Book Review: Character Development in Blender 2.5

Character Development in Blender 2.5

• written by Jonathan Williamson
• Paperback: 496 pages
• Publisher: Course Technology PTR; 1 edition (June 17, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1435456254
• ISBN-13: 978-1435456259
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 7.3 x 1.5 inches

I love character modeling and I always have, but with a few exceptions here and there, I have mostly modeled cute little animal characters and avoided humans like the plague. Why? because they are darn difficult to get right. And it is so obvious when you get them wrong.

So I was pretty excited when I heard that Jonathan Williamson had written a book on character modeling. First off I was excited because I have been watching Jonathan’s tutorials for some time and I enjoy the way he teaches. Second because I happen to know that not only is he a great character modeler, but he puts a big focus on topology. Which is something that I seriously need to practice and get better at. And third, the character is based on concept art by David Revoy, my favorite concept artist ever.

All of which means I started with some pretty high expectations. And I’m sure I’m not the only one. Something which probably made Jonathan more than a little nervous when it went on sale.

When it finally arrived in the mail, (yes I got my copy from the blendercookie website so I could have it signed), my first reaction was “OMG! it’s HUGE!!!”, Second reaction, this is going to take forever for me to get through. I didn’t expect it to be quite so big of a book, but once I started flipping through it, I quickly realized that there was a reason it was so big. There is a lot to creating a detailed character. Far more than creating my little animal guys.

Once I got past the Blender tour sections and into the actual modeling of the character, (she really needs a name by the way, seems so rude to just keep calling her “that character”) I started to realize that this was far easier than I expected it to be. Somehow it never dawned on me to start a character model by blocking in basic shapes and form. Yeah should have been a no-brainer, which is exactly why I needed to read a book like this.

Okay so I have to confess that I am still working my way through the book. I know, I am beyond slow, especially when I have to follow directions. I have finished blocking in everything and next up is sculpting. But even though I haven’t gotten all the way through the book yet, I can say with certainty that this is a great book and based on what I have learned so far, well worth it. I have already learned so much that will help me on future projects and there is still quite a bit of book to go. So of course more learning for me.

Surprisingly enough, even though I am really bad at following instructions, I pleased to announce that my model looks quite a bit like Jonathan’s at this stage. Which is quite a testament to his teaching ability.

I am very impressed with how well Jonathan’s teaching style shows through in a written format. The only thing I miss from his video tutorials is the occasional boo-boos that he leaves in to show how to fix them when and if they come up.

So there you have it, in my opinion Jonathan’s new book, Character Development in Blender 2.5 is a must read for anyone wanting to improve their character models and general modeling skills.

Okay then, I need to get back to my model.

3 new books: a first impression

Lucky me, I had three new Blender books arrive all at once (well two arrived last week while I was camping and one showed up yesterday ). And no I haven’t finished reading them all yet, I’m good, but not that good.

I have what is probably an odd habit when I get new books, especially Blender books. After I have finished ooohing, ahhhing and hugging my new treasure (what? …. you don’t hug your Blender books? Sure you don’t ), I do what I call a flip through.

I check out and read the front material, yes I actually read the front material. Never know what interesting stuff might be hidden in there. Then I read the table of contents to get an idea of how information (topics) is going to be broken down and what will be covered.

Then I flip through the book, stopping at random pages that capture my attention. While flipping through I take a good look at how the information is layed out. (Left over habit from working in printing for so long). Then I check out any resources (project files) that might have come with the book.

So having done my “flip through” on all my new books, I thought I’d share a few first impressions I have on them.

First up is Virgilio Vasconcelos‘ book, Blender 2.5 Character Animation Cookbook.

• published by Packt Publishing
• also available on Amazon

Blender 2.5 Character Animation Cookbook is part of Packt Publishing’s Cookbook Series. I like the way the Cookbook series is formated. Each section (tutorial) starts with and introduction giving a short summary of what will be learned. Then there is a tutorial on the topic, with clearly numbered steps followed by a “How it works” section that explains what you just did and why. Very nice format not only for learning but future reference.

Virgilio’s book contains 50, yes 50 tutorials. Now that is impressive right off the bat. Looking through the table of contents, you can see that the first half of the book (chapters 1-5) cover building rigs for various sections of the body. The last half is spent showing you how to use the rigs you just created to produce life like animations.

There is obviously a lot of information covered in this book on a rather difficult topic. Okay a difficult topic for me , so I am going to have to read carefully and make sure I give myself time to properly assimilate the information.

Next up I have Blender 2.5 HOTSHOT by John E. Herreño.

• by Packt Publishing
• On Amazon

Now this book just looks fun. It has a variety of fun and interesting projects to do while learning important Blender concepts and tools. There are 8 projects included in the book as well as two bonus projects that you download as pdfs (the links are listed in the table of contents).

• Project 9, Render a Kitchen, is a 32 page pdf and at a qucik glance looks to be quite thorough.
• Project 10, Model a Basic Humanoid, a 28 page tutorial, covers how to create a basic humanoid that can then be further refined as desired.

The layout on Blender 2.5 HOTSHOT, is rather fun itself. Each chapter is presented as a Mission, with sections headings that follow that theme, such Mission Briefing, Prepare for Liftoff, etc. And of course each chapter ends with a Objective Complete – Mini Debriefing that explains how and what you just did.

And finally I have Jonathan Williamson’s Character Development in Blender 2.5.

