Inspired 3D Character Animation [Paperback]

Kyle Clark (Author), Tom Sito (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 5, 2002 | ISBN-10: 1931841489 | ISBN-13: 978-1931841481 | Edition: 1st

The art of creating animation is the ability to generate believable characters that have emotion and life. Regardless of your medium good animation comes from the application of solid fundamentals and an extensive body of knowledge. "Inspired 3D Character Animation" provides you with a comprehensive set of processes and procedures for animating characters in the digital environment. By taking a close look at the day-to-day activities and practices of veteran film, commercial, and game animators, you will get a look into the processes necessary to implement these ideas into the world of 3D computer graphics software.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Kyle Clark earned his Master's Degree in Animation at USC School of Cinema-Television. While at USC, he produced an animation short that earned him a student Academy Award. He has worked at Cinestine, Sony, Imageworks, and Industrial Light and Magic. He is a lecturer at San Francisco State University and has taught at the Academy of Art-San Francisco, Texas A&M, and USC. His film credits include Space Jam, Mortal Kombat II, Star Wars Episode One, Deep Blue Sea, and Sleepy Hollow.

Product Details

• Paperback: 248 pages
• Publisher: Muska & Lipman/Premier-Trade; 1st edition (August 5, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1931841489
• ISBN-13: 978-1931841481
• Product Dimensions: 10.8 x 8.5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,660,710 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not sure what the last couple of reviewers are talking about, January 6, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Inspired 3D Character Animation (Paperback)

I found that for the first time, a character animation book actually talks about character animation and NOT what is simply in the manuals. It's about time that someone talked about fundamentals AND HOW THEY ARE APPLIED IN 3D COMPUTER ANIMATION. Anyone can read a manual and make objects move but making them live is another thing entirely. Take it from someone who has had to review endless reels filled with junk, no timing, no command of overlap, anticipation or holds. Just by learning AND IMPLEMENTING the information in this book, you can put yourself ahead of 90% of all applicants for character animation jobs. Tips on approach, especially by Sean Mullen and Richie Baneham, are priceless. I recommend reading this title in all rejection letters we send out.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Better than other reviews here would lead you to believe ..., March 11, 2005

By 

S. Gilley - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Inspired 3D Character Animation (Paperback)

I'm a bit surprised at the bad rap this book has gotten in earlier user reviews. Suggesting to "just read the manual that came with the software" is preposterous -- these comments are often made by people who think that knowing how to set keyframes in a piece of software makes them GOOD animators, and nothing could be further from the truth. A thorough understanding of how the body moves, how the mind thinks, how external forces affect the body, and other sometimes slippery subjects are critical aspects of the good animator's toolset.

While there are no earth-shattering revelations in this book (how many could there be when the animation industry is over 90 years old), the topics discussed in these pages, often illustrated with short exercises, make a good launching pad for people wanting to go from someone who knows how to make a character move, to someone who knows how to make a character come alive.

The book does a good job of relating traditional animation concepts to the 3D medium, and several of the interviews are enlightening. As a college animation instructor and professional computer animator, I find satisfaction in opening this book in my classroom to point out that artists from celebrated studios such as Industrial Light & Magic and Sony Pictures Imageworks are saying the same things that I am telling my students. My Advanced 3D Animation students spend several weeks reading chapters from this book and applying the information through mini-assignments, which I hope lead them to realize all that they must consider in bringing a character to life. This book is not designed to teach something new to the computer animation veteran -- instead, it fulfills its purpose of showing intermediate to advanced level students of animation a path that they need to take in becoming successful character animators.

While the price of this book is a bit steep, there are several pieces of advice that should be in any character animator's mantra. The information can lead to a big payoff if you really absorb it.

14 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Finally....the kind of book i have been looking for!!!!!!, July 31, 2002

By 

Dieter Wagner ""KungFuDork"" (Charlotte, NC) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Inspired 3D Character Animation (Paperback)

well, i was hesitant to spend [this much] for a book with no cd(there are model files ,mel scripts, and movies on the series website now), but this is the best animation book i have bought yet. trust me, i have them all.....general animation, 2d animation, software specific(even for programs i don't know or use, just hoping to get some useful info), and anything else i can get my hands on. this book has it all! the interviews are great(hear about the techniques used by top animators in top studios) and very inspiring(...hey, they even named the series that). you get info on the most common methods/techniques of animating and how to go about finding what works best for you, and the best part is that it doesn't matter what software you use....the techniques work in them all. there is a chapter on facial animation from keith lango(lead animator at Big Idea...you know Vegietales). I had read the tutorials on lipsynch from his website and figured this would be the same info, but there are some more jewels of info in there! I am clearing out the useless titles on my bookshelf to make room for this entire series!!!!