More than just a step-by-step tutorial on rigging in Maya, "Inspired 3D Advanced Rigging and Deformations" helps you develop the skills you need to successfully manage your rigging process from start to finish. You'll learn the reasons behind each step in developing a character rig and learn how that rig fits into the entire pipeline process. The authors provide a unique glimpse at the real-world problems and choices that professional Character Technical Directors face, as well as the solutions they have developed for dealing with high-end digital characters. A follow-up to "Inspired 3D Character Setup," this book takes this difficult and sough-after skill and provides in-depth explanations and techiques.

A unique, in-depth approach to creating realistic characters in Maya. Maya Character Creation: Modeling and Animation Controls' author, Chris Maraffi, has expertise in the field and in the classroom that translates to the knowledge and solid teaching skills needed to make this book a "must-have"! The current trend in computer graphics is greater organic realism. Many of the top-grossing movies today, such as Spiderman, Lord of the Rings, Jurassic Park 3 , and Star Wars Episode 2, all feature realistic 3D characters. There is a major need in the 3D community for educational material that demonstrates detailed techniques for achieving this organic reality. Maya is one of the main packages used on such cutting-edge films, and has an established toolset for creating believable 3D characters. Maya Character Creation: Modeling and Animation Controls is designed to take you through the process of designing, modeling, and setting up animation controls for complex 3D characters. The concepts, techniques, and Maya tools used for each step in the process are presented in each chapter, followed by many hands-on exercises. NURBS, polygon, and subdivision surface modeling techniques are shown for creating the character's skin, and skeleton-based animation controls are covered in detail. You will learn how a character's skin should deform when the skeletal joints and muscles move. Advanced MEL scripted animation controls are also covered extensively.

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.

This book is about a requirements specification for a Holodeck at a proof of concept level. In it I introduce optical functions for a optical processor and describe how they map to a subset of the Risc-V open instruction set. I describe how parallelism could be achieved. I then describe a possible layered approach to an optical processor motherboard for the datacenter and for a personal Holodeck. I describe Volumetrics in brief and show how its evolution to Holodeck volumetrics could be done with bend light technology and the possibility of solidness to touch. I describe in detail the architecture of a Holodeck covering several approaches to Holodecks from static scene to scrolling scene to multi-user same complex to networked multi-user Holodecks.

A new world of creative possibilities is opened by Blender, the most popular and powerful open source 3D and animation tool. Blender is not just free software; it is also an important professional tool used in animated shorts, television commercials, and shows, as well as in production for films like Spiderman 2. Lance Flavell's Beginning Blender will give you the skills to start shaping new worlds and virtual characters, and perhaps lead you down a new professional path. Beginning Blender covers the Blender 2.5 release in-depth. The book starts with the creation of simple figures using basic modeling and sculpting. It then teaches you how to bridge from modeling to animation, and from scene setup to texture creation and rendering, lighting, rigging, and ultimately, full animation. You will create and mix your own movie scenes, and you will even learn the basics of games logic and how to deal with games physics. Whether you are new to modeling, animation, and game design, or whether you are simply new to Blender, this book will show you everything you need to know to get your 3D projects underway.

The essential fundamentals of 3D animation for aspiring 3D artists 3D is everywhere--video games, movie and television special effects, mobile devices, etc. Many aspiring artists and animators have grown up with 3D and computers, and naturally gravitate to this field as their area of interest. Bringing a blend of studio and classroom experience to offer you thorough coverage of the 3D animation industry, this must-have book shows you what it takes to create compelling and realistic 3D imagery. Serves as the first step to understanding the language of 3D and computer graphics (CG) Covers 3D animation basics: pre-production, modeling, animation, rendering, and post-production Dissects core 3D concepts including design, film, video, and games Examines what artistic and technical skills are needed to succeed in the industry Offers helpful real-world scenarios and informative interviews with key educators and studio and industry professionals Whether you're considering a career in as a 3D artist or simply wish to expand your understanding of general CG principles, this book will give you a great overview and knowledge of core 3D Animation concepts and the industry.