3-D Human Modeling and Animation [With CDROM]

by Peter Ratner

All the tools and know-how to create digital characters that can move, express emotions, and talk 3-D Human Modeling and Animation demonstrates how you can use your artistic skills in figure drawing, painting, and sculpture to create animated human figures using the latest computer technology. This easy-to-follow book guides you through all the necessary steps to create and animate digital humans. Students and professional 3-D artists will find this...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0471215481
• ISBN13: 9780471215486
• Release Date: April 2003
• Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
• Length: 316 Pages
• Weight: 1.64 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 7.6" x 9.1"

Customer Reviews

An invaluable resource for animators

I've been an animation student for 2 years and this has been the most helpful book on human modeling and animation I have read. My animations have gone from moving puppets to life-like humans thanks to the priniciples taught in this book. The hair tutorial alone makes this book an invaluable resource for animators looking to create realistic models with natural looking and reacting hair. The lighting discussion has improved the visual quality of my renders ten-fold. Buy this book.Professors: this is THE book to use in teaching both theory AND application of all that is 3D human modeling and animating.

The book is great!

I like how it's not directed at any particular package and that it has a lot of theory (anatomy, animation principles, etc.) included. The author has put together a thorough education of human modeling and animation without being overbearing. The book is about 300 pages long, and covers all the important aspects of the trade, including the theory behind character animation as well as the anatomical basis for human modeling. The book is also well illustrated with clearly notated images, nicely lit renders for reference, and a selection of beautiful full color pictures for inspiration.

I enjoyed this book immensely.

I enjoyed this book immensely. I sincerely feel that this bookis the only 3d modeling book that is worth buying. This is so becausethe book is flexible for many softwares, and also discusses about the pros and cons about the different approaches. So far all the books in New York are software dependent and no author touches on the subject of human modeling as deeply as he has. I have been modeling 3d works for about half a year now, and this book definitely inspired me to go on making more difficult objects such as the human body. Thank you so much, Mr. Ratner, for your book. I hope you are considering on publishing another book. By the way, your tutorial on the European Maya site really helped me to model humans using Lightwave. I learned how to build spline cages and then use the Auto Patcher plug-in to make the polygon model. This works much better than MetaNURB modeling.Christian Liang, Senior student in Hofstra College, NY

Excellent step-by-step guide for creating digital humans.

This book is an excellent step-by-step guide for creating digital humans. It covers all aspects of modeling, animation, and lighting. I think it would be very beneficial in a teaching environment where students could follow the entire process and try the exercises at the end of each chapter.Jerry Weil, Senior Animator, Metrolight Studios, Hollywood, CA

Our students use this book to create stunning animations...

Our Computer Animation students use this book to create stunning character animations. As a result, our alumni have been very successful in finding jobs at major studios such as PIXAR, MetroLight Studios, ABC Interactive, Encore Productions, etc.Peter Ratner's book outlines the process of modeling and animating male and female human models in easy to follow steps. His illustrative directions guide one through every aspect of the human anatomy; all the way down to minute details such as modeling the fingernails. The author assumes nothing of the reader and therefore goes to great lengths to explain everything as clearly as possible. There are hundreds of illustrations that show each step in the modeling and animation process. In fact, there isn't one page in the book that doesn't have at least one illustration in it.Professor Ratner's exquisite 3D illustrations are his own and exemplify the fact that he is an accomplished artist as well as author. As a 3D artist he understands the problems that face 3D modelers and animators. Unlike other authors who depend on outside artists to supply illustrations and techniques for their books, Professor Ratner is able to create his own. The numerous color illustrations from his former students are a significant testimonial to the effectiveness of his teaching methodology.Our department has found it very easy to adapt this book to the various software packages that we are using. For example, even though the book is geared toward spline and NURBS based software, the students who are using LightWave have successfully adapted it for polygon modeling, boning and animating. The book is geared toward mid-level to high-end modeling software packages. Animators using low-end modeling and animation packages that do not have deformation tools might find it difficult to work with this book due to the limitations of their software. In any event, this type of software most likely lacks the tools for any kind of character modeling and animation.This book's descriptive instructions, brilliant color and black and white illustrations and easy to follow layout practically guarantee improved results for the 3D artist. It has played an important role in our computer animation curriculum. I highly recommend this book to any student or professional interested in learning more about the exciting field of 3D character modeling and animation.Professor Gary Chatelain, Design Department, James Madison University