All professional animators know a handful of secrets that give them an edge in a production environment. "How to Cheat in Maya" puts these secrets in your hands! Learn time and energy-saving techniques tested in real Hollywood productions in this book, jam-packed with screenshots and scene files designed to get you up to speed quickly. From menus to modeling, lipsync to lighting, How to Cheat in Maya 2014 covers all of the methods available in the latest version of Maya. Get up to speed quickly and produce stellar results with these insider workflows. With new, updated cheats for the latest version of Maya, How to Cheat in Maya 2014 is an essential guide for amateur and professional 3D animators alike. Fully updated with gold-mine coverage including: expanded sections on production workflow, all new chapters covering rigging cheats and Maya's referencing tools, and brand new project files demonstrating production-proven techniques. The companion website includes complete scene files for exercises and techniques, extra rigs, Quicktime movies of full projects, and video tutorials.

This instructional drawing book is intended to guide the reader through a story-telling based approach to gesture drawing, utilizing different techniques and exercises that encourage and develop creative problem solving as it relates to observational studies. This book clearly outlines a work flow and process with a simple exercise program that encourages the artist to ask questions and create work that engages not only their audience but themselves. Rich illustrations are included throughout that depict this workflow and also different drawing and mark-making techniques, and how to apply the exercises throughout the course of the book. Included are video drawing tutorials and examples. Key Features The approach to drawing as explained in the book is broken down into simple, clearly defined concepts. Each chapter outlines a further step in the drawing process, ending with a technique or exercise the reader can then execute to begin applying each concept to their work. Ample amount of illustrations drawn exclusively for this book or taken directly from the author's physical classes to clearly show the reader individual concepts, exercises, techniques, ideas, etc., so the reader may feel comfortable enough to follow the program. Each chapter includes a chapter objective as well as a summary and ample amount of illustrations which relate to the chapter objective. Key Terms will also be highlighted and defined so that they may be referenced throughout the book without causing unnecessary confusion. Companion video tutorials that show the reader different topics and exercises for reference.

Most tools developers want to improve the user experience but are not given the time, lack the techniques, or don't know where to begin.Designing the User Experience of Game Development Tools addresses these issues to empower tools developers to make positive steps toward improving the user experience of their tools.The book explains how to improve the user experience of game development tools. The first part of the book details the logic behind why the user experience of game tools must be improved. The second part introduces the concept of user-centered design, a process that revolves around understanding people's goals, watching them work, learning the context in which they work, and understanding how they think.Ideal for anyone who makes, uses, or benefits from game development tools, the book presents complex concepts in a manner that is accessible to those new to user experience design. The book illustrates many proven concepts and techniques using before-and-after examples from tools development to supply you with the real-world understanding you need to become a better game developer. It also describes how to get buy-in from your team.Although concepts have been simplified to make the information more easily accessible, the text includes resources in the footnotes if you want more details. The book includes access to a companion website, www.UXofGameTools.com, that contains the latest revisions for the book as well as contact information. You can also follow the official Twitter account @UXofGameTools to see the latest updates and articles related to the improvement of the user experience.

A novel approach for the classroom or self-study, Learn to Code with Games makes coding accessible to a broad audience. Structured as a series of challenges that help you learn to code by creating a video game, each chapter expands and builds your knowledge while providing guidelines and hints to solving each challenge. The book employs a unique problem-solving approach to teach you the technical foundations of coding, including data types, variables, functions, and arrays. You will also use techniques such as pseudocode and process mapping to formulate solutions without needing to type anything into a computer, and then convert the solutions into executable code. Avoiding jargon as much as possible, Learn to Code with Games shows you how to see coding as a way of thinking and problem solving rather than a domain of obscure languages and syntaxes. Its practical hands-on approach through the context of game development enables you to easily grasp basic programming concepts.

