Character Animation with LightWave [6]: Challenge Your Creativity with the Artist's Choice for Character Animation

Book Description

Presents the latest upgrades, tips, tricks, and techniques in a step-by-step, practical approach that results in professional, high-quality projects, such as facial animation and walking. Steps you through how to create your own character animation demo reel. Discusses how to break into the character animation field, including how to get an interview with one of many animation studios.

Amazon.com

NewTek's sixth version of LightWave provides some powerful tools for the animator who needs to create objects that walk and talk and sing and dance--objects with character. Character Animation with LightWave 6 showcases these new features, plus, for the new user, the basics of character animation.

There are six major sections, broken down into 21 chapters, covering everything from modeling, texturing, and setup to animating and post-production compositing. There is a lot of information here, over 700 pages of it, which is good. But the book would be better if it contained more screen shots.

While the concept and execution of creating character animation in LightWave 6 is expertly explained, Character Animation with LightWave 6 rises above the crowd by including chapters about LightWave, storytelling through animation, and methods of production. In fact, the first part of the book (about 50 pages) is all about preproduction: story concept, script, storyboarding, and sound and timing issues.

Creating computer animation is easy. Creating computer animation that looks good is not, and the demands of computer character animation are enough to make any artist dizzy. Tools like LightWave, while equipped to meet the challenge, are often difficult to master without some experienced guidance. By investing the time to thoroughly read Character Animation with LightWave 6, you can climb the learning curve without succumbing to vertigo.

It's important to note that this book is an update to the previous edition. There is some new material to reflect the latest features of LightWave 6.5, but there may not be enough new material to merit buying this edition if you already own the previous one. --Mike Caputo

Customer Reviews:

Don't buy this! It's NOT about Character Animation!.......2002-05-19

I have many LW books, and too was excited to see this one available (I actually bought it a yr ago and wanted to write a review as I was here). However this book does absolutely *nothing* in terms of teaching the necessities of Character Animation. NOTHING essential - No Character Rigging or techniques on Modelling for rigging, No Layout Setups of Rigs - NOTHING! Just a self indulgent chapter or two on how cool the author is for getting his own head scanned. And I can't believe the completely LAME and stupid waste of pages this guys goes to when he shows how to make a "Monster Eye" color map by stitching together 10 digital photos of closeups of his eye looking different directions in Photoshop. With the 2 CDs that come with this book you'd think he'd get something right. This Author has too much time on his hands and not enough LW chops - either that or he just has No idea as to what's important for Char Anim...- only LW 5 techniques. Skip this book!!!

Screenshots are LW[6] but techniques are LW5.......2001-10-06

When I upgraded from Lightwave 5.6 to Lightwave 6.x, I did so fully understanding that there would be a learning curve. Consequently, I did so armed to the teeth with all the publications I could get ahold of. I had read Doug Kelly's earlier Lightwave 5 book and found it helpful, so I purchased it along with Dan Ablan's "Inside LW[6]" and "Lightwave 6.5 Magic".
Fortunately, I read Newtek's manual thoroughly and worked through Ablan's book before I even opened "Character Animation w/LightWave[6]" I find it difficult to believe that Mr. Kelly even upgraded to Lightwave[6] before writing the book. Most of the tutorials are a throwback to Version 5, in fact I'll wager that most of the CD-ROM material was generated on pre LW[6] software. Features like Skelegons, infinite Modeler layers, Surface and Graph Editors are hardly mentioned, if at all. New tools like point extenders, interactive smooth shifting and the band saw are ignored. These features alone represent a fundamental shift in the way animators think. Anyone interested in expanding their Lightwave skillset would find this book and its tutorials a pointless exercise.

Screenshots are LW[6] but techniques are LW5.......2001-10-06

Not very helpful.......2001-06-06

I was excited when I saw this book, being fairly new to LW6 (although experience in other apps). I saw it as a chance to get good with the character animation toolset. However, the book is mostly general character animation theory, and has little to with Lightwave at all. Sure, it has valid info on designing and storyboarding characters in 3D, but I already know that -- I wanted detailed information on how to apply what I know to Lightwave 6. I'd advise on skipping this one. There's better info out on the web, for free.

