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The best way to refine
your computer animation skills is by
practicing
every day…
... but understanding
the creative and technical principles
can help too,
because these can be applied
to your work with any 3D
software
package
including 3D Max™, Houdini™, Kaydara™, Lightwave™, Maya™,
or Softimage™.
Show me
the Table of Contents
The Third
Edition contains over 200
new or updated images
of movies
and computer
games created by companies
including Acclaim Entertainment, Blue Sky Studios, Digital Domain,
DreamWorks Animation, Ex-Machina, Mainframe Entertainment, Midway Games, Oddworld
Inhabitants, Pacific Data Images,
Pixar Animation Studios, Disney, Rhythm & Hues Studios, Sony Pictures
Imageworks, and Westwood Studios,
and by some of the most talented independent computer artists and computer
animators.
Cover images courtesy
of: "For the Birds" © Pixar Animation Studios (top),
and "Shrek" © 1998 DreamWorks (bottom).
Some of the new material in
this revised
and expanded third edition
(464 pages) includes:
• A new chapter on visual
effects that summarizes
the most widely used digital effects techniques.
• An updated chapter on digital
production with multiple
production
pipelines,
and tips for preparing demo
reels.
• Updated animation chapters
with a new interpretation
of the traditional twelve principles
of animation,
character development, facial animation, and motion capture.
• An updated historical
chapter that includes
the first years of this new millennium
• An expanded
timeline of computer animation,
visual effects, and computer technology,
with creative, technical, and industry milestones.
• Traditional character
development and animation
and stage lighting
concepts
adapted to the new reality of digital tools.
• A fact-filled section on
compositing
and output
including color resolution,
matting techniques, file formats and video formats.
• Over 200
new or updated color images
including work from Canada, Denmark, England,
France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Spain,
Switzerland, and the United States.
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Updated
Table of Contents
RED SECTIONS ARE BRAND
NEW
1.
Animation, Art, and Technology in
Context
A Digital Creative
Environment
The Development of the Technology
Visual Milestones
A Bag of New Magic Tricks
Timeline Charts
2. Overview
of Digital Production
Production Strategies
The Digital Computer Animation Studio
Creative and
Production Teams
Overview of the Computer Animation Process
Ten Career Tips for Computer Animators and Digital Artists
Assembling a Demo Reel - NEW
3. Basic
Modeling Concepts
Space, Objects, and
Structures
Building with Numbers
Points, Lines,
and Surfaces
Moving Things Around
File Formats for Modeling
4. Basic
Modeling Techniques
Introduction
A Note About Lines
Geometric Primitives
Sweeping
Free-Form Objects
Basic Modeling Utilities
Real-Time Polygonal Models - NEW
5.
Advanced Modeling Techniques
Free-Form Curved Surfaces
Subdivision Surfaces
Logical Operators
and Trimmed Surfaces
Advanced Modeling Utilities
Procedural Description and Physical Simulations
Photogrammetry and Image-Based Modeling
Animation Rigging and Hierarchical Structures
6.
Basic Rendering Concepts
Lights, Camera,
and Materials
Color
Steps in the Rendering Process
Hidden Surface Removal
Z-Buffer
Ray Tracing
Global Illumination and Radiosity - NEW
Image-Based
Rendering
Non-Photorealistic Rendering
Hardware Rendering - NEW
File Formats
for Rendering
7.
The Camera
Types of Cameras
The Pyramid
of Vision
Types of Camera Shots
Types of Camera Lenses
Camera Animation
8.
Lighting
Lighting Strategies
and Mood
Types of Light
Sources
Basic Components of a Light Source
Lighting the Scene
Basic Positions of Light Sources
9.
Shading and
Surface Characteristics
Surface Shading Techniques
Surface Shaders
Image Mapping
Surface Reflectivity
Surface Color
Surface Texture
Surface Transparency
Environment-Dependent Shading
Selected Rendering Hacks
10.
Basic Concepts
of Animation
Types of Animation
Principles of Animation - NEW
Storytellling
Storyboarding
Character Development
Animation File Formats
11.
Basic Computer
Animation Techniques
Principles of Keyframe
Interpolation
Model Animation
Camera Animation
Light Animation
Hierarchical Animation
Two- and Three-Dimensional Integration - NEW
12.
Advanced
Computer Animation Techniques
Inverse
Kinematics
Performance Animation and Motion Capture
Motion Dynamics
Procedural Animation
Facial Animation
Crowd Animation
Location-Based Entertainment
13.
Visual
Effects Techniques - NEW
Basic Concepts of
Digital Visual Effects
Camera Tracking
Rotoscoping
Blue and Green Screens, and Chroma Key
Set and Character Extensions
Crowd Replication
Computer-Generated Particles
Three-Dimensional Morphing
Motion Control
Motion Capture and Virtual Characters
Photogrammetry
Practical Effects
14. Retouching,
Compositing and Color Grading
Basic Concepts of
Image Manipulation
Image Retouching
Image Compositing and Blending
Image Sequencing
Color Grading - NEW
15. Output
Basic Concepts of
Digital Output
Image Resolution
File Formats for Image Output
Output on Paper
Output on Photographic Media
Output on Video
Output on Digital Media
Output on Three-Dimensional Media
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