Blender Foundations is the definitive resource for getting started with 3D art in Blender, one of the most popular 3D/Animation tools on the market . With the expert insight and experience of Roland Hess, noted Blender expert and author, animators and artists will learn the basics starting with the revised 2.6 interface, modeling tools, sculpting, lighting and materials through rendering, compositing and video editing. Some of the new features covered include the completely re-thought interface, the character animation and keying system, and the smoke simulator. More than just a tutorial guide, "Blender Foundations" covers the philosophy behind this ingenious software that so many 3D artists are turning to today. Start working today with Blender with the accompanying web site which includes all of the projects and support files alongside videos, step-by-step screenshots of the trickier tutorials, as well as a direct links to official resources like the Blender download site and artist forums.

Finally bridge the gap between software-specific instruction and the world of classical animation with this easy to utilize, one-of-a-kind reference guide. With great relevance for today's digital workflows, Richard Lapidus presents innovative 3ds Max controls to the classical principles of animation like squash and stretch, anticipation, staging and more. Move beyond these fundamental techniques and explore both the emotion and technical sides of animation with character appeal and rigging. Features a robust companion web sites that include demonstrations, project files, links to further resources, available at http://www.focalpress.com/cw/lapidus-9780240817309/.

Revitalize your architectural visualizations by bringing new levels of realism to them with an enhanced command of the mental ray toolset in 3ds Max. Full-color step-by-step tutorials give you a firm understanding of the processes and techniques needed to create impressive interior and exterior visualizations. You'll learn how to prepare materials, light a daytime interior scene, use mr Physical Sky, and how to save time during complex renders. The companion website includes all of the tutorial files and sample files from the book. Plus find more information at http://jamiecardoso-mentalray.blogspot.com/.

Put the power of Expressions to work in your animations with controls and efficiencies impossible to achieve with traditional keyframing techniques. No programming skills are required. Foundation concepts and skills orient the new designer and serve as a handy reference to the experienced one. Basics of creating Expressions, variables, commands, and Expression helpers precede the leap into JavaScript and math essentials for more advanced Expressions that include randomness and physical simulations. Full color illustrations display the scripts and the resulting effects, Pick Whip techniques, and sequential animations. Downloadable companion files include QuickTime movies of the demo animations, AE project files and more at http://www.taylorandfrancis.com/cw/geduld-9780240809366/

Expand your animation toolkit and remain competitive in the industry with this leading resource for 2D and 3D character animation techniques. Apply the industry's best practices to your own workflows and develop 2D, 3D and hybrid characters with ease. With side by side comparisons of 2D and 3D character design, improve your character animation and master traditional principles and processes including weight and balance, timing and walks. Develop characters inspired by humans, birds, fish, snakes and four legged animals. Breathe life into your character and develop a characters personality with chapters on acting, voice-synching and facial expressions. Expertly integrate core animation techniques with your software of choice featuring step-by-step tutorials, highlighting 3ds Max, Maya and Blender workflows. Adapt the tips, tricks and techniques for unique projects like character design for rotoscoping and motion capture. Advance beyond the fundamentals of 2D and 3D character animation with the companion website which includes short demonstration movies, 2D and 3D exercises and fully rigged character models.

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.

Action Analysis is one of the fundamental princples of animation that underpins all types of animation: 2d, 3d, computer animation, stop motion, etc. This is a fundamental skill that all animators need to create polished, believable animation. An example of Action Analysis would be Shrek's swagger in the film, Shrek. The animators clearly understood (through action analysis) the type of walk achieved by a large and heavy individual (the real) and then applied their observations to the animated character of an ogre (the fantastic). It is action analysis that enabled the animation team to visually translate a real life situation into an ogre's walk, achieving such fantastic results.Key animation skills are demonstrated with in-depth illustrations, photographs and live action footage filmed with high speed cameras. Detailed Case Studies and practical assignments ground action analysis methodology with real life examples. Action Analysis for Animators is a essential guide for students, amateurs and professionals.

