Animation and 3D Modeling on the Mac is a beautifully
illustrated and clearly written book by husband and wife team Don and
Melora Foley of Vienna, Virginia. The Foleys are both professional
graphic artists with considerable experience with publishing firms
and freelance work.
The Table of Contents immediately sets the tone of the book. The
first section is called "Front-of-the-book Stuff!" It contains
acknowledgements, introduction, etc. The last section is called
(surprise!) "Back-of-the-book Stuff." It has appendices, glossary,
and index.
The book opens talking to the completely inexperienced animator,
but before the end, advice is being addressed to the very
experienced. The reader is repeatedly reminded that getting started
in 3D (three-dimensional) animation can be intimidating. The best
advice it gives is to open a modeling program and go through the
tutorial actually doing what it says. This is counter to the usual
Macintosh user's "I-don't-need-to-read-the-manual" mentality! (The
author of this review most definitely agrees.)
The first of the Animator's 10 Commandments is "Save Often.
The main part of the book is divided into six chapters:
"3D Showcase," the gee-whiz department, a gallery of
spectacular 3D images. The wide variety of images from a number of
artists shows a spectrum of techniques. All the remaining images
in the book except a few scanned and Photo CD images were created
by the authors on a Macintosh Quadra 950 with a PowerPC upgrade
board.
"Tools of the Trade," hardware and software. A large array of
software current to the 1995 publication is shown in a spread
sheet style depicting what 3D animation functions each one can
do.
"3D Modeling" takes the reader through all the basics methods
of creating shapes through (among many others) shading, textures,
lighting, and staging.
"Animation" covers motion theory, key frames, tweening, and
rendering.
"Editing" tells about (surprise!) putting your production
together. The process is followed through (briefly in each case)
for Macromedia's Director, Adobe's After Effects, Adobe's
Premiere, and Adobe's Photoshop. Finally, it discusses morphing
and distortion.
"Output" explains: digital and analog output and the reasons
for, and the applications of, each; preparation for QuickTime; and
preparing images for print. It concludes with an explanation of
the broadcast video signal and how Macs fit into the broadcast
environment.
The book is an excellent guide for someone entering or
advancing in the field encompassed by the book's title. It is not a
tutorial. However, I found the book fascinating and instructive and I
would highly recommend it.
Published by:
Peachpit Press
2414 Sixth Street
Berkeley CA 94710
510-548-4393
fax: 510-548-5991 http://www.peachpit.com
USA: $34.95
![[Book Cover]](anim3d.gif)