Badly Named.......2001-06-05

The first 5 chapters of this book cover story writing and storyboarding. The premise behind this is that you can't design a character without having a story. The next few chapters dealt primarily with how you would use very expensive digitizing equipment (think laser telemetry), and how to touch up data artifacts. The last few chapters deal with outputting your project. I saw nothing on modeling and animation using Lightwave as the primary tool. I'll give away the big secret of the book right here: Build a clay model and photograph it.

LightWave 3D 7.0 Character Animation (With CD-ROM)

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Must have!
Cool!
Not for Newbies!
One reviewer missed the boat!
Takes the mystery out of bones

LightWave 3D 7.0 Character Animation (With CD-ROM)
Timothy Albee
Manufacturer: Wordware Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Inside LightWave 7 (With CD-ROM)

ASIN: 1556229011

Book Description

LightWave 3D is one of the most popular 3D tools on the market today, offering the most complete set of tools, the best-looking and fastest out-of-the-box renderer, and one of the most powerful IK engines available. Professional director/animator Timothy Albee discusses how to use LightWave to build strong, dependable character setups, and provides proven, hands-on tools for mastering the complex mechanics of animation. Additionally, he covers the importance of storytelling and acting through animation—the subtle mastery that brings characters to life.

This book:

* Shows the complete crafting of powerful and reliable character setups.

* Explains Inverse Kinematics as it pertains to character animation.

* Uses LightWave's tools to create character rigs that allow you to migrate animation from one character to another.

* Describes how to apply point weighting to create believable character skinning.

* Illuminates basic and advanced animation techniques that are the cornerstones for skilled animation such as anticipation, overlapping action, gesture, and silhouette.

* Outlines key steps for taking a scene from start to finish.

* Teaches time-honored acting techniques for helping you "become" your character.

Customer Reviews:

Must have!.......2003-11-18

"Lightwave3D 7.0 Character Animation" is a must-have for anyone trying to learn how to rig and animate in Lightwave3D. Timothy Albee takes all the mystery out of how to properly set up a character, including tips on modeling for rigging, weight maps, skelegons, bones and IK. It also shows you methods to circumvent Lightwave's quirky process of rigging to ensure the most stable rigs possible: the kind that animators like to use. On top of that, a good portion of the book is dedicated to animation techniques, including some great chapters on posing and conveying weight through your animations. And, the CD has a lot of useful content, including all the necessary supporting files to get you rigging or animating right away.

One thing that could make this book even better is a complete demonstration of weight maps on a character. However, that could take an entire book on its own, and there is sufficient information to teach you the method. In any case, the info in this book saved me hours of guesswork...I highly recommend it.

Cool!.......2003-03-02

This book is great. Lots of good information, and a cool character to boot.

My only complaint is that I wish there was a little more step by step to actually posing and animating the character between setups.

Other than that - add it to my library! This, along with Dan Ablan's titles round out my LightWave learning.

Not for Newbies!.......2003-02-14

When you read the first chapter you'll be lead into a false sense of comfort that newbies will be animating by the end of this book. Not true. You may successfully make it through the exercise in chapter 2 (though it didn't work for me) and even be impressed of the level of detail they show you in how to navigate the menus. But by chapter 3, you'll be lost. I got as far as opening the model included in the CD-ROM. The next section (p. 28) says "1. Pre-bend your model's arms..." and that's the end of my learning. All of the sudden you've got select portions of the model that you are working with, but the book never explains or shows how to get there (this part is pre-bending the shirt, and only is working with the shirt as if the rest of the chacter doesn't exist). If I could just figure out how to get that select part of the model on screen, I would be happy. Of course the book doesn't say HOW to pre-bend the arms of the character either, just to do so to make it look like the figure... This book is a waste unless you've got some modeling or animation experience.

One reviewer missed the boat!.......2003-02-09

In response to the anonymous reviewer with the title "Not For Animators" dated Sept 13 2002 - It's painfully obvious that this reviewer did not read the book thoroughly. He asked if he was "missing something" well he/she missed the entire boat.

Chapter 3 does start of with "You've got your character all ready to go ..." But the reviewer unjustly took this sentence out of context. The paragraph finishes with " ...Before you can animate him, you've got to set him up. And before you can set him up, you've got to prep him for the setup, and that means planning." Ch. 3 is about pre-bending the limbs of the character to help the IK. It is not about suddenly jumping into animating your completed character that the non-reviewer would lead you to believe.

