Blender, the open source CG software, is a very powerful, multi-purpose 3D modeling and animation tool. It has been used for architectural modeling, product modeling, and illustration, but is quickly gaining a following for animation. Introducing Character Animation with Blender serves as an ideal starting point for anybody interested in creating engaging, convincing character animation, giving a thorough and practical introduction to the functionality of Blender.
'Introducing Character Animation With Blender', endorsed by the Blender Foundation, is written in a friendly but professional tone, with clear descriptions and numerous illustrative screenshots. Throughout the book, tutorials focus on how to accomplish actual animation goals, while illustrating the necessary technical methods along the way. These are reinforced by clear descriptions of how each specific aspect of Blender works and fits together with the rest of the package. By following all the tutorials, the reader will gain all the skills necessary to build and animate a well-modeled, fully-rigged character of their own. The character built over the course of the tutorials is included as a .blend file on the DVD, for the reader to experiment with and learn from.
'Introducing Character Animation With Blender' is inspiring as well as educational. A color insert section includes sample characters and frames from animations by many of the Blender community's most talented artists, which help to illustrate the impressive potential of the software.
The incredible companion DVD includes the complete Blender installation executable for Windows, Mac, and Linux; the short film "Elephants Dream"; all the Blender and source files used to produce the examples and tutorials in the book; extensive links for tutorials and Blender related resources; and other valuable open source software discussed in the book, including the popular BlenderPeople plug-in.