• Available from Blender Cookie
• On Amazon (also available for Kindle)

This one arrived just yesterday, and when I opened the package, my very first thought was “OMG, it’s HUGE”. It weighs in at just under 500 pages of Jonathan’s experience in character modeling. Jonathan shows you how to model a female character based on concept art from the talented David Revoy.

The book is split into five sections.

1. covers an introduction to Blender and how it works
2. covers modeling features such as modeling tools, modifiers and sculpting
3. starts modeling the character
4. lighting, materials and rendering
5. preparing the character for complete texturing

At the end of the book, in the resource section, Jonathan points you to various websites where you can find more information and help if needed as well as a nice bonus. He included video tutorials on the dvd that explains some concepts in further detail.

So there are my first impressions, such as they are and now I need to find a 3 sided coin to help me choose which one to read first.

But knowing me, I will most likely read them all at the same time.

bye now.

I’m Back!

Alrighty then, I am back from 10 days of camping fun. I was delighted to discover that I still totally rock at fishing. My four year old daughter and I seriously out fished the boys and we were using a 2 foot pink “Barbie” pole. Girl Power rocks!

But of course all vacations eventually end and we are now back at home. I was greeted with over 600 emails. And only about a dozen of them were even important. Sigh, I really need to stop signing up for newsletters at every site I visit.

Boy that took forever to sort through, which now leads me to state, I was very careful about sorting through them. But I may have gotten a little “click and delete” happy with all those emails.

So if you emailed me about issue #35 or any Blender related question, and I have not answered you, PLEASE re-send your email. I may have clicked and deleted you on accident.

In addition to all those emails, I also received two of the three Blender books I was expecting and I should be receiving the last one in a day or two. So stay tuned for reviews, thoughts and comments on the following books in the next couple of weeks as I finish reading them.

Blender 2.5 Character Animation Cookbook by Virgilio Vasconcelos (already received)

Blender 2.5 HOTSHOT by John E. Herreño (already received)

Character Development in Blender 2.5 by Jonathan Williamson (expect to arrive any day now )

Well that is it for now, I’m going to flip through my new books and check them out a little before bed.

And remember:

if you emailed me about issue #35 or any Blender related question, and I have not answered you, PLEASE re-send your email. I may have clicked and deleted you on accident.

bye now

Two New Blender Books at Packt Publishing

Packt Publishing has two new Blender Books available for order. I have a copy of each on it’s way and they should be here in the next week (more or less ). Once I have them in my hot little hands, I will be reading and then reviewing both books. So stay tuned for those reviews within the next couple of weeks. In the meantime, here are links to the two new books and a general overview of their contents. Both books have links to their table of contents as well as sample chapter downloads.

First up we have Blender 2.5 Character Animation Cookbook by Virgilio Vasconcelos. This is another of Packt Publishing’s Cookbook series.

Overview of Blender 2.5 Character Animation Cookbook

• Learn how to create efficient and easy to use character rigs
• Understand and make your characters , so that your audience believes they’re alive
• See common approaches when animating your characters in real world situations
• Learn the techniques needed to achieve various setups, from IK-FK blending to corrective shape keys and eyes controllers
• The only book to cover advanced aspects of working with character animation in Blender.
• eBook available as PDF and ePub downloads and also on PacktLib

Next up is Blender 2.5 HOTSHOT by John E. Herreño

Overview of Blender 2.5 HOTSHOT

• Exciting projects covering many areas: modeling, shading, lighting, compositing, animation, and the game engine
• Strong emphasis on techniques and methodology for the best approach to each project
• Utilization of many of the tools available in Blender 3D for developing moderately complex projects
• Clear and concise explanations of working in 3D, along with insights into some important technical features of Blender 3D
• Projects that you can tweak yourself to create magnificent finished models. Have a look at Chapter 9 and Chapter 10 and see for yourself.
• eBook available as PDF and ePub downloads and also on PacktLib

Book Review: Claire-Obscure

Claire-obscure By Billie Hinton (smashwords)

Claire-obscure By Billie Hinton (Amazon)

I received a free copy of Claire-Obscure from the recent Blog Tour de Troops held over Memorial Day weekend. It took very little time before I was thoroughly hooked into the story. I finished it more than a week ago and was just now ready to write a review about it. This story left a deep and lasting impression on me that is sure to linger for quite some time.

Claire has issues, she wants to be a writer but only writes letters to Virginia Woolf. She has unresolved issues from childhood, a distant mother and a gay father and that is only the tip of the iceberg.

A chance encounter in a club sends her on a dangerous path of self examination as she finds herself trapped in an increasingly unhealthy relationship with Finn Weston, a medical student who has serious issues of his own. And then there is Raoul Duras, a dangerous man in his own right as a Delta Force member who likes to rescue damsels in distress.

Only Claire isn’t sure she wants to be rescued or that she deserves to be.

All three of the main characters are amazing multi faceted people with flaws, quirks and are entirely too human in their need to be loved and to love. Watching this story unfold is kind of like coming up on a massive car accident. You know beyond a shadow of a doubt that it isn’t going to be pretty and yet you can’t look away. The emotions of each decision or lack of decision are so raw that it almost breaks your heart watching Claire as she slides into madness with Finn and tries desperately to find some kind of normal with Raoul. The characters are so real that you feel like you have been on an emotional roller-coaster ride by time it is over.

This book was beautifully written in an incredibly thought provoking and more than mildly disturbing way that will leave a lasting impression on you.