1st Edition
Essential Skills for 3D Modeling, Rendering, and Animation
3D Space
How Do We Know Where Things Are In 3D Graphics?
How Do We Determine These Positions?
What Are The Coordinate Systems? Are There More Than Just One?
What is Local Space?
How Do I Change an Object’s Position in Space?
From Where Does an Object Move When You Move It?
Can I Reset the Transforms After Moving My Object?
Exercise: Transforming Objects in Space with Maya
Conclusion
Polygonal Geometry
What is a Model?
But How Can Triangles Build Smooth Surfaces?
Triangulation and Polygons
How Do I Create Polygon Models?
Polygon Primitives
How Do I Edit Polygon Models?
Exercise: Modeling with Polygon Tools
NURBS and Curve-Based Geometry
Questions to be Answered
What is a Curve?
What are NURBS Curves and How Do They Work?
How Do You Create NURBS Curves?
How Do I Ed it NURBS Curves?
What Are NURBS Curves Used For? What Do I Do With Them?
What are NURBS Surfaces? How Are They Created?
How Do I Edit NURBS Surfaces?
How Do I Create NURBS Surfaces Out Of My Curve Out lines?
Is There A Way To Cut A Hole In A NURBS Surface?
How Do I Convert NURBS Into Polygons?
NURBS Concepts Conclusion—When Do I Use NURBS?
Exercise: The Wine Glass
Lighting, Materials, Textures, and UVs
What is "Rendering"?
What Are the Things Required to Render a Scene?
How do Cameras Work in 3D?
What is Shading?
When Do I Use Depth Map Shadows? When Do I Use Ray Tracing?
What are Textures?
What is "UV Mapping"?
When Do I Need To Create UV Mapping?
How Do I Create UV Maps?
How Do I Create More Complex UV Mappings?
How Do I Render An Image?
Exercise: Creating a Complex Material
What You Learned
Animation
What is Animation?
How Do You Animate?
What Can I Animate?
What Are The Different Methods Of Animating?
What Are Other Ways To Animate?
How Do I Create Great Hand-Key-framed Animations?
How Do I Create Acceleration and Deceleration?
How Do I Become A Good Animator?
Exercise: The Ball That Bounces Itself
Conclusion
Index
Biography
Nicholas Bernhardt Zeman started his career in 3D graphics at the University of Kentucky, where during graduate school he began working in 3D Studio Max for the first time. After almost 12 years in character rigging for sports games, he decided to leave the employment of game developers and focus on the academic pursuit of interactive development as a professor at Northern Kentucky University. He began his own digital media technology company, RHZ Development LLC, where he continues to consult and produce functional games through gamification, mobile apps, and mobile games under the studio brand Little Fish Games and RHZ Development.
"Zeman’s instruction took me from a complete novice, having only dreamed of using 3D, to a proficient modeler, rigger, and animator for indie game development and has given me the foundational information to be able to quickly learn any 3D program."
—Nick Brummer, Indie Game Designer, Curriculum Developer
