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| DIGITAL CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT
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Theory and Practice
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By
Rob O'Neill, Rob O'Neill is an artist, programmer and researcher working at the intersection of art and science. Rob holds an MFA from Parsons School
of Design in Design and Technology with a focus on visualization. Rob is currently a Research Associate in the Digital Arts Research
Lab and faculty in the Department of Digital Arts at Pratt Institute, New York, NY, USA.
Description
Digital character development consumes a large percentage of the development time of every animated film or video, and is widely viewed
as the next major area of advance in computer games. This field now spans the areas of cognition, anatomy, animation, computer graphics,
theater, and psychology. While advanced techniques are reported in scholarly journals and academic dissertations, only those that find
an implementation in off-the-shelf software (such as Maya) are covered in books. Digital Character Development: Theory and Practice
covers the foundational algorithms and research that go into the development of virtual characters. The author, a faculty member of the
Pratt Institute and Parsons School of Design, as well as studio technical director of Eyebeam Art and Technology Center in New York,
was technical director at PDI/Dreamworks on Shrek 2 and Madagascar and is an independent filmmaker and artist. His
new textbook guides both students and professionals who need a thorough understanding of character development in order to make decisions
about the creation of their own characters. This text bridges the gap between algorithm and software-agnostic applications. The book
will include exercises. The manuscript will be class tested at Pratt Institute, Parsons School of Design, and others.
Audience
Advanced undergraduate or graduate students in film and video game development programs, professionals working in computer graphics, film, games, digital media, and interactive design.
Contents
Part I: Introduction
; 1. Overview; What defines a digital character; The "Uncanny Valley"; How does style dictate setup?;
2. History; Overview of digital characters in film; Video games; Multimedia; 3. Introduction; Nomenclature; Joint rotations; Geometry
mesh surface types; 4. Motion Systems; Anatomy; Joint mechanics; Joint placement; Joint hierarchies; Constraints and high level control;
User interface; 5. Deformation Systems; Deformation order; Basic deformations: skinning; Shape interpolation; Layering deformation methods;
Joint-free deformations; 6. Face Setup; Anatomy; Frameworks for effective face rigging; Mixing deformation methods; Secondary motion
for realism; Psychology behind facial expressions;
Part III: Animation Technology
; 7. "Traditional" Techniques; Forward
kinematics; Inverse kinematics; 8. Motion Capture; Marker-based motion capture; Marker-less motion capture; 9. Procedural Animation;
Artificial intelligence; 10. Multi-Character Systems; Crowds; Behavioral animation; Path-finding and decision making;
Part IV:
Conclusions
; 11. The Future of Digital Characters; 12. Character Interactivity
| Bibliographic details |
Hardbound, 352 pages, publication date: OCT-2008
ISBN-13: 978-0-12-372561-5
ISBN-10: 0-12-372561-5
Imprint: MORGAN KAUFMANN
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| Price and Ordering |
Price:
USD 69.95
GBP 39.99
EUR 46.95
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Last update: 21 Jan 2010
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