Stop Staring: Facial Modeling and Animation Done Right (Paperback)

by Jason Osipa (Author)
Key Phrases: local rig, global rig, brows naming, Sally Ann, Character Two, Box Head (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
Lips, brows, frown lines--they’re all in motion in an expressive face. Stop Staring analyzes facial structures and movements and shows animators how to enliven the faces of their characters. The author, whose own handsome head (in modeled form) graces the cover, is an experienced animator currently working on The Sims.

He writes with a dry wit and a confidence born from experience. The book is friendly but also loaded with content and precise in its directions. "I am by no means God’s gift to animation, but I do pretty well at making a talking head look like a living one, not just a set of gums flapping." This is not a how-to manual, but a richly detailed guide to achieving the right movements for a given situation and emotion. The companion CD includes all the pieces readers will need in order to work along with the text: models (both realistic and stylized ’toon characters), lip-synching samples, finished Quicktime movies, and even a copy of Maya Personal LE. (More info and some movies can be found at jasonosipa.com.)

Readers move from "Getting to Know the Face," to synching audio, working on the mouth, eyes, and brows, and rigging. Osipa has created a methodology for facial animation that gets results and makes the process fun. The book can be used as a step-by-step guide for learning new skills or finessing techniques, or as a reference book for troubleshooting specific expressions (for example, "happy eyes," "frustration," and "sneers" are all in the index). Although the projects are presented using Maya, the concepts involved pertain to animation in general.

There are lots of production tips and, in Chapter 13, case studies using five scripted scenes. Readers can even begin with this last chapter, watching the movies (they’re funny!) and enjoying Osipa’s debates as he works through animating his face telling a lame bartender joke or a sassy ‘toon gal weighing the pros and cons of pink and blue bows. This hip writer knows what he’s talking about, even when it’s his own animated mug that’s doing the talking! --Angelynn Grant --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Review
"A breath of fresh air to both students and industry professionals alike." -- Owen Hurley, Director (Casper's Haunted Christmas, Barbie in the Nutcracker, Barbie as Rapunzel)

"Readers new to these techniques are spared the frustration of feeling overwhelmed ..." -- Jason Schleifer, Senior Animator, Weta Digital

"Stop Staring is a refreshingly practical book on animation, loaded with useful information for animators, artists, and designers." -- Will Wright, Game Designer --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Sybex; 2 edition (May 7, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0471789208
• ISBN-13: 978-0471789208
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.2 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.9 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (44 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #41,888 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Forty blend shapes..., July 7, 2005

By	Michael H. Young (ILLINOIS, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Stop Staring: Facial Modeling and Animation Done Right (Paperback)

Brilliant concepts and discussion of details, but somewhat slow in painting the big picture. He never really comes out and says it, so I will. The end result is a control rig for 40 blend shapes, each painstakingly hand drawn and tuned. The state of the art doesn't allow shortcuts; I don't think it ever can or will. If you can accept that all 40 shapes are needed to model the range of human facial expression, this book is for you. Osipa makes a compelling argument that each is necessary; guides you through the modeling to make it possible; and wraps up with an elegant rig to control and manage them all. The result is a talking head, simply amazing in its range and control of nuance. Still, 40 heads per character is a huge investment. Is it worth "Doing Right?" Or can you continue to fake it? Buy the book; play with the rig; and find out for yourself.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best book on Virtual Human face animation design., June 23, 2004

By	Quinbould "knowledgebuff" (Snowmass Village, CO United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Stop Staring: Facial Modeling and Animation Done Right (Paperback)

As author of "Virtual Humans" I'm always looking for good books that bring a higher level to face animation. This is it. Jason writes in an accessable style, good humor and the kind of authority you want in a book. Frankly most other books that cover this subject are pretty boring and the faces are ugly. Jason is a very talented pro who privides you with everything you need to create the best, most realistic facial animation in remarkably easy ways. I recommend it highly to those of you who want to perfect your face animation techniques. His approach is different and better than any other that I've seen. I especially recommend this book to anyone who has purchased "Virtual Humans"

Peter Plantec

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best books on my shelf!, September 12, 2004

By	John Sheffield (Raleigh, NC) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Stop Staring: Facial Modeling and Animation Done Right (Paperback)

I'd fallen into an uninspired rut of "it's as good as it's gonna get!" with regard to the facial animation work I've been doing, when I ordered this book because Amazon's Recommendation script has established some sort of fiendish control over my brain. I didn't expect to be moved too much, having read a fair amount on facial animation and lip synch and been presented with paraphrases of the same stuff over and over. As it turned out, I was hooked on "Stop Staring" after about a page. After a chapter or two, I was picking shards of my shattered animator's ego out of my palms. I'd also eagerly agreed to the idea of locking what I already knew away in a dark closet and starting from scratch, this time for real. The improvement in my work since doing so has been obvious and exciting. I love the controls he supplies as well. If you're still controlling your faces via lists of numeric fields, becoming acquainted with this puppeteer-like alternative is worth the price of the book even if you didn't read a word of the text!

As clichèd as the thought may be, the only negative feeling I get from this book is that, having learned so much from it, the lack of time available to go back and redo most of the work I've already completed on my current project is fairly traumatic.