Essential skills for 3D modeling, rendering, and animation

"Preface Late at night, 1997, in some little one-bedroom apartment on Lexington Avenue, in Lexington, Kentucky, I installed my very first 3D software on my self-built HP Windows 95 workstation. It had 64 megabytes of RAM and an Intel Pentium 32 gigahertz processor. Caligari Truespace was an ancient VRML (Virtual Reality Markup Language) authoring software that I had downloaded for free. It was my very first experience with 3D graphics. I had seen it in movies. I had seen it in video games. But I had never really held the tools of creation in my hands and manipulated objects in 3D space before. I eagerly navigated around the interface of the default scene file, which was strewn with various old-timey 3D objects: a teapot, a house, a spider, and a roller coaster. I selected the spider and chose the "rotate" tool, and for the very first time in my life, I manipulated a model in three dimensions on a computer screen. There was no going back. From that one particular moment in time and space, a light went on in my head and I was obsessed. I could not stop thinking about 3D animation. The possibilities exploded. The next 14 years of my life would be a single-minded drive down that same road, without ever stopping to wonder if I was on the right path. 3D graphics were my passion and aspiration. And although that path was ultimately successful, I had a long way to go in terms of my basic understanding. Here is the problem: I had no idea what I was doing. I didn't know a damn thing about 3D graphics"-- � Read more... Content: 3D Space How Do We Know Where Things Are In 3D Graphics? How Do We Determine These Positions? What Are The Coordinate Systems? Are There More Than Just One? What is Local Space? How Do I Change an Object's Position in Space? From Where Does an Object Move When You Move It? Can I Reset the Transforms After Moving My Object? Exercise: Transforming Objects in Space with Maya Conclusion Polygonal Geometry What is a Model? But How Can Triangles Build Smooth Surfaces? Triangulation and Polygons How Do I Create Polygon Models? Polygon Primitives How Do I Edit Polygon Models? Exercise: Modeling with Polygon Tools NURBS and Curve-Based Geometry Questions to be Answered What is a Curve? What are NURBS Curves and How Do They Work? How Do You Create NURBS Curves? How Do I Ed it NURBS Curves? What Are NURBS Curves Used For? What Do I Do With Them? What are NURBS Surfaces? How Are They Created? How Do I Edit NURBS Surfaces? How Do I Create NURBS Surfaces Out Of My Curve Out lines? Is There A Way To Cut A Hole In A NURBS Surface? How Do I Convert NURBS Into Polygons? NURBS Concepts Conclusion-When Do I Use NURBS? Exercise: The Wine Glass Lighting, Materials, Textures, and UVs What is "Rendering"? What Are the Things Required to Render a Scene? How do Cameras Work in 3D? What is Shading? When Do I Use Depth Map Shadows? When Do I Use Ray Tracing? What are Textures? What is "UV Mapping"? When Do I Need To Create UV Mapping? How Do I Create UV Maps? How Do I Create More Complex UV Mappings? How Do I Render An Image? Exercise: Creating a Complex Material What You Learned Animation What is Animation? How Do You Animate? What Can I Animate? What Are The Different Methods Of Animating? What Are Other Ways To Animate? How Do I Create Great Hand-Key-framed Animations? How Do I Create Acceleration and Deceleration? How Do I Become A Good Animator? Exercise: The Ball That Bounces Itself Conclusion Index Abstract: "Preface Late at night, 1997, in some little one-bedroom apartment on Lexington Avenue, in Lexington, Kentucky, I installed my very first 3D software on my self-built HP Windows 95 workstation. It had 64 megabytes of RAM and an Intel Pentium 32 gigahertz processor. Caligari Truespace was an ancient VRML (Virtual Reality Markup Language) authoring software that I had downloaded for free. It was my very first experience with 3D graphics. I had seen it in movies. I had seen it in video games. But I had never really held the tools of creation in my hands and manipulated objects in 3D space before. I eagerly navigated around the interface of the default scene file, which was strewn with various old-timey 3D objects: a teapot, a house, a spider, and a roller coaster. I selected the spider and chose the "rotate" tool, and for the very first time in my life, I manipulated a model in three dimensions on a computer screen. There was no going back. From that one particular moment