Customer Reviews

Computer Animation: Algorithms and Techniques (The Morgan Kaufmann Series in Computer Graphics)

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book is not about how to accomplish animation using prepackaged software nor is it about art design for animation. Instead, it is aimed at computer science students who wish to write programs that perform animation and want to understand the algorithmic and mathematical issues behind that task.
Chapter one is a broad history of computer animation, and it would be misleading to think that this is a typical chapter in this book. Chapter 2 is a broad overview of computer graphics topics. It mentions quaternions, transformation matrices, the rendering pipeline, and I think it is meant to be a quick review more than an instructive chapter. If you are not already familiar with the material in chapter 2 this book will be over your head.
Chapters 3 through 6 are the meat of the book for those interested in computer animation algorithms. Chapter 3 presents low level details on interpolation and not only shows the math but also shows code fragments in C on how to accomplish some of the tasks mentioned. Chapter four presents more advanced algorithms such as camera control, kinematic modeling, rigid body simulation, flocking behavior, and collision detection. Again in this chapter mathematics of the algorithms is presented along side of C code to accomplish the tasks.
Chapter 5 changes topics from the discussion of object motion and the underlying physics to the topic of natural phenomena. The author does a good job of laying out clearly the basics of the mathematics behind these effects. However, he does seem to gloss over details more than he did in previous chapters. The same is true of Chapter 6 on the modeling and animation of articulated figures. The basics are all there, but there just wasn't enough detail to satisfy me.
As for the companion website, it is working at the time I am writing this review. However, the problem I have with books that have companion sites in place of an accompanying CD is that over time these websites are usually neglected and at worst, disconnected. However, an accompanying CD is always shipped with a new book.
Overall, this book is the best compromise I've found between accessible and comprehensive on this subject, and I would recommend it to anyone thinking about writing their own computer animation code.

I'll tip my hand--I'm also a student of the author.

That said, there are some objectively excellent qualities to this book. For starters, the book is undeniably thorough. It includes a brief history of the genre of computer animation (a welcome touch) and a chapter on background information usually covered in any introductory graphics course.

The math used in the book is considerable, and some students will probably find themselves overwhelmed with calculus and linear algebra. (If so, graphics may not be the field for you!) As a courtesy, Dr Parent included appendices with background mathematics and physics which will help fill in the gaps and calm some of the more distraught readers. Code is also provided inline as an assist to the student, which may clarify some of the math involved. (A trifling complaint is that the code is not object-oriented.)

Readers who do not have a math background needn't worry if they are not planning on implementing any of the algorithms described in the book. The math is provided as necessary for implementation purposes. Students who do plan on implementing the algorithms would do well to have taken a numerical methods course; some knowledge of linear algebra and calculus is necessary as well.

On the whole, this book is an excellent introduction to many animation techniques and algorithms. Many of them are complex and will require a lot of effort to understand and implement, so students should be prepared to spend a bit of time going through it. They'll be happy to find that the book is laid out well and very readable.

And references are provided at the end of every chapter--there's plenty of material for students who are looking for more detailed information about any of the topics.

Prof. Parent's textbook is complete in that it covers every major component of animation and with a clear writing style. The mathematics is there, supporting references and illustrations are there, and supplementary info is included in several well-thoughtout appendices. As other reviewers have pointed out, this is a serious work for students who want to see the math and theory behind the principles. It is not an introductory textbook on this subject. A student should come to it with a background in calculus and linear algebra, for starters. A bit of elementary physics wouldn't hurt either. Although there are no exercises (I don't know what content I would sacrifice to make room for them), a clever instructor should have no trouble coming up with case studies. I have used this textbook as a resource for my own work, including Mathematics for Computer Graphics Applications and 3D Modeling, Animation, and Rendering: An Illustrated Lexicon, Color Edition.

The book was absolutely excellent! I got this book as a recommended reference book for my course in digital games and animation, and was bowled over by the book. The concepts in the book are very well-defined, and it really helped me a lot in an animation I am putting together now.

The section on inverse kinematics is really good, it goes over some basics pretty well. Gives a pretty good introduction to animation. Didn't read it all the way through but I was able to implement a few chapters with not too much headache.

I'm currently taking the author's course so I bought it as a textbook. He pretty much pulls everything together in one book. Altho techniques are not latest but it's comprehensive. This book is good for someone who know OpenGL or DirextX and don't have much programming experiences with it. Meanwhile it is a good prerequisite to learn Maya or something like that.

This book serves as an excellent guide to the technical and aesthetic challenges within the large field of computer animation. The greatest strength is the author's ability to compress an extensive amount of information into core equations and knowledge. Each chapter imparts a mastery of basic concepts and an introduction to more advanced areas of study. Also of note are the extensive, quality references listed at the conclusion of each chapter. The author's experience in the field of computer graphics (dating back to the birth of the field in the late 1960's) shines through in the high quality and candid nature of his exposition. Although I'm a little biased because of being taught by the author, I have no hesitation in recommending this text to students and professionals who desire a broad and technical look at the field of computer animation.

I am using this textbook in a Computer Animation course I am taking. During the course of most of the assignments, I found myself asking "is equation X correct?" It turned out that I was making a subtle mistake, but having to wonder about whether or not there is a mistake in the book is the problem. For example, if the book had made some attempt to explain the equation or where it came from, I might have asked, "What did I do wrong, because it's obvious the equation is correct."

This book isn't all bad, though. It does contain lots of useful information. It is perhaps a decent reference book, but I didn't find it very useful for learning the concepts.

This book discusses various interesting topics in 3D computer animation, most importantly, in terms of programming algorithms. It reveals some secrets behind this state-of-art industry!