Create the Gotham for your Batman, the African savannah for your Simba, or the bustling newsroom for your Clark Kent. Background, setting, environment.whatever you call it, it is the silent character in the visual story, and a dynamic and compelling setting can define and hone the action and drama of your story. If you're in the habit of creating disembodied characters or adding backgrounds as an afterthought, Set the Action! will help you understand and utilize the importance of the setting in your narrative. Understand perspective, blocking, and color-and focus your narrative by establishing and designing your setting to interact with characters and story.

Is the art for your video game taking too long to create? Learning to create Pixel Art may be the answer to your development troubles. Uncover the secrets to creating stunning graphics with Pixel Art for Game Developers. The premier how-to book on Pixel Art and Pixel Art software, it focuses on the universal principles of the craft.The book provides an introduction to Pixel Art, its utility, foundational elements, and concepts such as light and shadow. It offers tutorials on creating animations and serves as a functional guide for the most common methodology in 2D game development.Gamers love the retro feel of Pixel Art, and lucky for you it is easy to create. You'll love the tiny file sizes that will reduce compile times and help your game run faster. Providing you with the skills to create the characters and environments needed for 2D games, this book will help you: Create tilesets to build game environments Understand light and shadow Work efficiently with pixels Use atmospheric and linear perspective Create professional-quality Pixel Art This book has chapters dedicated to theory as well as step-by-step tutorials, both of which describe the process explicitly. Whether you are an artist, programmer, indie developer, or certified public accountant, after reading this book, you'll understand the steps necessary to create production-quality Pixel Art graphics.Praise for the Book:Pixel Art and Pixel Art games are very popular and the technique is a great way for independent creators to create very good-looking games with limited resources. It's frankly shocking that there hasn't been a resource like this before ... a very timely book.Chris Totten, George Mason University, Washington, DC, USA

See Why Blender Is Right for Your Studio's Pipeline Blender for Animation and Film-Based Production explores why Blender is ideal for animation films. It demonstrates Blender's capability to do the job in each production department. Whether you are a beginner or more advanced user, you'll see why Blender should be taken into consideration in animation and film production. This Blender reference will help you: Manage your projects from start to finish Understand the different stages in any animation production See how studios work and develop their animation projects Describing the versatility and power of Blender, the book shows you why studios should incorporate Blender in their pipeline. It avoids tedious tutorials and incomprehensible examples. Instead, the book guides you toward finding efficient solutions for issues with your production files or pipeline. It familiarizes you with the animation industry and explores the risks involved in choosing Blender as a primary tool in animation studios.

Apply universally accepted cinematic techniques to your Flash projects to improve the storytelling quotient in your entertainment, advertising (branding), and educational media. A defined focus on the concepts and techniques for production from story reels to the final project delivers valuable insights, time-saving practical tips, and hands-on techniques for great visual stories. Extensive illustration, step-by-step instruction, and practical exercises provide a hands-on perspective.Explore the concepts and principles of visual components used in stories so you are fluent in the use of space, line, color, and movement in communicating emotion and meaning. Apply traditional cinematography techniques into the Flash workspace with virtual camera movements, simulated 3d spaces, lighting techniques, and character animation. Add interactivity using ActionScript to enhance audience participation.

Virtual environments such as games and animated and "real" movies require realistic sound effects that can be integrated by computer synthesis. The book emphasizes physical modeling of sound and focuses on real-world interactive sound effects. It is intended for game developers, graphics programmers, developers of virtual reality systems and training simulators, and others who want to learn about computational sound. It is written at an introductory level with mathematical foundations provided in appendices. Links to code examples and sound files can be found on the Downloads/Updates tab.

