George Maestri Book order (chronological)

Provides information on lighting and rendering techniques to create realistic illumination, shadows, and textures.

As soon as George Maestri's classic (digital) Character Animation was released, people began asking when he was going to do on edition for trully high-end users with the most advanced skill sets. Here it is; George writes directly to CG professionals, with more non-software-specific approaches to character animation.

Grounded in the basics of traditional cell animation, Digital Character Animation 2, Volume I: Essential Techniques provides the necessary information to create convincing computer-generated characters in 3D. This step-by-step, full color guide applies conventional character animation techniques such as walk cycles and lip sync to computer animation, along with tips for giving your characters the illusion of life. Volume I is the first of two volumes and is geared to more entry level animators, teaching the basics. Volume II, soon to be announced, will build on Volume I, covering more advanced concepts and techniques. The cross-platform CD-ROM includes: multiple walk cycles on various 3D programs; lip sync examples; texture maps; and 3D models from REM Infografica.