First, I must say that the three books that I am going to list, are all Maya centered. Maya has always been my 3D tool of choice, and it so happens that it is the industry Standard Animation Software. Many software packages are based off the same principles, and once you know one package whether it is Maya, 3D Max, Cinema 4D, it is just a matter of finding where the buttons are located on the next package, to do what you need them to do. The first of the animation books that I recommend happens to be an excellent book for those animators that come from a traditional animation background or students that have just gone through their traditional animation principles classes at school, and are ready to begin 3D Animation.
Character Animation: 2D Skills for Better 3D (Second Edition), by Steve Roberts, is an excellent start. This book is loaded with the breakdown of the mechanics of animating the biped in walks, runs, and more so that you understand the principles of animation that each action has in it, as well as how to apply that in the 3D arena. If you are transitioning over from 2D to 3D, then this is a must for all students, and professionals. Animation Professors can easily build lesson around the many exercises in the book.
Moving along, a book that I would recommend to all new animators starting out that are using Autodesk’s Maya 2012. The book How to Cheat Maya 2012 by Eric Luhta, is no doubt the best animation book out there to make the learning curve not so steep.
How to Cheat in Maya 2012: Tools and Techniques for Character Animation
The Author covers using the graph editor extensively, as well as Forward, and Inverse Kinematics and Constraints with simplicity and clarity. Those chapters alone would be worth the price of the book, as they are the hurdles that give most noobs the hardest time. From beginning to end, the reader will go through all the tools needed to achieve solid character animation through examples and exercises, and may possibly even come away with some solid tests for their animation reel.
Last but not least, Stop Staring: Facial Modeling and Animation Done Right by Jason Osipa, would be the next book to get on the list. Jason Osipa sets the bar when it comes to facial rigging of a 3D character. This animation book covers facial character setup/ or rigging a character’s face extensively, as well as approaching animating dialogue and facial expressions. It is more a book for those with some experience under their belt, but definitely on the list for students and pros as well.
No comments:
Post a Comment