Inspired Advanced 3D Character Rigging and Defomrations ships April 8th!

[Grgeon]

The book looks very interesting DC. Can't wait for it to come out. I wonder if i'll be able to handle this book though. I have the first one but only did the basic rigging section and not the advanced chapter. I'm a character animator, but I'd like to equip myself with some more advanced rigging knowledge to create my own creatures and characters. And seeing as how you've worked on some impressive creature related films, and studios like Imageworks(which i'd like to work for some day) i think this is the book for me :)

Thanks,
George

[DaddyMack]

hee hee
how exciting:bounce:

a closet rigging geek

[mikefeil]

def. going to check this out...hopefully amazon will do an inspired bundle. They are always good.

[_mg_]

Nice!

They're existing book on character rigging is really good. Deformations too? Awesome.

[Dirtystimpy]

can't wait to check out the book Joe

And I hope ghost rider goes well, just had a friend finish up on it, seems like a great project!

[kiaran]

Looks good :) Just pre-ordered from amazon.

I'll be interested to see what these guys have to say in chapter 19 about muscle systems. Actaully, the whole book should be an interesting read.

[bclark]

kiaran- Thanks for the order, we hope you enjoy the entire book.
There is a plug for Muscle TK in there:) Look forward to your feedback once you get it. Your work on the Leon rig was really cool from what I have seen.

Make sure to swing by www.creaturetd.com (http://www.creaturetd.com/forums/viewforum.php?f=16) forum as well for updates and latest info.
Thanks to Joe for setting it up the forum. You will also find our email address for getting
in contact with all three of the authors, Myself, Joe Harkins and John Hood as well as our tech editor and contributor, Josh Carey.

later,
Brad

[kiaran]

There is a plug for Muscle TK in there:) Look forward to your feedback once you get it. Your work on the Leon rig was really cool from what I have seen.

Excellent :) I'll post a review on amazon as soon as I get it.

[DangerAhead]

I was kinda put off by "some" of the other inspired books, but "some" were also very well done. It was a variety pack of knowledge.

I need something to read on BART. I'll probably get it.

Kiaran, I sure wish you'd write a book (or 5) on rigging! Your tools are amazing.

[Grgeon]

Who's BART?

DC, i'm curious to know, which film creatures/characters have you rigged?

Looking forward to the book.

George

[-dc-]

Thanks everyone for your comments, and we certainly appreciate if you've ordered the book. We really look forward to your thoughts once you have read it. As Brad mentioned, creaturetd.com has a special forum dedicated to the book so we can answer your questions and support any issues you might have. We really want to make sure you get as much information as possible from the book and address any concerns that come up along the way! :)

[My Fault]

Yeah, really looking forward to the book. Great to see some more advanced rigging to take our stuff to the next level.

Grgeon: BART is Bay Area Rapid Transit. Sort of like a New York subway but without the public urination :)

[Stychentyme]

I was kinda put off by "some" of the other inspired books, but "some" were also very well done. It was a variety pack of knowledge.


Hey, Danger! I'd be interested in knowing which of the "inspired" books you liked, which ones you didn't, and why. I have the chance to buy a bunch of them used at a reduced cost,.... but before I do I wouldn't mind hearing any opinions you have about them.

Thanks! :thumbsup:

[andy_maxman]

couple of newbie to rigging questions -

1)would this book go over the head for a newbie to rigging....?
2)what would be your take on auto-rigs and the need to learn rigging on your own?

thank you,
andy

[sporadic]

I'm not Danger, but here's my quick thoughts on the Inspired books. I've got three, the Animation, Texturing and Rigging ones. The Rigging one is worth its weight in gold. Fantastic first rigging book, and good for intermediate stuff too. I'm hoping the new one will take off where it left off.

The Animation book is decent, and goes into a lot of theory, which is good, since a lot of animation books seem to be example after example, without much in the 'But Why' or 'This doesn't work, and here's why'. That being said, I think there are much better animation books out there, though perhaps not focused on Maya. At least, none that I've seen.

