Product Description: Whether you're a professional Character TD or just like to create 3D characters, this detailed guide reveals the techniques you need to create sophisticated 3D character rigs that range from basic to breathtaking. Packed with step-by-step instructions and full-color illustrations, Body Language walks you through rigging techniques for all the body parts to help you create realistic and believable movements in every character you design. You'll learn advanced rigging concepts that involve MEL scripting and advanced deformation techniques and even how to set up a character pipeline.
Great for Interdiciplinary training for VFX artists This book is a wonderful volume for any artist's library. It would serve exceptionally well in the classroom, but it is a worthy purchase for advanced artists in all disciplines of visual effects and animation who want to expand their knowledge and skill sets in rigging. Where far too many books are trite superficial tutorials, Eric and company have written a book as steeped in technique as it is in concept and principle. Wonderful purchase.
Excellent If you want to become a pro in character rigging, this is the book, very simple, but complete.
Mostly Good! This book has many great points! i think mainly i like it because instead of a linear step-by-step abc approach, each chapter explains approaches for a specific bodypart for your standard biped rig. that is a big plus.
on the other hand the directions are unnecessarily verbose, skimming over important considerations and possibly over-stressing minor considerations. that said i would not set down this book for another.
This book along with 'Art of Rigging Vol 1' by CGToolKit are staple books for your rigging library if you are shopping for more than just long discriptive directions for applying IK solvers and naming bones.
Comprehensive and Easy to follow- a must-have! This is a great book for the beginning rigger as well as for more advanced artists and technical artists. It's a comprehensive overview of planning, techniques, terminology, and concepts involved in rigging all different types and styles of digital characters. Examples provided are clear and informative; advanced concepts are explained and demonstrated in a way that's intuitive and informative. The authors have years of experience and learned many of these principles the hard way, so you don't have to. You'll be benefitting from a wealth of experience and especially knowing what things do and don't work well- you'll save lots of time by reading and paying attention if you're just starting out!
This is a great book to have in your library as a learning tool and as a reference- I will be keeping it on a nearby shelf for quick access!
Excellent resource The book is an excellent resource. I've done my fair share of rigging, and Allen and Murdock have put together a body of information that not only teaches me new tricks, but polishes and streamlines what I already do. Body Language will be the first place I look when I need to dig around for rigging assistance.
Body Language has me excited to rig again, which is perhaps the greatest aspect of the book. There are a lot of little "aha" moments here, and I'm itching to put them to use. It's an essential component of my reference library.
I have only one complaint with this book: It doesn't cover 3DS Max. It's understandable, what with Maya being dominant in the high end of the field, but some of the principles and techniques here are so good, it just seems a shame to not have Max involved. Ironically, then, it's the excellence of the Maya coverage that leaves me wanting the same for Max. Perhaps there's a sequel in the works.
That minor quibble aside, I still rate this at the full five stars. The book stands on its own merits, and that I wish for more merely testifies to the value of the data.
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