Character Rigging and Advanced Animation , 1st ed. Bring Your Character to Life Using Autodesk 3ds Max

Gain a thorough understanding of animation and character rigging using Autodesk 3ds Max to create realistic character animations. This book is split into three modules that are subsequently divided into chapters. The first module is the foundation module: in this module you?ll cover, among other topics, the 12 cardinal principles of animation with reference to classic real-world examples and famous movies/animation shots. Using these, the further chapters explore using key frames and graph editors to obtain fluid motion in your animations. Practical examples are used to better explain which feature suits a particular scenario. 

The second module, called the backbone module, introduces you to deformation tools and their use for character animation. Further chapters cover driven animations, constraints posed by bones, bipeds, and the CAT tools available in 3ds Max 2019. 

The final module, the lifeline module, encourages you to bring your character to life by applying principles learnt in the previous modules. Here you will be guided on how to retarget animations from one character to other characters or rigs.

On completing Character Rigging and Advance Animation, you will be able to create character rigs for bipeds and quadrupeds with ease, animating them with life-like motion.

What You Will Learn

• Understand the 12 principles of animation
• Set up an animation-ready character rig from scratch
• Master the deformation tools available for animation

Who This Book Is For

Readers who are familiar with 3ds Max at a basic level and are looking at getting into character rigging and animation. 

Chapter 1: Beginning Animation

Chapter Goal: The goal here is to get the reader familiar with the base concepts of animation and principles of animation to help them get the best result when they move ahead into further chapters.

Sub -Topics: Each principle will be dealt as a sub topic with a total of 12 principles

1. Squash and Stretch

2. Anticipation

3. Staging

etc

Chapter 2: Refining Animation

Chapter Goal: The goal here will be to help the reader familiarize with curve and dope editor to refine simple animations applying the principles learnt in previous exercise.

Sub - Topics

1. Understanding Keyframes and types

2. Graph Editor and tools

3. Curve Editor and tools

MODULE 2: BACKBONE MODULE

Chapter 3: Advanced Animation

Chapter Goal: The goal here will be to help the reader familiarize with driven keys, constraints, and hierarchy.

Sub - Topics

1. Hierarchy and layer panel

2. Setkey and timeline basics

3. Constraints and types

4. Engine: Mechanical Animation using Constraints

Chapter 4: Bones

Chapter Goal: The goal here will be to familiarize user with bones and explain the needs of it and build a complete rig in the process from scratch.

Sub - Topics

1. Basics of human anatomy for rigging

2. Forward kinematics and inverse kinematics

4. Bone weights and skinning

5. Creating a simple foot rig

6. Creating a worm rig

7. Stretchy rig

8. Creating an arm rig

9. Foot rig advanced

11. Quadruped rig exercise

Chapter 5: Biped

Chapter Goal: The goal here will be to familiarize the reader with Biped rigging system known also as character studio, the reader will be able to rig and animate a 3d model

Sub - Topics

1. Understanding & customizing biped

2. Biped skinning

3. Footstep and freeform animations

5. Working with motion flow & motion mixer

Chapter 6: CAT Rigging Tools

Chapter Goal: The goal here will be to familiarise the user with CAT tools and use them for rigging the character or 3d model.

Sub - Topics

1. Understanding CAT rigs

2. Editing CAT rigs

3. CAT rigs hierarchy panel

5. Understanding CAT rig IK system

6. Animating a CAT rig

MODULE 3: LIFELINE MODULE

Chapter 7: Morph Animation

Chapter Goal: The goal here will be to help the reader familiarize with morphs and get believable face animation using morphs

Sub - Topics

2. Morpher in 3ds max

3. Understanding phonemes for animation

4. Facial animation using Morpher

Chapter 8: Walk and Run Cycles

Chapter Goal: The goal here will be to guide the reader animate a walk and run cycle of the character rigged in previous exercise.

Sub - Topics

1.      Understanding key poses

2.      Personality - timing & spacing

3.      Biped Walk and Run

4.      Quadruped Walk and Run

Chapter 8: Facial Rigging

Chapter Goal: The goal here will be to guide the reader to create and animate a cartoon head using custom rigs

Sub - Topics

1. Understanding facial anatomy

2. Facial rigging a guided approach

3. Setting up controllers for animation

4. Animating phonemes

Structuring with modules and chapters allows you to jump to your section of choice

Covers many popular animation techniques and tool sets

Contains examples with working files at the end of each chapter to follow along