Story 3? in 2008.
Patricia has been involved in both education and production throughout her career in Animation. She recently was Chair the Animation department at the Savannah College of Art and Design, and nurtured the new program through its first two years of development.
She was the Educators Chair for SIGGRAPH 2005 in Los Angeles. Patricia previously won placement in the ?Top 25 Women of the Web 2000? by the San Francisco Women of the Web, and won the Playboy Animation festival with ?Matilda?. She has created original content for the Romp, Playboy, and the Oxygen network based on her own characters. She has worked at Warner Brothers, Film Roman, and on educational products with MIT.
Patricia lives in Los Angeles with her animator husband, and continues to create short films.Phil Young is a professor of Animation at Savannah College of Art and Design. Young previously worked at Walt Disney Feature Animation and Dreamworks Animation on popular films such as The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King and Sinbad.
Table of Contents
The Animation Curve Editor.A Bouncing Ball.The Basic Walking Rig.Forward Kinematics vs. Inverse Kinematics.Using Forward and Inverse Kinematics on the Same Limbs.The Dope Street.The Trax Editor.Facial Animation.Hand Animation.Follow Through.Non-traditional Character Design and Animation.The Big Scene.The Who What Where Scene.A Character Animators Portfolio.