Have you ever thought in creating 3D character? If so, then you must asked yourself the following questions:

1-How do I model my character?
2-How do I enhance my character look with materials?
3-How do I animate my new character?

These questions form the basic steps to bring your character to life. Michele Bousquet has answered them in his book Model RIG Animate with 3DS Max 7.

The first and the second chapters answer the first two questions about modeling and adding materials to the character. Starting with pre-training on the tools used in modeling and adding materials, Michele goes step by step in his tutorial and applies each tool on the example included in the book CD.

The preparation for animation process is covered well in the third, fourth and fifth chapters. Chapter 3 teaches you how to assign bones for the model. Adding RIGs to the bones process is described in chapter 4. After completing the bones, chapter 5 is concerned with associating the bones with the model, which is known as the skinning.

My favorite topic, animating the model, is covered in the last two chapters. Chapter 7 is concerned with the character modeling, when chapter 8 concentrates on the facial animation.

This book is a must-have reference for animators, designers and teachers who want to deliver the modeling and animation with rigging features in 3DS Max7 in a simple focused way.

A careful look at the real world and you begin to realize that most of the detail you see is a result of subtle lighting effects. Your perception of reality is affected by very subtle changes in the way light interacts with the objects around you. Therefore, if your goal is to recreate reality (or to create a new reality), you must include as many of these effects as possible. Advanced Lighting and Materials with Shaders explains the principles of lighting theory and discusses how to create realistic lighting that takes full advantage of the capabilities of modern hardware. The book starts by explaining the underlying principles of lighting theory, but distinguishes itself from most titles quickly by providing practical examples using specific techniques to detail the theory. Topics include the physics of light, modeling real-world light, raytracing and related techniques, objects and materials, lighting and reflectance models, implementing lights in shaders, spherical harmonic lighting, spherical harmonics in DirectX, and real-time radiosity.

The majority of computer graphics books are either too general or too application-specific. The field of 3-D computer graphics possesses tremendous depth, and any aspect of it is worthy of a focused career. In large studios, artists concentrate on just one phase of production, be it modeling, texturing, animation, or rendering. If you're interested in learning about the field from this perspective, read 3-D Lighting: History, Concepts & Techniques. It's a pleasure to peruse, because it shares the large-studio focus. The book does feature examples, project files, and some instructions for specific applications, but mostly it's about concept and theory in computer imaging. For the most part, it avoids application-specific discussion. This is a good thing--any experienced artist uses more than one application, and can easily port this information from one app to another. There are eight chapters in all, starting with "The Nature of Light" (how light works) and "The Physiology of Seeing and Perception" (how we see light), and moving on to "Fundamentals of Photography and Cinematography" and "Color and Materials." But it isn't until chapter 5, "Computer Graphics," that the book gets into the specifics of how 3-D applications treat light and color.

This book is about the design of advanced user interfaces. Three themes are explored: First, a theory-based approach to user interface design that surveys the cognitive psychology background of human-computer interaction, and then introduces design models for applying psychological knowledge. These models expand on Norman's gulfs of interaction framework. The second theme is multimedia interface design: models, principles and a design process for multimedia presentation and dialogue. Cognitive psychology is woven into the design guidelines as a basis for attracting user's attention, matching media to the message and preventing information overloading. The multimedia section also reviews the aesthetics of design and extracts basic principles for designing attractive and engaging user interfaces." "The third theme, virtual reality, is introduced using the same approach whereby theory motivates the design method. Guidelines cover the design of user presence, social agents, virtual environments, and user support. Evaluation methods and techniques for multisensory interfaces form a separate chapter that introduces new variations on the heuristic evaluation theme while also describing additional methods containing more precise diagnostic guidance for evaluation." The final chapter surveys multisensory design issues in ubiquitous computing and anticipates the future development of interactive technology.

Whether you’re creating animation for television, advertising, games, or multimedia, [digital] Character Animation 3 can help you bring your imagination to life. In this updated classic, both newcomers to digital animation and old hands looking to hone existing skills will find essential techniques for creating lively, professional-quality animation that are applicable to any software application.