The Modelling and Texturing book isn't worth the paper its printed on. Lots of information, but very little of it practical for small, personal work, and very little how to. I wouldn't bother.

[DangerAhead]

Hey, Danger! I'd be interested in knowing which of the "inspired" books you liked, which ones you didn't, and why. ...

IMHO the Modeling and texturing one was pretty bad. Very scratch-the-surface. Most reviews on amazon have it at a 2 star read.

There's one (I forget whichone) with a massive amout of 3D history in it!

I found the Character Set-up one to be pretty beginner. the Alias Rigging book would have been better.

The animation one was great. I liked that one. lots of reasons behind animation techniques.

BUT be sure to go to Borders or Barnes and Noble and look at the actual book before you buy it.

I like Harkins' website and techniques. Met him at Siggraph too. He's an excellent rigger so this book should be good with his name in it.

[-dc-]

andy, this book is intended for the advanced reader. I honestly couldn't tell you how easy it would be for someone who is new to rigging to understand the book. I guess we'll find out once someone new to rigging reads it and tells us... :) That's not to say you wouldn't get anything out of reading it, but you might not understand all of the concepts covered if you're not familiar with rigging characters.

As for those "auto-rig" solutions - I say use what works for you. If it does what you need, then great. I personally don't use anything like that because I want to have total control over how my rig is designed and implemented. I think it's a good solution for people who are not familiar with rigging and just want to get right into animating. Then again, I also believe that an animator who understands rigging will be able to push their animations farther because they know how everything is working. I guess it all depends on your point-of-view and personal opinion.

I don't know if any mods are reading this thread...but...We were hoping this thread would actually get plugged on the front page, or at least make the news links. Writing a book qualifies for that kind of thing, right?

[bentllama]

I don't know if any mods are reading this thread...but...We were hoping this thread would actually get plugged on the front page, or at least make the news links. Writing a book qualifies for that kind of thing, right?

Joe, I will see what I can do. :beer:

[HamsaPaksham]

Some Inspired books are excellent, like the 3d Short Film production (which comes with a great short film DVD). Some are just fine, like the animation one.
Since I had the Alias Rigging Book and Jason Schleifer´s Rigging DVD, I thought the first book on Character Setup was basic.
I´m really looking forward this new one, but I hope it will make our life easier and not overcomplicate things.

[Stychentyme]

I found the Character Set-up one to be pretty beginner. the Alias Rigging book would have been better.

Danger,

Are you talking about "Character Rigging and Animation" from the "Learning Maya" series? Because I actually have that book now. I got that book and "Stop Staring," which is supposed to be an excellent rigging book as well. I want to teach myself rigging and I figured those books would help.

When I'm through those maybe Joe Harkins' book will make more sense to me.

[Goon]

I found the Inspired Character Rigging book to be ok, and almost on par with the Alias Character Rigging and Animation book, though it had some holes. But the Inspired Modeling book didn't look great, and the Inspired Rendering and Compositing book is abysmal. So yeah, definitely read before buying.

[bclark]

couple of newbie to rigging questions -

1)would this book go over the head for a newbie to rigging....?
2)what would be your take on auto-rigs and the need to learn rigging on your own?

thank you,
andy

It might be advanced it parts but there is a lot of good materal that some one new to rigging should keep in mind while learning to rig.. hard to tell you excatly because every one learns diffrently and likes tutorials and training materials to do diffrent things.

As for auto-rigs to learn with, I think they are great to use when you need to put a quick rig together or to see how other people like to rig or even how they code the rig but there are a lot of times auto rigs don't work for your needs and you will have to know how to rig from scratch.

hope that helps,
Brad

[bclark]

QUOTE=HamsaPaksham]
I´m really looking forward this new one, but I hope it will make our life easier and not overcomplicate things.[/QUOTE]

Hamsa,
Well I hope it does not overcomplicate things:), we tried to not just make things complex for complexity sake. That said, you might not need to or want to use all the rig examples we talk about for your own rigs... Simple is best most of the time but its good to know what to do when simple is just not going to work for a particular character or asset.

