CiNii Books - 3D game animation for dummies

* For readers intrigued by 3D video games as a hobby or a potential career, this book offers an introduction to the world of 3D game animation and provides step-by-step instructions on creating storyboards, scenery, characters, and even software * Cover topics such as working with 3D coordinates, keyframing, NURBS modeling, lighting, rigging, skinning, particle effects, and more * Video game sales exceeded the movie industry's box office draw last year by $1 billion

Table of Contents

Introduction 1 About This Book 1 Conventions Used in This Book 2 Foolish Assumptions 3 How This Book Is Organized 3 Part I: Creating 3D Content for Games 3 Part II: Creating Interfaces, Modeling Scenery, and Texturing Backgrounds 3 Part III: Designing, Modeling, and Animating Game Characters 4 Part IV: Animating Game Cut Scenes 4 Part V: The Part of Tens 4 Icons Used in This Book 4 Part I: Creating 3D Content for Games 5 Chapter 1: Getting Started with 3D Game Animation 7 This Whole Place Is Full of 3D - Identifying 3D Game Elements 8 User interfaces 8 Backgrounds 9 Scenery and props 10 Characters 10 Cut scenes 11 Opening the Toolbox - the Tools Used to Create 3D Game Animations 11 Modeling, rendering, and animation software 12 Paint and texturing software 15 Compositing software 15 Hardware requirements 15 Creating 3D Games - Slightly More Complicated Than a Connect-the-Dots Puzzle 16 Game design 16 Art design 17 Integration 17 Testing 17 Learning the Big Picture 17 Chapter 2: Game and Art Design, and Creating Storyboards 19 Documenting the Game Design: What Exactly Does This Game Do? 20 Brainstorming 20 Gathering feedback 20 Writing a Game Design Document 21 Adding flowcharts 21 Obtaining approval 23 Growing Ideas into Design - Beginning the Art Design Phase 23 Sketching inspirations: You didn't throw away your pencils, did you? 23 Compiling reference materials 24 Fleshing out details, and producing final designs 25 Labeling details 25 Creating Storyboard Documents 25 Types of storyboards 26 Specifying logical flow paths 26 Storyboarding cut scenes 27 Creating a master storyboard 27 Who's Talking Now? Adding Dialogue 27 Chapter 3: Starting with Traditional Animation Basics 29 Layering Images - the Simplest Animation Technique 30 Look at the Birdie and Smile - Focusing the Audience's View 30 Avoid complex motions 31 Displaying anticipation of intended motion 31 Emphasizing motion with exaggeration 32 Making foreground objects stand out 32 Do You Have a Good Stopwatch? Controlling Timing and Pacing 32 Establishing correct timing 33 Establishing pacing 34 Do I Need to Draw Every Frame? Accomplishing Efficient Animation Techniques 34 Posing characters and in-betweening 34 Using animation loops 35 Panning images 35 Animating Realistic Motions 36 Animating physically realistic reactions 36 Making realistic motion with primary and secondary motion 36 Developing a Unique Style 37 Part II: Creating Interfaces, Modeling Scenery, and Texturing Backgrounds 39 Chapter 4: Creating Game User Interfaces 41 Understanding the Basics of Interface Design 41 Identifying interface information 42 Defining interface backgrounds 43 Using interface fade in and fade out 43 Making the interface easy to navigate 43 Including sounds 44 Making the game area as big as possible: Maximizing interface real estate 44 Starting with a Layout: The Process of Interface Design 44 Importing drawing files 45 Building a 2D layout 45 Adding 3D Effects 54 Enhancing with 3D objects 54 Embellishing with 3D text 55 Beveling the interface border 57 Chapter 5: Modeling Scenery and Props 59 Discovering 3D Space All Around You 60 Moving about 3D Coordinates 60 Selecting scene views 61 Navigating scene views 62 Using coordinate values 64 Exploring the Various Modeling Types 65 Polygon modeling for man-made models 65 NURBS modeling for natural flowing surfaces 65 Patch modeling for curved surfaces 66 Moving, Rotating, and Scaling Objects 66 Transforming objects 66 Snapping objects into place 67 Aligning objects 70 Using pivot points 72 Learning the Art of Modeling 73 Using the easiest way to model 73 Starting with building blocks 75 Editing primitives 77 Building surfaces from curves and splines 78 Creating Lo-Polygon Models That Won't Choke a Game Engine 83 Tips for reducing polygon count 83 Automating polygon reduction 85 Chapter 6: Adding Details with Materials 87 Defining Materials 87 Color 88 Transparency 88 Reflectivity 88 Refraction 88 Luminosity 88 Specularity 88 Bump map 89 Assigning Material Properties to Objects 89 Changing the view shading 89 Using preset materials 90 Creating unique materials 93 Assigning Material Properties to Object Parts 95 Chapter 7: Mapping Textures 97 Wrapping Texture Maps about Objects without Messy Glues 98 Positioning Textures with UV Coordinates 100 Offsetting a texture 100 Scaling a texture 101 Rotating a texture 101 Tiling a texture 101 Creating Seamless Textures That Tile Together: Look