Learn how to bridge the gap between the traditional animation principles and digital software. Tradigital Flash: 12 Principles of Animation in Adobe Flash brings the essentials of traditional animation and Adobe Flash together. The early masters of animation created a list of 12 principles which are important for anyone who wants to create interesting and believable animation. Digital animation continues to make incredible technological advancements that give animators the capability to produce visually stunning work. New technology, however, also has a tendency to create an environment where animators are so focused on adapting to the new workflow that they tend to dismiss these fundamental animation principles- which often leads to poor and lifeless character animation. Tradigital Flash helps you focus on these principles while using the program's wide array of features to create believable animation, consistently. Tradigital Flash joins three other Tradigital books covering Maya, Blender, and 3ds Max. This new volume in the series approaches the topic in a different way, giving readers both a practical look at the software, and providing a theoretical understanding of the genre. Learn a new principle in each chapter, the Flash tools most related to it and how to put it all together. A plethora of examples demonstrate the good methods which animators should use in Flash, how to avoid the bad ones and ways to create a workflow that works for you. An easy-to-follow approach with examples throughout the book that build on each other, showing how the principles act together. A companion website www.rubberonion.com/tradigital-animate features more examples, downloadable FLA resource files, video tutorials.

Master the art of linear perspective. If you re an animator, illustrator, comic book artist, game artist or anything in between, you need to be able to create images that accurately and realistically show space, dimension and form. Simplifying Perspective is the one and only guide that thoughtfully and clearly breaks down the principles of perspective into something that s easy to understand and use. With approachable lessons and clear visual step-by-step instruction, Robert Pastrana provides you with powerful techniques that help you turn a troubled drawing into a living, breathing, dimensional scene. With Simplifying Perspective, you ll never have to wade through dense, complex technical manuals again this comprehensive guide to perspective is tailored specifically for artists who need to learn the ins and outs of one, two, and three-point perspective, measuring, shadows, reflections, and more. Simplifying Perspective presents complex drawing concepts in an easy-to-follow, approachable manner so you can finally learn the essentials of perspective without the anticipated frustration. Provides clarity, depth, and a wealth of examples this is your must-have guide to understanding and using linear perspective Detailed visual instruction includes hundreds of color coded, step-by-step diagrams that allow you to easily follow the technical process of each construction Comprehensive companion website includes additional resources on perspective with a range of work to help further your skills

Going beyond where introductory books leave off and written for experienced editors, especially those new to Final Cut Pro X, this new and revised edition of Final Cut Pro X Beyond the Basics is brimming with cutting-edge methods to bring your editing skills to the next level. Explained in jargon-free language by a seasoned teacher and digital editor, Tom Wolsky's text has been fully updated to address the new Final Cut Pro X 10.3 interface and changes to the software. This full-color workshop features tutorials that provide firsthand experience on the art and technique of editing at an advanced level with Final Cut Pro X, as well as in-depth information and time-saving tips that will allow you to master the application's interface elements, tools, and nuances. Wolsky covers all the bases, including: Library workflows and collaboration; Media organization and metadata customization for different genres; Editing techniques for projects of various lengths and types; Using markers and the timeline index; Audio tools; Multicam editing; Audio and video effects; Color correction, including secondary corrections and isolated color adjustments; Compositing and complex animation. An accompanying eResource features downloadable Final Cut Pro X project libraries for the tutorials discussed in the book, offering readers hands-on examples of the techniques and practices covered.

Electron Microscopy and Analysis deals with several sophisticated techniques for magnifying images of very small objects by large amounts - especially in a physical science context. It has been ten years since the last edition of Electron Microscopy and Analysis was published and there have been rapid changes in this field since then. The authors have vastly updated their very successful second edition, which is already established as an essential laboratory manual worldwide, and they have incorporated questions and answers in each chapter for ease of learning. Equally as relevant for material scientists and bioscientists, this third edition is an essential textbook.

