by John Swanson

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Product Title: "The Art Of 3D Computer Animation and Effects – 4th Ed."
Author: Isaac Kerlow
ISBN: 978-0-470-08490-8
Published: April 2009
Level: Beginner/Intermediate
Current Pricing: $65.00
Site: Wiley Computer Graphics Books

"ISAAC KERLOW is a director and animation expert with over ten years of production and executive experience at The Walt Disney Company in Los Angeles, California. He is the Founding Dean of the first professional film and animation school in Singapore at the Nanyang Technological University, and a longtime active member of SIGGRAPH and the Visual Effects Society." – Wiley Site

First off this is not a 3DS Max book. In fact I don’t think the name is mentioned at all throughout the book. It is non program specific look at the state of computer animation and effects in general. Why I’m reviewing this book for this site is because I know that some people in our community want information that presents an overview of this subject. I feel this book does just that and does it well.

Since it is impossible to find a book that has completely up to the minute reporting on the latest technology, we have to make some concessions. I am pleased to annouce that we have a text here that is very current.

The fourth edition of The Art Of 3D Computer Animation and Effects by Isaac Kerlow is well written and filled with over 700 beautiful color digital illustrations. It seems most CG books place some color photos in the mid section of the book or on a DVD. Having a book that is filled with only colored pictures is not a real big deal, but it’s nice having the illustrations close to the text being read.

Each of the 512 pages is well laid out with a good balance between text and illustrations and sometimes charts. Although it generally reminded me of a text book, I was also aware that Isaac Kerlow is very fond of this subject. Once in a while the author briefly breaks away from the more scholarly tone to express this devotion.

The author starts with an overview of history of computer animation and effects covering the technical advancements through it’s relatively brief history. He does this with pictures depicting everything from Pixar’s Knickknack (with the original Sunny from Atlantis mermaid), Victor Navone’s Alien Song, to the early motion capture of Hans Uhlig’s Synchronicity. We also have one of the most extensive time lines of animation and effects - spanning from the 1890’s (yes 1890’s) through today.

The meat of the information is in the body of the text but don’t miss out on reading the captions for the illustrations and charts. They contain quite a bit of information not repeated in the main sections.

As you see in the listing of the sections, chapters and topics at the end of this review the author takes on quite a task. I actually found it interesting to read about this subject when not tied to a specific computer program. When he uses what may be a new term to some readers, it is in bold text and most of the time we are given alternative names that may be used for the same process. Speaking of terms – each chapter ends with a full page of the many terms covered in the chapter.

After seeing where we were, historically speaking, we move right into the nuts and bolts of animation and effects. Throughout the remainder of the book we go from story development and character design all the way to the ins and outs of the final digital output. Along the way we are treated to a wealth of information. See the Section/Chapter list that follows.

I wanted to explain what the Getting Ready sub topics of the chapters mean. The Getting Ready part of Chapter Three, for instance, covers advice and tips like Use Multiple Camera Views While Modeling, Do Not Lose the Blueprints, Sketch Your Ideas First, Polygons or Curves?, Will the Model Be Used for CADAM?, Modeling is related to Rendering and Animation, etc… You get the idea. So each chapter ends by setting you up and helping you think how you may use the information found in the chapter to tackle your own project.

I just want to say when I first pursued my interest in 3D and animation I read everything I could get my hands on about the subject. I came across a number of books that tried to cover similar grounds that The Art Of 3D Computer Animation and Effects covers. This text does a very good job indeed.

If you are interested in animation and effects on the computer then this book is recommended to you.

Each of the chapters in the following list begins with a short summary and ends with a list of key terms.

SECTION I: INTRODUCTION.

Chapter 1: Animation, Visual Effects, and Technology in Context

A Digital Creative Environment.
The Development of the Technology
Visual Milestones: 1969-1989.
Visual Milestones: 1990-Today.
Timeline Charts.

Chapter 2: Creative Development and the Digital Process

Storytelling.
Character Design.
Visual and Look Development.
Production Strategies.
The Digital Computer Animation Studio.
Creative and Production Teams.
The Production Process of Computer Animation.
Getting Started.

SECTION II: MODELING

Chapter 3: Modeling Concepts

Space, Objects, and Structures.
Building with Numbers.
Vertices, Edges, and Facets.
Moving Things Around.
File Formats for Modeling.
Getting Ready.

Chapter 4: Modeling Techniques

Introduction.
Curved Lines.
Geometric Primitives.
Sweeping.
Free-Form Objects.
Basic Modeling Utilities.
Real-Time Polygonal Models.

Chapter 5: Advanced Modeling and Rigging Techniques

Free-form Curved Surfaces.
Subdivision Surfaces.
Logical Operators and Trimmed Surfaces.
Advanced Modeling Utilities.
Procedural Descriptions and Physical Simulations.
Photogrammetry and Image-Based Modeling.
Amination Rigging and Hierarchical Structures.
Getting Ready.

SECTION III: RENDERING

Chapter 6: Rendering Concepts

Lights, Camera, and Materials.
Color.
Steps in the Rendering Process.
Hidden Surface Removal.
Z-Buffer.
Ray Tracing.
Global Illumination and Radiosity.
Image-Based Rendering.
Non-Photorealistic Rendering.
Hardware Rendering.
File Formats for Rendered Images.
Getting Ready.

Chapter 7: The Camera

Types of Cameras.
The Pyramid of Vision.
Types of Camera Shots.
Types of Lenses.
Camera Animation.
Getting Ready.

Chapter 8: Lighting

Lighting Strategies and Mood.
Types of Light Sources.
Basic Components of a Light Source.
Lighting the Scene.
Basic Positions of Light Sources.
Getting Ready.

Chapter 9: Shading and Surface Characteristics

Surface Shading Techniques.
Surface Shaders and Multi-Pass Rendering.
Image Mapping.
Surface Reflectivity.
Surface Color.
Surface Texture.
Surface Transparency.
Environment-Dependent Shading.
Selected Rendering Hacks.
Getting Ready.

SECTION IV: ANIMATION AND EFFECTS

Chapter 10: Principles of Animation

The Craft of Animation.
The Twelve Principles.
A Few More Principles.
Character Development.
Storyboarding.
Getting Ready.
Key Terms.

Chapter 11: Computer Animation Techniques

Summary.
Keyframe Interpolation and Parameter Curves.
Forward Kinetics and Model Animation.
Camera Animation.
Light Animation.
Hierarchical Character Animation.
Two- and Three-Dimensional Integration.
Animation File Formats.
Getting Ready.
Key Terms.

Chapter 12: Advanced Computer Animation Techniques

Summary.
Inverse Kinematics.
Performance Animation and Motion Capture.
Motion Dynamics and Fluid Simulations.
Procedural Animation.
Facial Animation.
Crowd Animation.
Location-Based and Interactive Entertainment.

Chapter 13: Visual Effects Techniques

Rotoscoping.
Blue and Green Screens and Chroma Keys.
Set and Character Extensions.
Crowd Replication.
Computer-Generated Particles.
Three-Dimensional Morphing.
Motion Control.
Motion Capture and Visual Characters.
Photogrammetry.
Practical Effects.

SECTION V: POST-PROCESSING

Chapter 14: Retouching, Compositing, and Color Grading

Basic Concepts of Image Manipulation.
Image Retouching.
Image Compositing and Blending.
Image Sequencing.
Color Grading.

Chapter 15: Image Resolution and Output

Basic Concepts of Digital Output.
Image Resolution.
Image File Formats and Aspect Ratios.
Output on Paper.
Output on Photographic Media.
Output on Video.
Output on Digital Media.
Output on Three-Dimensional Media.

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