Ma, No Seams 103 Creating noisy tiles 104 Filling a solid tile 104 Matching opposite edges 104 Creating Raised Texture with Bump and Displacement Maps 106 Using bump maps 106 Using displacement maps 107 Creating Realistic Environments with Textures 107 Using reflection maps 108 Adding a background image 109 Creating a skybox for backdrops 110 Painting on Textures to Add Dirt and Grime 111 Efficiently Coloring Objects with Vertex Colors 113 Baking Textures for Quick Model Loading 113 Chapter 8: Creating Effective Lighting 115 Starting with a Basic Three-Point Lighting Configuration 116 Exploring the Different Light Types 117 Point light 117 Area light 117 Direct light 117 Ambient light 117 Spot light 117 Creating Lights 118 Changing Light Properties 120 Using light color 120 Changing light intensity 120 Enabling shadows 122 Setting falloff 124 Using Light Special Effects 124 Adding lens flares 124 Adding fog 126 Making glowing lights 126 Creating Realistically Lighted Scenes with Raytracing, Radiosity, and Global Illumination 128 Raytracing 128 Radiosity 129 Global illumination 129 Creating a Prelighted Map for Quick Scene Loading 130 Part III: Designing, Modeling, and Animating Game Characters 131 Chapter 9: Techniques for Modeling Characters 133 Modeling Methods 134 Knowing when to buy instead of build 134 Creating low-polygon models 134 Using symmetry 134 Using a default stance 134 Using mesh smooth features 135 Modeling the Torso 135 Chamfering edges 137 Sculpting muscles 137 Cutting limb holes 141 Creating and Attaching Limbs 142 Tapering limbs 144 Lofting limbs 146 Connecting limbs 146 Bridging limbs 148 Modeling Hands and Feet 148 Extruding fingers 148 Adding a thumb 150 Modeling shoes 151 Creating toes 153 Adding nails 153 Connecting hands and feet 153 Mirroring the Body 155 Making the Body Proportional 156 Getting "Ahead": Creating a Head 158 Extruding a neck 159 Using Booleans 160 Modeling the windows to the soul: Creating eyes 161 Creating a nose 164 Creating ears 166 Creating a mouth 166 Adding facial hair 168 Sculpting the head 168 Creating Hair 170 Adding Accessory Props 170 Modeling clothes 170 Dressing a head 171 Adding jewelry 171 Embedding weapons and props 171 Chapter 10: Discovering the Basics of 3D Animation 173 Pacing an Animation with Frame Rates: What's the Going Rate? 174 Changing the frame rate 175 Setting the total number of frames 176 Moving the Time Slider to select a frame 176 Creating Simple Animations with Keyframes 177 Animating an object by creating position keyframes 177 Animating an object with rotation and scale keyframes 179 Creating an attribute keyframe 181 Locating keyframes with the Animation Controls 183 Copying and pasting keyframes 184 Automating the creation of keyframes with Auto Keyframing 184 Moving an Object Along a Path 184 Animating an object moving along a path 185 Tracking an object's motion with trajectories 185 Ghosting objects to get a sense of their motion 186 Using Animation Editors 187 Viewing animation graphs 187 Synchronizing animation keys 188 Chapter 11: Animating Characters 193 Rigging Characters to Move Realistically 194 Creating a skeleton that lies under the character 194 Setting constraints so the object doesn't move when it shouldn't 198 Controlling character motion with kinematics 199 Creating a Realistic Skin 201 Skinning a character 201 Setting a bone's influence 202 Adding deformations to create muscle bulges 203 Animating with Bones 204 Integrating Motion Capture for the Ultimate in Realistic Motion 207 Lots of dots: Motion capture hardware 207 Unique motion capture systems 208 Buying motion 208 Chapter 12: Animating Facial Movements 209 Creating Morph Targets: The Character of a Thousand Faces 210 Working on a clone 210 Creating a blend control 211 Learning to Talk: Speaking the Basic Phonemes 213 Syncing Facial Movements with a Soundtrack 213 Building Controls for Handling Eye Movements 214 Chapter 13: Automating Reactions with Dynamics 217 Incorporating Physics: I'm Glad I Don't Have to Calculate This by Hand 217 Soft and rigid body objects 218 Special object types 218 Making objects immovable 218 Defining Physical Properties Such as Gravity and Friction 220 Defining object properties 221 Defining forces 221 Using constraints 223 Part IV: Animating Game Cut Scenes 227 Chapter 14: Animating Scene Elements 229 Using Cut Scenes: All the Stuff That Happens Between Game Levels 230 The pregame show 230 Introducing the game 230 Explaining the game 231 Tell a story with animation 231 Presenting High-Resolution Images: What to Do After the Animations Are Finished 231 Rendering backgrounds 231 Rendering a title screen 231 Rendering marketing materials 231 Animating Cut Scenes: No Limits 232 Modeling for cut scenes: I can use NURBS! 232 Animating cameras: I finally have a chance to control the camera! 