Chapters 3 through 9 go into extensive details about the mechanics of setting up characters in Lightwave 7.x. The first 9 chapters are:

Ch. 1 About this Book

Ch. 2 Inverse Kinematics: It's Strengths and Weaknesses

2.1 IK
2.2 IK's Strengths
2.3 IK's Weaknesses Lightwave-Specific
2.4 IK Setup Basics
2.5 IK Rules

Ch. 3 Prepping Your Character for Setup

3.1 Where is He Going to Bend?
3.2 Pre-bending to Help IK

Ch. 4 Boning Your Character

4.1 Adding Bones to Your Character
4.2 Spinal Controls
4.3 Hand Controls
4.4 Foot Controls
4.5 Fingers
4.6 IK System Skelegons

Ch. 5 Converting, Organizing, and Aligning (Bones)

5.1 Converting Skelegons to Bones
5.2 Organizing the Schematic into Something Helpful
5.3 Aligning the Spine, Pelvis, and Feet
5.4 Bone Hierarchy
5.5 Recording Pivot Rotations
5.6 Recording Bone Rest Information

Ch. 6 Putting IK to Work

6.1 Terminating IK Chains
6.2 Creating Goal Objects
6.3 Activating IK
6.4 Activating Individual Controllers
6.5 Deactivating Individual Manual Controls

Ch. 7 Point Weighting

7.1 Point Weighting Basics
7.2 Beginning the Point Weighting Process
7.3 Swapping Models and Testing Weight Mappings
7.4 The Use Weight Map Only Option
7.5 Finding Stray Points
7.6 Straightening the Feet for Animation
7.7 Putting Him Through the Motions
7.8 Tidying Up

Ch. 8 Using the Controls

8.1 The Model Itself
8.2 Root
8.3 Pelvis
8.4 Spinal Bones
8.5 Head
8.6 Hand Translation Controls
8.7 Hand Rotation Controls
8.8 Shoulder Controls
8.9 Elbow Controls
8.10 Foot Controls
8.11 Toe Controls
8.12 Knee Controls
8.13 The Fingers and Thumb
8.14 Notes on Modifying the Setup

The remaining 10 chapters, except ch. 15, deal with the generic techniques and theory of animation that can be obtained in any non-3d animation book. Ch. 15 briefly goes over the mechanics of digitigrade (quadrupeds,etc...) characters.

As a solo free-lance medical illustrator/animator of 10 years, it's very difficult to come across such useful information without taking classes or working in a large studio with other creative types. I have every imaginable training video/dvd/CD, and book written about Lightwave (by Dan Ablan, Dave Jerrard, Doug Kelly, Patrik Beck, Ken Brilliant, Bill Fleming, Desktop Images, Class on Demand, etc...)

So far, I have not found any other source that comes close to what Timothy Albee has written for the Lighwave community. Kudos!

Takes the mystery out of bones.......2003-01-08

I had Lightwave for about two years, and found if you put the time into it, you get the rewards. However, no matter how much I tried, I couldn't get skelagons/bones to work properly. Luckily I found this book. It took me thru the whole boning process from modler to layout to bone conversion to proper rotation and more. Amazing enough, the book knows were I had problems in the past and tells you how to correct it! In the past, other books went straight to the next step.
In short, I suppose if you're already an animator, this book may not be telling you nothing new. But if you know your way around Lightwave but never got into bones/charater animation, I highly recomend this book. It's well worth it!

Book Description

Recorded history is a finely-woven magic fabric of intricate lies about events predating the sixteenth century. There is not a single piece of evidence that can be reliably and independently traced back earlier than the eleventh century. This book details events that are substantiated by hard facts and logic, and validated by new astronomical research and statistical analysis of ancient sources.

Customer Reviews:

Calculations are only as good as your numbers.......2007-08-03

Yes, we can all agree that mainstream history is nearly 100% BS due to politics, economics, ego, problems with dating techniques, and various conspiracies. Agreed. But, I've been researching the distinct possibility that human history (in terms of civilizations) are much more ancient than we've been told, so coming across this book was very interesting to me. I wondered how Fomenko could be wrong (if at all) because he is very persuasive in his presentations. Then it dawned on me. If at previous times in prehistory, due to the various catastrophies that are well documented (comets, asteroids, planetary disruptions, plasma discharge, pole reversals, etc) the Earth was in a different position in relation to the sun, different tilt on its axis, different orbit, different rotation (in terms of velocity and DIRECTION), and the continents were in different positions, then would this not cause the ancients to see the sky (constellations) differently? In other words, is Fomenko making erronious assumptions about the physics of the Earth in pre-history, which then corrupt his data with regards to dating the relevant astrology? The last event to seriously disrupt our planet occured roughly 3500 years ago, according to other good researchers, so is it possible Fomenko has been confused by this? The vastly different physics of our planet in the not so distant past may explain this confusion, which is not to say the "mainstream" version of history is correct; on the contrary. I am not an expert in these fields, but wanted to see if this idea could spark discussion.

