Book Review: The Art of 3D Computer Animation and Effects

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 Context
2. Creative Development and the Digital Process
3. Modeling Concepts
4. Modeling Techniques
5. Advanced Modeling and Rigging Techniques
6. Rendering Concepts
7. The Camera
8. Lighting
9. Shading and Surface Characteristics
10. Principles of Animation
11. Computer Animation Techniques
12. Advanced Computer Animation Techniques
13. Visual Effects Techniques
14. Retouching, Compositing and Color Grading
15. Image Resolution and Output

About the author:

Isaac Kerlow is a director and animation expert with over ten years of production and executive experience at The Walt Disney Company in Los Angeles, California. He is the Founding Dean of the first professional film and animation school in Singapore at the Nanyang Technological University, and a longtime active member of SIGGRAPH and the Visual Effects Society.

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