234 Animating lights (and not just a flashlight) 236 Animating textures: Just like television 237 Chapter 15: Animating with Particles 241 Creating Special Effects with Particles: A Treat for All the Pyromaniacs 241 Creating smoke and dust 242 Creating fire 242 Creating clouds 242 Pinpointing a Particle's Starting Location with Particle Emitters 244 Using emitter types 244 Using an object as an emitter 245 Configuring Particle Systems: Randomness Is the Name of the Game 246 Setting particle rate 246 Setting particle life span 247 Setting particle shape and size 247 Spawning new particles 247 Changing particle materials 247 Creating a Blizzard: Combining Particles with Dynamics 249 Creating a Custom Particle with Instanced Objects: When Simple Shaped Particles Aren't Enough 251 Chapter 16: Rendering an Animation 253 Creating Test Renders: Try It before You Buy It 253 Using the Render View window 254 Rendering an area 255 Selecting a view and range 256 Making animation previews 256 Exploring the Rendering Options 257 Selecting a format 258 Setting resolution 258 Using network rendering 258 Adding Effects at the Last Minute 258 Enabling anti-aliasing 259 Using the depth of field effect 259 Adding atmospheric effects 260 Adding motion blur 260 Raytracing Images for Realism 261 Cartoon Rendering: Saturday Morning Will Never Be the Same 262 Part V: The Part of Tens 265 Chapter 17: Ten Types of Tools Used by Game Companies 267 Introducing Your New Best Friend: 3D Modeling, Rendering, and Animation Tools 268 Maya 269 3ds max 269 Softimage XSI 269 Lightwave 270 Remembering Your Old Friends: 2D Painting and Drawing Tools 270 Photoshop 271 Illustrator 271 Painter 271 Z-Brush 271 Getting a Little Extra Realism: 3D Rendering Systems 272 Brazil Rendering System 272 Mental Ray Rendering System 272 Putting All the Pieces Together: Compositing Packages 272 After Effects 273 Combustion 273 Digital Fusion 273 Removing What Shouldn't Be There: Video Editing Tools 273 Premiere 274 Final Cut Pro 274 Taking Your Designs Online: Web Creation Tools 274 Flash 274 GoLive 274 Making Your Voice Heard: Audition, an Audio Editing Tool 275 Animating Characters the Easy Way: Motion Capture Systems 275 Vicon Motion Systems 275 Motion Analysis 276 Animating a Talking Face: Lip Synching Systems 276 LifeStudio: HEAD 276 LipSync 276 Speaking the Programmers' Language: 3D Programming Tools 276 DirectX 277 OpenGL 277 Chapter 18: Ten Creative Jobs in the Animation Industry 279 Producer/Director 280 Game Designer 280 Game Artists 281 3D Modeler 282 Lighting Director 283 Animator 283 Special Effects Artist 284 Tester 284 Grunt 285 Trainer 285 Chapter 19: Ten Ways to Land a Job as a 3D Game Animator 287 Gaining the Necessary Experience: First Things First 288 Developing software skills 288 Getting involved in creating games 289 Studying games 290 Finding Animation Programs and Schools 290 Knowing which degree to earn 291 Knowing which courses to take 292 Showing Off: Creating an Awesome Demo Reel 293 Creating a demo reel 294 Labeling a demo reel 295 Sending out demo reels 295 Establishing a Web Presence 295 Securing a domain name 296 Building an amazing Web site 296 Adding your work to an online gallery 297 Getting Feedback and Exposure 298 Entering Web animation contests 298 Entering animation festivals 299 Improving Your Skills 299 Learning from books 299 Training by video 300 Using Web tutorials 300 Attending workshops 300 Joining a user group 300 Attending Animation Conferences 300 Joining a Professional Organization 301 Knowing the Right People 302 Working Your Way Up 302 Getting your foot in the door 302 Getting on a beta test team 303 Starting as a junior animator 303 Making an internal move 304 Being Persistent 304 Appendix A: Using Game Engine Tools 305 Selecting a Game Engine 305 Using Game Engine Tools 308 Creating a User Interface 308 Accessing the GUI Editor 309 Creating a new GUI page 310 Adding controls and commands to a GUI page 312 Using the Mission Editor 313 Accessing the Mission Editor 315 Creating a terrain 316 Adjusting the Terraform 318 Texturing the terrain 319 Populating the environment 321 Moving objects 323 Defining the Scene Environment 323 Loading Maya Files into the Game Engine 326 Installing a DTS Export Utility 326 Changing default units 327 Exporting a Maya object 328 Viewing exported objects 329 Exporting textured objects 330 Exporting animation sequences 332 Making models available in the Mission Editor 333 Creating Interiors 334 Appendix B: Glossary of Animation Terms 337 Appendix C: Directory of Animation Schools 351 The Art Institutes 351 Ringling School of Art and Design 351 Full Sail 352 California Institute of the Arts 352 Vancouver Film School 352 Sheridan College 352 Savannah College of Art and Design 352 DigiPen Institute of Technology 353 Parsons School of Design 353 Digital Media Arts College 353 Ex'pression College for Digital Arts 353 Vancouver Institute of Media Arts 353 Academy of Art University 354 Gnomon, School of Visual Effects for Film, Television and Games 354 Oregon3D 354 Index 355

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