Pants on fire?.......2007-07-19

Will people ever read before spamming? Yes, Jesuits could not rewrite world history alone, they had help. Anyway, Dr Prof Acad A.Fomenko does not point to jesuits as the driving force of world wide history manipulation in published volumes 1,2,3;, actually he barely mentions the poor devils. Check it with 'Search inside' feature, please. China is rarely mentioned either, in fact, Dr Fomenko is completely eurocentric. Right, his theory contradicts all mainstream schools of history, because in their actual state they are all built on blatantly erroneus chronology. You don't need a mysterious cabal (conspiracy) to falsify history, the falsification is its modus operandi. It is inherent to history(ians) to falsify (distort) events, as it is inherent to humans to boast as it is inherent to power (authority) to legimize itself by referrring to glorious past made to its own order. Dr Prof Fomenko and team have identified scores of instances of such manipulation in Russian, European, etc.. history, and delivered valid statistical proof thereof. His own 'reconstruction' is completely another story. Forget c14 as a valid method of dating. W.Libby has initially discovered a brilliant method of INDEPENDENT dating. Too bad, c14 method has become a joke after a forced marrige with dendrochronology with consensual chronological scale inbuilt. Radiocarbon method can't stand blind tests, but is so very productive as a rubberstamp.

Accepted History & Chronology Must Be Changed. .......2007-04-09

There is no doubt that history as most know it is a sham, & institution's version of History both University & Church is fradulent & inaccurate. Everything was established with an agenda, The real "Dark Ages" are now when we have access to incredible amounts of information past authorities & more important 'common folk' didn't have but our institutions & educators are slow to evolve because of what has ignorantly & arrogantly been taught for too long. This is on many subjects not just Chronology.

For anyone to question "Why would a Mathematician have anything credible to say of History?" The answer is from Dr. Fomenko's preface in the book: "It would be worthwhile to remind the reader that in the XVI-XVII century Chronology was considered to be a subdivision of Mathematics." These volumes could possibly be some of the most important works to date & should be read by everyone with an interest in History, especially professors & educators who have a duty to the public. I have read both books & must say that 'Chronology 1' has some very eye opening & revolutionary information. Even if these volumes are part true the implications are profound & opens the doors to further investigations & questions which must be done. I speak several different lanquages & must say the logic Dr. Fomenko uses with "inflection" of words & words being read from left to right in one region & right to left in another then written backwards, the removal of vowels & get down to basics of words, or different cities & locations having the same name etc. is correct. Vowel usage has always been optional & varied, actually complicating linquistics & study. The first thing one has to understand is that words never had a fixed spelling in history like we do now, the spelling of words was mutable & regional, as well as names & titles of people were vast, varied & changed, NOTHING WAS FIXED or understood linear. Matters of Life & Death as well as financial profiteering yesterday & today were & are made with ignorant, illogical & conspiratorial views of history & reality, it's time people get closer to the Truth & society collectively grow up.

Very Interesting.......2007-03-07

It is a good proposal and I believe it will mature into something even better in the future. I think it deserves to be read.

History as Science Fiction.......2007-01-10

Anatoly Fomenko has written a very intriguing book, full of pictures, charts, and computer 'proof' of his thesis: backwards of AD900 we don't really know what happened or when. Between AD900 and AD1600 there is more certainty, but there is still a lot of fuzzy ground, and things don't get reliable until we get past the 1600's where the printing press made it very difficult for the perpetrators of this timeline manipulation to change anything that had been committed to print. The Dark Ages did not happen. Books were burned for a reason. One organization has doubled the actual length of its existence by expanding the real chronology. Read why.