I hope you check out the book and let us know what you think of it.

later,
Brad

[bclark]

early reviews...thanks every one for the positive feedback so far!

http://www.creaturetd.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=2050#2050

Hey there ! just passing by to say I received the book yesterday, I started chapter 1 and 2 and this is definately awesome for a newbie like me, everything inside is very simply written and effective. I also had a look at Mike Comet's interview and things started to become a little thougher Smile Trying to grasp the concept of world and inverse matrix is no that easy, I now know what they are for, but it is not that easy to build it from scratch, haven't done the related exercises though.

A big thx to all the people involved in the project. This the Richard William's book for rigging !!
Really happy to have bought this amazing book.
I hope it will get the press it deserves.

THX again for sharing this stuff!

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/customer-reviews/1592001165/ref=dp_nav_0/104-6336364-7451933?%5Fencoding=UTF8&n=507846&s=books

Excellent. A must for any Character TD., April 26, 2005
Reviewer: Sean Nolan "Character TD" (Portland, OR) - See all my reviews

I would have given more stars but 5 is the max. This has been a long awaited book that has been so needed for the Character TD community. This is more than a tutorial book, it's a step-by-step look into taking these principles and incorporating them into an already existing pipeline or creating a new robust one. This book is not for the faint at heart; this is an advanced book for sure. However, if you have a good working knowledge of Maya and Character setup, you will reap the rewards from this little gem. Great Job Brad, Joe and John.

and other feedback so far..each post direct link below

http://www.creaturetd.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=1911#1911

http://www.creaturetd.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=1959#1959

http://www.creaturetd.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=1961#1961

http://www.creaturetd.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=1962#1962

http://www.creaturetd.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=1992#1992

[Goon]

Woo! Brad Clark in the hizzouse!

I got this book, and I am delighted. Some of the other inspired books are respectable, but this is quality. Other than Stop Staring, this is the only book I've found that does a good job of handling rigging beyond the level of setting up an IK arm and a reverse foot. And the interviews in them are really sweet too.

[andy_maxman]

would love to know more on the newbie's front...
has anyone totally new to rigging tried this yet?

[Dirtystimpy]

sweet, just ordered it!

[bclark]

andy_maxman: if your brand new to rigging then this might get in to deep to fast.. but there is lots of info that would be good to know if your new to rigging.
A good mix would be to see if you can get the first Inspired 3d rigging book or similar book along with our book...I like the first book and we tried to hard not to duplicate content from the first book..when we do its to show a new/faster/diffrent way to do the same thing.

As always check them out at a local store first if your not sure, borders website lets you check for books instore so you know where to go to find them, wish more stores did that.

later,
Brad

[L.Rawlins]

couple of newbie to rigging questions -

1)would this book go over the head for a newbie to rigging....?
2)what would be your take on auto-rigs and the need to learn rigging on your own?

thank you,
andy

1) I was going to ask that one myself.

2) As far as I'm concerned, its good to know at least the fundamentals of this stuff, especially as a student. My final projects character animation (the bit I care about) will be shite if I've not rigged my character properly. Thats why I'm abouts to press the purchase button on :

'Learning Maya 6 : Character Rigging and Animation'.

With a bit of luck, it should do the trick.

[sporadic]

Ok, as someone who's read the book, I'd say:

1. Like Brad said, this gets deep fairly quick. If you're very familiar with how Maya works (nodes and such) then you'll probably be ok, but getting another rigging book that covers more of the basics (the Inspired one is quite good, and dovetails nicely) would be a really good idea.

2. Building or using? There's actually extensive stuff on writing tools to automate parts of the rigging process in the book. I think it's best to know what the tools do, so you can debug it when it breaks, or extend it when it doesn't do exactly what you need for a particular shot.

