Mastering 3D Animation

Rating:
Summary: ...chock full of clever methods and techniques...
Review: Mastering 3D Animation is a wonderful training manual for beginners and advanced animators alike. It is chock full of clever methods and techniques for modelling with polygons and nurbs, as well as creating atmospheric FX, effective lighting, efficient character modeling, setup and animating. Most lessons are software independent and are conceptually generic enough to be helpful to any practitioner using any software. My compliments to Peter Ratner for conveying many complicated techniques in an understandable way.

Franklin Londin CG Supervisor Digital Domain

Rating:
Summary: A great learning tool in and out of the classroom
Review: Mastering 3D Animation" gives a good overview of the common modeling and animation techniques used to create realistic characters in a lifelike virtual environment. This book doesn't restrict to solutions of one specific commercial software but presents basic concepts which may be adapted for your own applications. It represents a great learning tool in and out of the classroom. In the beginning lessons seamless NURBS and polygons characters are constructed step-by-step including inverse kinematics and facial animation. Principles and techniques of 3D character animation are also discussed in depth. The special effects, lighting and surfacing chapters are really great. Peter Ratner's second book is a worthy successor of his first one.

Mike Cobo, Graduate Student, University of Bern, Switzerland

Rating:
Summary: A great learning tool in and out of the classroom
Review: Mastering 3D Animation" gives a good overview of the common modeling and animation techniques used to create realistic characters in a lifelike virtual environment. This book doesn't restrict to solutions of one specific commercial software but presents basic concepts which may be adapted for your own applications. It represents a great learning tool in and out of the classroom. In the beginning lessons seamless NURBS and polygons characters are constructed step-by-step including inverse kinematics and facial animation. Principles and techniques of 3D character animation are also discussed in depth. The special effects, lighting and surfacing chapters are really great. Peter Ratner's second book is a worthy successor of his first one.

Mike Cobo, Graduate Student, University of Bern, Switzerland

Rating:
Summary: "Mastering 3D Animation" suitable as collegiate text
Review: Peter J. Ratner's second authoring effort, Mastering 3D Animation, is a 333-page softcover text that is a comprehensive, detailed and practical tutorial guide addressing nearly every aspect and segment of the 3D graphics genre. The book's 14 chapters-and accompanying follow-along CD for PC and Mac-speak to modeling (beginning and advanced), animation, special effects, lighting, surfacing techniques, facial animation, elements of action, figure movements and composition and cinematography. It's an exceptionally capable complement to Ratner's first book, 3-D Human Modeling and Animation. (Ratner currently is updating the latter text with a wholesale rewrite.)

Make no mistake: This is no cursory guide to constructing simple geometry, slapping on some stock textures, animating basic movements along spline paths and rendering to AVI while you're sipping on a latte, watching the Discovery Channel. A full-time professor in the 3D Computer Animation department of James Madison University and the program's founder, Ratner relies on the broad and substantial digital and conventional art experience that has rewarded him with artistic entries in more than 80 national and international juried exhibitions. Ratner is well-versed in most aspects of 3D art creation, choreography and cinematography. The results of his industry experience are a splendid collection of detailed and refined insights and experiences assimilated into a thorough tutorial guide. I have no doubt-as many experts agree-that Mastering 3D Animation is equipped to serve as a collegiate-level textbook for 3D computer animation curricula.

Spanning the many processes related to generating 3D digital art, Ratner illustrates his critical techniques with 658 black-and-white line drawings and grayscale screen captures. The images vary from basic and sketchy but illustrative black-only perspectives, steps and graphs to grayscale representations depicting character renderings, particle systems, height fields, geometric displacements, facial close-ups, rendered environments and more. Of particular interest to those having cinematography or traditional art backgrounds are the commentary, instructions and grayscale reproductions of painted and sketched art dating back multiple centuries.

Those attending to a more technical emphasis and interest are accommodated in every respect, however-minus superficial references to hardware specifications. Early on, Ratner clarifies his intentions in composing this text: "[The book's] purpose is not to create button pushers who can boast about megahertz, abundant RAM, big monitors and software with all kinds of bells and whistles. It is hoped that aspiring 3D artists will learn some valuable lessons from the great art geniuses that have preceded them." (Foreward/vii) Yes, Ratner does wane philosophical, at times, but his contemplative tendencies bring a refreshing and purist perspective to a field frequently inundated by overly technical meanderings and functionally pointless rambling. Thus, Ratner blends an in-depth artistic and technical knowledge with a practicality and philosophy altogether forming a well-rounded perspective-one catering to persons of various inclinations and backgrounds.