in time and space, a light went on in my head and I was obsessed. I could not stop thinking about 3D animation. The possibilities exploded. The next 14 years of my life would be a single-minded drive down that same road, without ever stopping to wonder if I was on the right path. 3D graphics were my passion and aspiration. And although that path was ultimately successful, I had a long way to go in terms of my basic understanding. Here is the problem: I had no idea what I was doing. I didn't know a damn thing about 3D graphics" The Key to Fully Understanding the Basics of a 3D World Prominently used in games, movies, and on television, 3D graphics are tools of creation used to enhance how material and light come together to manipulate objects in 3D space. A game-changer written for the non-technical mind, Essential Skills for 3D Modeling, Rendering, and Animation examines the complexities of 3D computer-generated art, and outlines the basics of how things work and are used in 3D. This text describes the three cornerstones of 3Dmodeling, rendering, and animation; focuses on common elements; and provides a full understanding of the foundational concepts involved. Detailing the skills and knowledge needed to become an accomplished 3D artist, it includes step-by-step instruction with ample examples, and allows absolute beginners to move at their own pace. Master Anything You Are Tasked to Model The author incorporates historical informationpresenting a contextual understanding of the various techniques and methodologies in their historical place. Each chapter builds on the fundamentals of 3D computer graphics and augments skills based on the concepts, enabling the student to learn both theory and application simultaneously. The book highlights two basic geometry types, polygons and NURBS surfaces, showing the student basic modeling techniques with both. While more techniques are available, an artist can cover any model by grasping these basic techniques. Essential Skills for 3D Modeling, Rendering, and Animation offers a fundamental understanding of the mechanics of 3D graphics to modelers, animators, texture artists, render artists, game developers, and production artists, as well as educators teaching an undergrad or tech course in 3D animation. "Preface Late at night, 1997, in some little one-bedroom apartment on Lexington Avenue, in Lexington, Kentucky, I installed my very first 3D software on my self-built HP Windows 95 workstation. It had 64 megabytes of RAM and an Intel Pentium 32 gigahertz processor. Caligari Truespace was an ancient VRML (Virtual Reality Markup Language) authoring software that I had downloaded for free. It was my very first experience with 3D graphics. I had seen it in movies. I had seen it in video games. But I had never really held the tools of creation in my hands and manipulated objects in 3D space before. I eagerly navigated around the interface of the default scene file, which was strewn with various old-timey 3D objects: a teapot, a house, a spider, and a roller coaster. I selected the spider and chose the "rotate" tool, and for the very first time in my life, I manipulated a model in three dimensions on a computer screen. There was no going back. From that one particular moment in time and space, a light went on in my head and I was obsessed. I could not stop thinking about 3D animation. The possibilities exploded. The next 14 years of my life would be a single-minded drive down that same road, without ever stopping to wonder if I was on the right path. 3D graphics were my passion and aspiration. And although that path was ultimately successful, I had a long way to go in terms of my basic understanding. Here is the problem: I had no idea what I was doing. I didn't know a damn thing about 3D graphics"-- Provided by publisher. Unmarked is a controversial analysis of the fraught relation between political and representational visibility in contemporary culture. Written from and for the Left, Unmarked rethinks the claims of visibility politics through a feminist psychoanalytic examination of specific performance texts - including photography, painting, film, theatre and anti-abortion demonstrations. Front Cover 1 Contents 7 Preface 13 About the Author 17 Introduction 19 Chapter 1: Understanding 3D Space 23 Chapter 2: Polygonal Geometry 45 Chapter 3: NURBS and Curve-­Based Geometry 85 Chapter 4: Lighting, Materials, Textures, and UVs 133 Chapter 5: Animation 203 Chapter 6: Conclusion 237 Back Cover 263