I still owe you guys a review that I said I'd do. Time? Whazzat? I'll do it, I promise!

[bclark]

I still owe you guys a review that I said I'd do. Time? Whazzat? I'll do it, I promise![/QUOTE]

:)..no rush..time yeah.. that is a whole book in its self..Time how have more of it and still work in CG:)

[StickFigure]

This is a great book for setup artists. Instead of just explaining how to do something, the book provides a lot of explanation into why certain things are done the way they are. I'm only about a quarter of the way through it now, but I've already learned a lot of new techniques for rigging characters. Great job guys!

[bclark]

I just wanted to thank every one for the great feedback and reviews so far and here are the latest ones from amazon... Thanks agian every one that has submited bugs as well-you have helped our book be even better. The latest errata and download files are up on the www.creatureTD.com website (just log in to download) .
Brad

Finally we skip the nonsense ang right to the meat!, August 17, 2005
Reviewer: Andrei Savu "Andrei" (USA) -
(REAL NAME)
This book not only re-affirms my workflow, but offers distinct perspectives and techniques that help those who may have their own alternative to rigging. Pipeline issues are the most important element of rigging once you hit a certain level, and this book explains possible things to look out for and prepare for no matter what size of the production. Although skipping the book previous to this, I felt right at home while reading and it fit my 'style' of professionalism when discussing things thoroughly and not avoiding any part of the process no matter how small. The other part I loved that the tutorials and examples given don't hold your hand and treat you like you are just getting acquainted with 3D or a computer for that matter. There are subtleties that get mentioned that the experienced TD can learn to appreciate, but may be ignored by the beginner/novice. If you are a beginner a lot of those subtleties or other discussions throughout may confuse you and while you can pretend you understand you may need the 1st book or other hands on rigging experience to fully grasp it enough to be able to apply the knowledge how you want or see fit. THAT is the most important thing about this book.



3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
Finally an advanced book for the aspiring character TD, May 22, 2005
Reviewer: Menashe Morobuse (Holon Israel) - See all my reviews
Covering some very tough to tackle issues with an elegance of an angel, I find this book one of the best books in cg written ever!
I have been waiting for this book for a long time, knowing I will finally find answers and new ideas and directions for me to try.
The book is well written both on the practical side, very advanced issues, and on the educational side, it is very clear and straightforward, while still stimulating your mind to think and evolve.
A job well done. If I could give it more than 5 i would have


A must have for any serious creature TD. , May 16, 2005
Reviewer: Javier Solsona (Vancouver, Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)
Finally a well thought, well structured book catered to the advanced creature TDs out there.
The kind of knowledge you'll get from this book would take years and years to master and now you can easily learn about them over the many pages of priceless info.
It's good to see a book not forgetting about riggers in games since it talks about both games and film rigging alike.
There are only a few true gems available and this is certainly one of them.

Javier Solsona
Creature TD - Propaganda Games



5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
A wealth of knowledge for character TDs!, May 11, 2005
Reviewer: Timothy Naylor (San Francisco, CA) - See all my reviews
This book is fantastic. Its structure and layout are well thought out and executed. The information is for any creature TD looking to improve their skillset and learn new approaches to common creature setup problems.

The book is a gateway to the knowledge base for the industry when it come to rigging concepts and approaches. There is so little information on rigging and this book fills the gap in a professional way.

Timothy Naylor
Creature TD - Industrial Light & Magic

[bclark]

To address some of the image size problems I have posed the book images on the creature TD website. The below link takes you to the errata section that has all the latest info and fixes for the book.

Book Errata link (http://www.creaturetd.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=322)


Thanks agian to every one that has bought or recomended this book.
Brad Clark

[-Vormav-]

There's been a lot of rigging resources coming out lately. :surprised Not that that's a bad thing. ;)
Think I may try to pick this one up in a few weeks. Wouldn't mind having a little something more to look over on my break.

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