The Key to Fully Understanding the Basics of a 3D World Prominently used in games, movies, and on television, 3D graphics are tools of creation used to enhance how material and light come together to manipulate objects in 3D space. A game-changer written for the non-technical mind, Essential Skills for 3D Modeling, Rendering, and Animation examines the complexities of 3D computer-generated art, and outlines the basics of how things work and are used in 3D. This text describes the three cornerstones of 3D modeling, rendering, and animation; focuses on common elements; and provides a full understanding of the foundational concepts involved. Detailing the skills and knowledge needed to become an accomplished 3D artist, it includes step-by-step instruction with ample examples, and allows absolute beginners to move at their own pace. Master Anything You Are Tasked to Model The author incorporates historical information presenting a contextual understanding of the various techniques and methodologies in their historical place. Each chapter builds on the fundamentals of 3D computer graphics and augments skills based on the concepts, enabling the student to learn both theory and application simultaneously. The book highlights two basic geometry types, polygons and NURBS surfaces, showing the student basic modeling techniques with both. While more techniques are available, an artist can cover any model by grasping these basic techniques. Supplies examples that are specifically taken from Autodesk Maya Contains exercises that are meant to be used in conjunction with the training videos on the website Includes a documented history of computer graphics Essential Skills for 3D Modeling, Rendering, and Animation offers a fundamental understanding of the mechanics of 3D graphics to modelers, anima

Understand Video Games as Works of Science Fiction and Interactive Stories Science Fiction Video Games focuses on games that are part of the science fiction genre, rather than set in magical milieux or exaggerated versions of our own world. Unlike many existing books and websites that cover some of the same material, this book emphasizes critical analysis, especially the analysis of narrative. The author analyzes narrative via an original categorization of story forms in games. He also discusses video games as works of science fiction, including their characteristic themes and the links between them and other forms of science fiction. Delve into a Collection of Science Fiction GamesThe beginning chapters explore game design and the history of science-fictional video games. The majority of the text deals with individual science-fictional games and the histories and natures of their various forms, such as the puzzle-based adventure and the more exploratory and immediate computer role-playing game (RPG).

While the earliest character representations in video games were rudimentary in terms of their presentation and performance, the virtual characters that appear in games today can be extremely complex and lifelike. These are characters that have the potential to make a powerful and emotional connection with gamers. As virtual characters become more intricate and varied, there is a growing need to examine the theory and practice of virtual character design. This book seeks to develop a series of critical frameworks to support the analysis and design of virtual characters. Virtual Character Design for Games and Interactive Media covers a breadth of topics to establish a relationship between pertinent artistic and scientific theories and good character design practice. Targeted at students, researchers, and professionals, the book aims to show how both character presentation and character performance can be enhanced through careful consideration of underlying theory. The book begins with a focus on virtual character presentation, underpinned by a discussion of biological, artistic, and sociological principles. Next it looks at the performance of virtual characters, encompassing the psychology of emotion and personality, narrative and game design theories, animation, and acting. The book concludes with a series of applied virtual character design examples. These examples examine the aesthetics of player characters, the design and performance of the wider cast of game characters, and the performance of characters within complex, hyperreal worlds.

Despite the proliferation of video games in the twenty-first century, the theory of game design is largely underdeveloped, leaving designers on their own to understand what games really are. Helping you produce better games, Game Design Theory: A New Philosophy for Understanding Games presents a bold new path for analyzing and designing games. The author offers a radical yet reasoned way of thinking about games and provides a holistic solution to understanding the difference between games and other types of interactive systems. He clearly details the definitions, concepts, and methods that form the fundamentals of this philosophy. He also uses the philosophy to analyze the history of games and modern trends as well as to design games. Providing a robust, useful philosophy for game design, this book gives you real answers about what games are and how they work. Through this paradigm, you will be better equipped to create fun games.

Unity brings you ever closer to the "author once, deploy anywhere" dream. With its multiplatform capabilities, you can target desktop, web, mobile devices, and consoles using a single development engine. Little wonder that Unity has quickly become the #1 game engine out there. Mastering Unity is absolutely essential in an increasingly competitive games market where agility is expected, yet until now practical tutorials were nearly impossible to find. Creating Games with Unity and Maya gives you with an end-to-end solution for Unity game development with Maya. Written by a twelve-year veteran of the 3D animation and games industry and professor of 3D animation, this book takes you step-by-step through the process of developing an entire game from scratch-including coding, art, production, and deployment. This accessible guide provides a "non-programmer" entry point to the world of game creation. Aspiring developers with little or no coding experience will learn character development in Maya, scripts, GUI interface, and first- and third-person interactions.