Digital Effects Animation Using Maya (Graphic Series) |
|
 |
|
 |
Digital Effects Animation Using Maya takes an interesting approach to animation effects by categorizing them in terms of elements in nature: fire, water, air, and earth. It also employs a fifth element, dynamics, which governs the movement of the first four. Using these elements as a paradigm, the book offers eight tutorials that demonstrate ways of building scenes with fire, explosions, flowing water, splashing water, terrain, and grass.
Author: Kian Bee Ng, Bee Ng Kian ISBN: 1886801371 Go to Amazon |
Digital Lighting & Rendering |
|
|
|
 |
New Riders' [digital] series is performing a tremendous service to the computer animation and graphics community. The newest addition to this family is [digital] Lighting & Rendering. Author Jeremy Birn has long been regarded as a talented computer graphics artist and generous writer, and he's been sharing his techniques and discoveries for years.
Using computer graphic and 3-D tools to create accurate images is easy; using them to produce beautiful, inviting, memorable images requires more than technical skill. [digital] Lighting & Rendering introduces reasons and techniques for using light, shadow, texture, and composition. The book is not software-specific, but demonstrates techniques that are applicable to almost any 3-D graphics application. It is assumed, however, that your 3-D software of choice supports such basic rendering features as soft shadows, light maps, colored gels, depth-of-field blur, motion blur, and so on.
Author: Jeremy Birn, George Maestri (Editor) ISBN: 1562059548 Go to Amazon |
The Art and Science of Digital Compositing |
|
|
|
 |
Digital compositing, defined here as "the digitally manipulated combination of at least two source images to produce an integrated result," is a huge field incorporating 2-D and 3-D still and animated artwork. The Art and Science of Digital Compositing homes in on a specific area--visual effects in film, multimedia, and commercials--and expands on it in a highly precise and technical fashion. The author, Ron Brinkmann, has applied his expertise to many projects, including such feature films as James and the Giant Peach and Die Hard.
Author: Ron Brinkmann ISBN: 0121339602 Go to Amazon |
Special Effects: The History and Technique |
|
|
|
 |
Rickett tells the story of that perennial box-office draw, special effects, from "trick photography" through today's astonishing, computer-assisted cinematic legerdemain. Individual chapters examine components of the special effects artist's toolkit. Optical illusions, models, and animation are each dissected and appreciated, and ditto makeup and sound effects. The chapter headed "Physical Effects" gives simple instructions for creating the illusion of a snowstorm; "fake snow is infinitely preferable to the real thing," Rickett says. Okay, so most of the tricks described aren't fit for home application, but then why should they be? This is a measured account of an integral part of what makes today's movies, as always, bigger than big and huger than huge. Fascinating stuff for gadget freaks, sf geeks, plain old film fans, and picture-book peepers.
Author: Richard Rickitt ISBN: 0823077330 Go to Amazon |
