Companion CD includes new plug-ins to enhance character setup and animation, available only in this book! Quality rigging and animation preparation is vital for creating characters that can truly act and make an audience believe they are live, emotive beings. LightWave 3D [8] Cartoon Character Creation - Volume 2: Rigging & Animation includes both general theory and comprehensive tutorials for every aspect of rigging and animating 3D characters. Learn how, why, and when to use the most efficient techniques so you can have fun animating your own fantastic 3D characters. Learn all about rigging characters, including weight mapping, bone creation, IK, and deformations. Discover advanced rigging techniques, including expressions, FK/IK blending, quadruped rigging, and more. Find out how to use the animation controls and animate using inverse kinematics. Explore the intricacies of facial animation, including morphs, facial expressions, lip sync, and advanced morph controls. Learn how to use dynamics for secondary body motion and clothing.
Character design, modeling, and texturing are the fundamental building blocks of character animation. LightWave 3D [8] Cartoon Character Creation Volume 1: Modeling & Texturing includes both general theory and comprehensive tutorials for every aspect of modeling and texturing 3D characters. Learn how, why, and when to use the most efficient techniques so you can have fun creating your own fantastic 3D characters. Find out how to configure LightWave 3D for character creation, and learn the necessary steps of the character concept, design, and planning stages. Discover multiple methods for modeling characters and clothing using subdivision patches. Understand the techniques for creating complex UV mapping. Learn about surface attributes and surfacing characters. Enhance the appearance of your characters through the use of gradients and procedural textures. Explore a variety of techniques for creating image maps and applying them to your characters.
