The Game Animator's Guide to Maya

Michael McKinley

John Wiley & Sons, May 5, 2008 - Computers - 243 pages

The Ultimate Resource for Professional Game Animators


Game animation is a demanding art. Not only do you have to deliver realistic, beautiful animations, but you have to do so under strict real-time, video-game constraints. The Game Animator's Guide to Maya is your focused resource for using Maya to create professional-level game animations for console and PC games. Written by a game industry veteran and featuring interviews with professional animators and artists from around the country, this focused book features specific, detailed, real-world game animation techniques. It's the perfect reference and tutorial for those looking to develop or refine their game animation skills.

The enclosed CD features more than $3000 worth of exclusive content, including models, high-resolution textures, animations, concept art, and animation reference videos. It also includes the Maya Personal Learning Edition and project files so you can complete the hands-on tutorials.

The Game Animator's Guide to Maya gives you an insider's view of the animation business and teaches the skills necessary to animate everything from characters to vehicles to lip-synching audio. First, you'll get an introduction to the industry and typical game development pipelines, then learn rigging and animation basics before moving on to advanced techniques and the detailed tutorials. Inside, you'll find:
* Game Career Guide: Industry information, demo reel advice, job descriptions, game asset pipeline overview
* Animation Techniques: detailed explanation of animation terms, techniques, tools, concepts, and editors
* Rigging and Animation Setup: IK and FK, joint hierarchies, skeleton controls, constraints, selection handles, and more
* True Game Animation: real-world assignments that mimic the day-to-day jobs of professional game animators--walk cycles, run cycles, idle cycles, action sequences, lip-synching to audio, and more

Contents

• Animation: 13
• Calamity Jane: 53
• Run Cycle: 3-28
• 104: 3-45
• 110: 4-6
• 116: 4-12
• 125: 4-21
• Giant Kraken 131: 4-27
• Attack Animation 147: 5-14
• Storm Tank 157: 5-25
• Walk Cycle 164: 6-6
• Creating Body Movement 170: 6-12
• Creating Body Movement 177: 6-19
• Other Animation Projects 213: 6-55
• Glossary: 8-21

About the author

Michael McKinley is a 3D Artist at Buzz Monkey Software and author of The Game Artist's Guide to Maya. His game projects have spanned a variety of platforms, from high-end PC games to console titles for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox to handheld games for the PlayStation Portable. Prior to Buzz Monkey, he taught Maya courses at Collins College in Tempe, Arizona.

Bibliographic information

• Title: The Game Animator's Guide to Maya
• Author: Michael McKinley
• Publisher: John Wiley & Sons, 2008
• ISBN: 0470338784, 9780470338780
• Length: 243 pages
• Subjects: Computers / Image Processing