Character Development in Blender 2.5 Review

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(More customer reviews)This book is an invaluable resource. As a long time 3d artist, I have picked up little tricks here and there that really bring pieces together well. Jonathan manages to cover these little tricks and more, assisting even the beginner 3D artist in creating a piece of art that feels well polished. A great book and a great read. Also, their website (blendercookie.com) is another amazing resource. Check it out.
The only con I have is the pictures in the book are kind of dark, but the included dvd remedies that nicely.

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Written for everyone from beginning Blender artists to experienced animators and game developers, CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT IN BLENDER 2.5 shows readers how to model believable characters using Blender, a free, open source 3d animation package. Covering the technical, artistic, and theoretical aspects of character development, the book provides an in-depth look at Blender's modeling tools and includes information on modeling, sculpting, materials, lighting, rendering, and more. Written in a tutorial style with step-by-step instructions the book also includes an accompanying CD-Rom that features the Blender 2.5 software and sample art.

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Body Language: Advanced 3D Character Rigging Review

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(More customer reviews)The book is an excellent resource. I've done my fair share of rigging, and Allen and Murdock have put together a body of information that not only teaches me new tricks, but polishes and streamlines what I already do. Body Language will be the first place I look when I need to dig around for rigging assistance.
Body Language has me excited to rig again, which is perhaps the greatest aspect of the book. There are a lot of little "aha" moments here, and I'm itching to put them to use. It's an essential component of my reference library.
I have only one complaint with this book: It doesn't cover 3DS Max. It's understandable, what with Maya being dominant in the high end of the field, but some of the principles and techniques here are so good, it just seems a shame to not have Max involved. Ironically, then, it's the excellence of the Maya coverage that leaves me wanting the same for Max. Perhaps there's a sequel in the works.
That minor quibble aside, I still rate this at the full five stars. The book stands on its own merits, and that I wish for more merely testifies to the value of the data.

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Whether you're a professional Character TD or just like to create 3D characters, this detailed guide reveals the techniques you need to create sophisticated 3D character rigs that range from basic to breathtaking. Packed with step-by-step instructions and full-color illustrations, Body Language walks you through rigging techniques for all the body parts to help you create realistic and believable movements in every character you design. You'll learn advanced rigging concepts that involve MEL scripting and advanced deformation techniques and even how to set up a character pipeline.

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LightWave 3D 8 Cartoon Character Creation, Volume 1: Modeling & Texturing Review

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(More customer reviews)I got this book a few days ago. After going through it and working with it I think it delivers what it promises: Character Modeling and Texturing. It gives you fairly straight forward information (most of which most users of LW may already know) mixed with fresh news for those of us getting used to animation in Version 8 of LightWave. Having used Lightwave in a different capacity and recently wanting to use it for some character animation - this book was a great help to me. Will it be useful for someone already using Lightwave for character animation? I guess that all depends on your level of expertise. This is not a beginner book (even though it says it starts at that level) mainly because it assumes you know your way around LightWave somewhat. However, people with the talent for picking up software programs will have no problem starting out new.
Like almost all software books it comes with a CD containing project files, plug-ins, etc. You load em. Use em. Etc. I buzzed through the tutorals pretty quick and I gotta say they are easy to follow and thorough without being so basic you feel like you waste half a book getting people up to speed. We have all been there with that disappointment. This book does not do that.
It also does a great job on the process of texturing your models. Now, don't confuse that with how to create textures (there are other books that specialize in that.) What it does show you is how to apply textures to your models properly. In addition are instruction on how to test lighting, rendering and creating QuickTime VR files to view model.
Again, this book is exactly as the title says. If you want to learn everything there is to know about LightWave there are different books to help you. This is not a replacement for a LW manual. However, if you want to learn how to setup some characters for animation and avoid hassels and pitfalls...get this book.