The companion CD contains 200-plus 3D models in a variety of formats: LightWave 3D's .lwo and .lws; Wavefront's .obj; Maya's .ml and the generic .dxf. Tutorial project files are archived in QuickTime (.mov) and JPEG (.jpg) formats, and Ratner also includes a Photoshop brush file (.abr) for creating "grime" textures.

As for the text's informational composition, chapters one and two explore the basics of 3D modeling-polygonal and spline-based (NURBS). Chapter 3 addresses basic 3D animation, while the fourth delves further into animation by considering the role of deformation tools: skeletons ("bones"); kinematics; lattice flexors, etc. In Chapter 5, Ratner explains special effects, including the use of spheres, particles, collision detection, voxels, fragments, displacement mapping and more. Part II of the text, Advanced 3D Modeling, begins with commentary about the human head's structure and composition, including muscles and bone. Ratner explains both the NURBS- and polygon- based methods for modeling the head. Special attention is allotted to features, such as the eyes, eyelids, eye sockets and ears. There's no lack of detail, here, and NURBS fans will experience a rare sensation-a feeling of belongingness.

The next two chapters, six and seven, are devoted to modeling the human figure. The latter stresses finishing-hair, eyelashes and clothing. Chapters 9 and 10 comprise Part III: Preparing for Animation. Lighting is the focus of Chapter 9, and Chapter 10-another that may appeal particularly to conventional artists-deals with surfacing techniques. The author goes beyond the typical texture map types-cylindrical, planar, spherical, cubic, etc.-and the use of photos to address alternative surfacing methods, such as transparency (alpha) and displacement maps. In short, Ratner extends well beyond the conventional surfacing methods most highly publicized, deeply exploring what might be categorized more aptly as upper-echelon trade tips than as common genre knowledge: creating sophisticated bump maps; using grayscale gradients in displacement; and more.

Part IV of the book, Character Animation Fundamentals, includes chapters 11-14: Expressing Emotion with Facial Animation (11); The Elements of Action (12); Movements of the Figure (13); Composition and Cinematography (14). Once again, the author uses an expansive knowledge of choreography and anatomy to help quantify how human emotions are exhibited: body posturing; eye wideness; lip contour; eyebrow position; even directional muscular pull. Each of these considerations can be projected in a 3D figure, and Ratner shows the reader how. "A muscle is composed of a bundle of fibers that work in mutual association to perform common duties," Ratner writes on Page 248. "... It is this combination of movements that results in the complicated harmony of the facial muscles."

The Elements of Action chapter confronts those issues pertinent to a convincing human portrayal by a mere collection of polygons or surfaced curved lines: timing; sound syncing; weight and recoil ("squash and stretch"); walk cycles and more. Chapter 13 addresses concerns complementary to those in the previous one, including body mass motion, pace and impact, equilibrium, action lines, rhythm and still more. The final score of this harmonized tutorial prose pursues line composition, spatial arrangement, blocking (proxy geometry) and all manner of photographic issues and techniques. The reader will learn practical cinematography terminology-camera techniques and movements, transitions, more-and the fundamental tenets of motion depiction utilized by artists centuries earlier.

Rating:
Summary: A definite must have for learning 3D animation
Review: Peter Ratner has done an excellent job in creating a book understandable to people of all ages and levels which will allow them to experience the creation of 3D animation. The easy to follow book is filled with illustrations, examples, and multiple options of dimensional objects. It is a definite must have for those interested in learning 3D animation and design.

Rating:
Summary: A creatively conceived resource for any artist
Review: Peter Ratner's book is a well thought out, and creatively conceived resource for any artists wanting to explore the field of 3D design and animation. Whether you're just starting out or are already working in 3D, you'll find this book to be very useful indeed.

Chris Tome former Technical Editor 3D Magazine

Current Editor in Chief, Design Freak

Rating:
Summary: For artists seeking more than programmer's technical tips
Review: Technology affects art and the many changes in computer animation and effects means that the art world faces both new challenges and new innovations in 3D modeling. Surprisingly, Peter Ratner explains, the changes mean less technical challenges for artists with more ability to focus on creating art rather than deciphering computer systems - and the second edition of his Mastering 3D Animation is just the place to begin. Ratner is a professor of the topic at James Madison University - and the founder and head of the first computer animation program in Virginia, so his background lends particularly well to discussions. His paintings and computer graphics have received exhibition and acclaim - also a plus for artists seeking more than just a programmer's technical tips.