The Art of 3D Computer Animation and Effects

This book is a very good guide to the industry and whilst you won't learn animation in depth from a book like this, it's well worth having a read. It will give you an insight into the different roles that make up an animation team and at least for me made me realise what I wanted to specialise in.

Good read.

The book is very good.

The media could not be loaded. For anyone's who getting into 3D animation and wants to learn about the industry, this is the book for you. It's a introductory course to 3D animation, aiming at provide readers with a general overview of the ever evolving industry, as well as getting close to the action showing the actual processes involved in making in. This is the fourth edition published in 2009.In essence, this is a textbook with the objective to inspire and inform. It does so with many examples from the real world, and if you're interested in animation, you would have probably seen many of the movies or clips these examples are based on. The book goes on to explain what goes on behind that made these films possible, the people involved, what they do (jobs), what type of software they use and the different stages of development.This isn't a tutorial style book or a software manual. For example in 3D modeling, it introduces techniques like modeling with curves, polygon, extrusion, etc, but it doesn't actually go telling you where to click and where to find commands from menus. This book isn't tied to any particular software package. The concepts are pretty foundational and universal stuff, which can be applied easily to different areas, like software.You won't be able to create your own animation instantly after reading this book, but you'll what it takes to create one and where to hone your technical skills.This book is recommended for students and anyone who wants an in depth introductory course into understanding 3D animation and its industry.The list of contents:1. Animation, Visual Effects, and Technology in Context2. Creative Development and the Digital Process3. Modeling Concepts4. Modeling Techniques5. Advanced Modeling and Rigging Techniques6. Rendering Concepts7. The Camera8. Lighting9. Shading and Surface Characteristics10. Principles of Animation11. Computer Animation Techniques12. Advanced Computer Animation Techniques13. Visual Effects Techniques14. Retouching, Compositing and Color Grading15. Image Resolution and Output

I enjoyed the read it was a big help in the understanding of 3d animation. But at the same time if starting out with this new interest it could be quite unhelpful. As it requires one knowing a good deal about the procedures before trying to make sense of the book. But overall a very good book.

Probably a good book, however, I never got to use it because of the course being dumb and stuff.Basically bought the book expecting having to use it in class, never had to though.R.I.P ma shekels (buy it used if you can)