This book "shows artisists, designers, and animators how to add drama and emotion to their work through simple human observation and baisc animation techniques, providing the tools and step-by-step instructions for incorporating emotion into animation. Discover how to see emotion in life and apply it to your drawings; explore reactions, emotional states, and transitions in body language; learn how to animate life-like facial expressions; create dramatic effect through timing, lighting, and 3D set; and more. Learn how to create truly great animation that catches the eye and captures the heart of your audience with Character Emotion in 2D and 3D Animation....." - back cover.

Improve your 3D animation by understanding the key traditional 2D skills. Learn the basics for producing original and exciting animation.

Based on 10 years of animation teaching experience, this comprehensive guide to key techniques will ensure your skills best fit the computer animation workplace. A complete understanding of the vital animation drawing skills will be achieved by learning the pitfalls in a 2D exercise then applying these skills when using 3D animation packages. Providing a broad coverage this book will be relevant whatever 3D package you use, Softimage XSI, Maya, 3ds max or LightWave. Just knowing and being able to use a specific 3D software package does not make you an animator, but reading this book will! The Free CD-ROM includes; how to animate exercises in each specific 3d animation program; short movies showing best practice; computer models so you can experiment and learn; a free demo copy and discount code for the best 2D animation software you can buy, DigiCel FlipBook. www.characteranimationin3d.com, provides further resources about the world of animation, extensive list of links, how to get a job, build a lightbox, make an animated movie and much more!

Clark's book takes an in-depth look at the methods and technology that professionals use to create realistic and believable characters using computer technology.

Artist imaginations continue to grow and stretch the boundaries of traditional animation. Successful animators adept and highly skilled in traditional animation mediums are branching out beyond traditional animation workflows and will often use multiple forms of animation in a single project. With the knowledge of 3D and 2D assets and the integration of multiple animation mediums into a single project, animators have a wealth of creative resources available for a project that is not limited to a specific animation medium, software package or workflow processs. Enhance a poignant scene by choosing to animate the scenic background in 2D while the main character is brought to life with 3D techniques. Balance the budget demands of a project by choosing to integrate a 2D or 3D asset to save time and expense. Choose which medium Hybrid Animation, learn the systematic development of the 2D and 3D assets and the issues surrounding choices made during the creative process.

Creating moving camera character animations in 3D is a multi-faceted computer graphics and computer vision problem that requires a formal representation of the moving camera, and efficient algorithms to help author manage and render the multitude of character poses required for the animation. This well-researched book introduces view-dependent character animation, covering all the relevant background work. Numerous example animations are offered to explain and illustrate this versatile technique.

Improve your character animation with a mastery of traditional principles and processes including weight and balance, timing, walks, birds, fish, snakes, four legged animals, acting and lip-synch. Traditional animation skills and techniques are presented in both 2D and 3D space. The companion CD features demonstration animations and exercises conducted in each of the major animation packages including 3ds Max, LightWave, Maya, and XSI Softimage.