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Character design, modeling, and texturing are the fundamental building blocks of character animation. LightWave 3D [8] Cartoon Character Creation Volume 1: Modeling & Texturing includes both general theory and comprehensive tutorials for every aspect of modeling and texturing 3D characters. Learn how, why, and when to use the most efficient techniques so you can have fun creating your own fantastic 3D characters.Find out how to configure LightWave 3D for character creation, and learn the necessary steps of the character concept, design, and planning stages. Discover multiple methods for modeling characters and clothing using subdivision patches. Understand the techniques for creating complex UV mapping. Learn about surface attributes and surfacing characters. Enhance the appearance of your characters through the use of gradients and procedural textures. Explore a variety of techniques for creating image maps and applying them to your characters.

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The Official Blender 2.3 Guide: Free 3D Creation Suite for Modeling, Animation, and Rendering Review

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(More customer reviews)Blender is the most powerful 3D modeling and design program I've had the fortune of using. NOt being able to afford to spend thousands, the price is fantastic. But it's really hard to get rolling on it without good documentation, since the interface is far from intuitive or easy to grasp--it's unlike anything you've ever seen. A manual is really a basic.
Fortunately, the 2.3 guide provides everything you need to not only get started, but learn how to understand the software and figure out how to do more advanced things on your own. Most astounding about this is that the book was written along the same lines as the software--through an open source, community effort.
Just about every instruction is illustrated and walks you through the maze of control panels, menus and tabs. Instructions are explicit and specific (for the most part), and explain just enough to let you know what you're doing (for the most part) without burying you in details. Yes, it has some weird grammar at points, weird typos in various places, and sentences that seem like they came out of babelfish in a few more. Yes, the tone shifts from basic "make a box. click on the little handle dohickey and drag (click and pull the mouse)" in some chapters to three pages of derivatives and formulas for calculating and understanding light falloff ratios that assume advanced expertise in understanding computer graphics programming. Overall, however, it's a very good read, a very good how-to guide.
Before I had it, it took me three weeks to model a stage and a set I've been designing. After reading it, i started from scratch and built the same scene in 1 hour, fixed all my lighting problems in just a few minutes, and got into applying textures and rendering in just an hour more. Great timesaver--now I don't feel like I should really be looking at Maya.

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Blender is the first and only fully-integrated 3D graphics creation suite allowing modeling, animation, rendering, post-production, and realtime interactive 3D with cross-platform compatibility--all for free. Originally developed by Not a Number (NaN) as a commercial product, Blender has since been released as free software, with the sources available under GNU GPL. The Official Blender 2.3 Guide is an introduction to the sometimes complicated Blender interface and a complete guide to everything that Blender can do. Written by the designers who created and currently maintain Blender, the book covers methods of designing models, materials, and light; rendering 3D scenes; creating 3D animations; as well as advanced topics such as using Blender as a video editor. Includes a 4-color insert and a CD-ROM containing Blender for all platforms.

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Modeling with Polymer Clay (Artist's Library series #33) Review

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(More customer reviews)I recently discoverd this book by David Kracov and had to purchase it to see how close I could come to duplicating his sculpting technique. So far I am very happy with the results, and considering the fact that he uses a clay that I have not used in the past, I consider this a good selling point for his book. I would not recommend this book for someone just getting into clay sculpting as he leaves out some vital information (or so I believe) and some of his instructions are very vague. But if you've learned the basics of sculpting characters from another source or are a natural artist, I think you should be able to glean some very useful design concepts from this book. Mr. Kracov is very talented and I hope he publishes another book soon. I will be watching and waiting for one.

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In this book you'll find clear and concise instruction on how to model figures using colorful polymer clay. With an emphasis on human and animal caricatures and characters, you'll start with a simple ball of clay and finish with a striking work of art. It's easy, creative, and fun. Now everyone can learn to sculpt as author David Kracov demonstrates each step of the way.o Discover why polymer clay is such a user-friendly mediumo Find out what you need to start modeling right awayo Master rolling, blending, baking, gluing--even using a pasta maker to roll out sheets of uniform thicknesso Use templates to create clothing in clayo Learn to add realism with detail--those all-important wrinkles, creases, and foldso Follow along step by step to create 6 wonderfully wacky characters

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