Animation Master 2002: A Complete Guide [With Cdrm]

by David F. Rogers

Whether you are just beginning in 3D or are new to Animation:Master, you'll learn the skills and fundamentals needed to master this incredibly powerful, low-cost program. Beginning with a detailed... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1584502363
• ISBN13: 9781584502364
• Release Date: August 2002
• Publisher: Charles River Media
• Length: 569 Pages
• Weight: 2.25 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.3" x 7.4" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

Good Reference

This book comes with a great index, so that I can find what I am looking for with ease. As I dip in and out of the pages, I have questions answered that I did not even know to ask! AM is frustrating - It is a great program with little or no documentation, and this is a sorely needed resource.

Excellent

This is a great book. I wouldn't suggest it as your first read if you've never done any 3d animation, though. Do ALL the tutorials in the manual that comes with the software first. By the time you finish them you'll know most of the critical lexicon that seems to get some people so frustrated. 3d animation is complex and hard to learn. It's just less hard with Animation Master and this book at your side. If you get stuck on some detail I'd suggest either posting a question at the Hash forum or just move on to another topic in the book and come back to the problem later. Sometimes when you take a break from a problem and come back to it a few days later it becomes easier to solve. People who study the learning process actually have a name for this phenomenon, but I don't remember it . . . hehehe ;)

Essential Animation:Master Reference

Given the sparseness of Hash's packaged software manual, I'd say that this book is an essential baseline reference for A:M 2002 or A:M2003. I think the 2 complement each other. Use the Hash manual for some quick start action with the software with lots of pictures and then come back to this text for serious study. I'm not sure the book is for pure beginners in 3D. For them I would recommend picking up "3D Graphics & Animation" by Mark Giambruno which provides a good overview of 3D terms and concepts. Let's face it, 3D software is among the most challenging types of software one can attempt to learn. I found if I re-read the tutorials in Rogers' book a few times the information is there. Patience is required. Do not expect to get it all in one read. In a few places I would have liked more illustrations and cd-rom videos for some steps, but what is provided is adequate. The style and tone of the writing were in line with my learning needs. Rogers takes time to explain not just the A:M features, but many times also why and how they should be used in your art work like the chapter on lighting. The book's scope is wide so if you need a lot of depth on a particular function it may not be covered with enough detail to suit your needs. In all fairness though, that book of details doesn't exist anywhere for A:M. All-in-all I think this is a solid work that deserves to be one of the references in your library when learning this software.

About Time

It's about time Animation:Master had a book this good to help people learn it. It's just too bad that it had to come from a third party instead of the software company. I have started and stopped with A:M for over three years I read Jeff Praires books. I read the manual. But i made little progress and was frustrated at every turn. This book has finnaly explained things in a way that I can understand them! I have made my first model and a simple walk cycle, I even remember why I bought this program in the first place again!

Essential for A:M 2002 Users

This book is by far the best publication ever written about Animation: Master (which isn't saying much at all.) It's well written and concise, and has only a few flaws (such as limited information about FX.) If you use A:M, you should consider this book an essential purchase.