I had always wondered why Christ died about AD33 and yet men waited until the 11th century to form the Knights Templar, the Cathars, etc and go after the Holy Land by force. Why the 1000 year gap? Turns out there wasn't more than a 10-12 year gap and he proves it using astronomy. This also implies that the planet is not as old as we have been told, and current Christian and other creationist scientists are already championing that idea without being aware of Fomenko's book. The two groups, creationist scientists and the Russian mathematical analysts corroborate each other. Fascinating.

Of course, all this flies in the face of what we have been told traditionally is the 'proper' chronology of western civilization, and most readers will experience 'cognitive dissonance' in reading this book. It means that our history going backwards from AD1600 becomes progressively more incorrect and unreliable until it cannot be trusted at all... in the space of 700-800 years.

Naturally, the curious, open-minded reader will want to know WHO did this, WHY, and did any of the events we think of as really ancient ever happen?
Dr. Fomenko is a respected scientist/mathematician at Moscow State University who has already answered these questions to the satisfaction of his initially skeptical colleagues. Most of them are now believers, a few still refuse to believe (the usual diehards), and of course the western press has ignored Fomenko's work -- for obvious reasons when you read the book. The ones who perpetrated this chronology ruse have a lot to answer for. They are still with us. That's why this book is a well-kept secret.

I gave the book a 4-star rating because I was unable to check out some of his claims; those I checked were as he said. But if even 1/3 of his claims are true, this punches a big hole in what we think is our history, the meaning of western civilization, our educational process (for repeating the ruse as gospel), and the trustworthiness of the organization that perpetrated this ruse, well-intentioned or not.

This book relates to current research into a Young Earth paradigm, to John Keel's discoveries about our planet, and Fr Malachi Martin's insights (in his now out-of-print books). We are indeed sheep who are manipulated and kept ignorant -- for a reason. While knowing what these men have to say may be the "booby prize" (as in: 'what can you do with this knowledge?'), it will provide interesting reading. Didn't someone say: "...and the Truth will set you free."?? For you to judge if this book contains the truth.

The Lyons Contrapunctus (1528) Part I and Part Ii (Recent Researches in the Music of the Renaissance, XXI and XXII)

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The Lyons Contrapunctus (1528) Part I and Part Ii (Recent Researches in the Music of the Renaissance, XXI and XXII)

Manufacturer: A-R Editions
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000V5X3SA

Product Description

sheet music

Music in Renaissance Lyons (Oxford Monographs on Music)

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Music in Renaissance Lyons (Oxford Monographs on Music)
Frank Dobbins
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Music | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

Book Description

The first comprehensive study of musical life in Lyons at a time when the city was a leading European commercial and cultural center, this book surveys the vast repertoire of music copied and published, relating it to social, political, economic, intellectual, and religious life. The great
wealth of the city's literature is scrutinized for references which provide testimony to the musical attitudes and activities of resident or visiting patrons and amateurs. Information on the composers who lived or worked in Lyons is gleaned from contemporary records, dedications, and correspondence
as well as from their musical output. The masses, motets, chansons, madrigals, psalms, and instrumental music for church, state, and citizen are reviewed, reflecting changes in form and style that occur in response to the requirements of visiting courts of an increasingly demanding bourgeoisie, led
by affluent Italian patricians and eventually a more intrusive Protestant community.

Music in Renaissance Lyons.: An article from: Renaissance Quarterly

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Music in Renaissance Lyons.: An article from: Renaissance Quarterly
Vincent Pollina
Manufacturer: Renaissance Society of America
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Renaissance Quarterly, published by Renaissance Society of America on December 22, 1996. The length of the article is 728 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Music in Renaissance Lyons.
Author: Vincent Pollina
Publication: Renaissance Quarterly (Refereed)
Date: December 22, 1996
Publisher: Renaissance Society of America
Volume: v49 Issue: n4 Page: p914(2)

Article Type: Book Review

Distributed by Thomson Gale

Jacques Moderne: Lyons music printer of the sixteenth century (Travaux d'humanisme et Renaissance)

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Jacques Moderne: Lyons music printer of the sixteenth century (Travaux d'humanisme et Renaissance)
Samuel F Pogue
Manufacturer: Librairie Dorz
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
ASIN: B0007JCVM4

Les editions musicales de la Renaissance lyonnaise (Domaine musicologique)

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Les editions musicales de la Renaissance lyonnaise (Domaine musicologique)
Laurent Guillo
Manufacturer: Klincksieck
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

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