Publisher's Synopsis
Book & CD. Provides beginning-through-advanced LightWave 3D character animators with the basics of creating character riggings, and walks them all the way through the complex art of creating believable character performances. Additionally, he covers the importance of storytelling and acting through animation -- the subtle mastery that brings characters to life. Updating what has been called one of the best books on animation by top Disney Animators, this new book includes even more pre-rigged models, understandings of the new animation tools found in LightWave 3D 8, and the fastest way to do dialogue and facial performance. The book: Shows the complete crafting of powerful and reliable character setups; Explains Inverse Kinematics as it pertains to character animation; Uses LightWave's tools to create character rigs that allow you to migrate animation from one character to another; Describes how to apply point weighting to create believable character skinning; Illuminates basic and advanced animation techniques that are the cornerstones for skilled animation such as anticipation, overlapping action, gesture, and silhouette; Outlines key steps for taking a scene from start to finish; Teaches time-honoured acting techniques for helping you 'become' your character.
