Creating a 3D Animated CGI Short

Description

Creating a 3D Animated CGI Short presents an insightful behind-the-scenes tour of the entire production process for 3D artists, animators, and independent filmmakers who are interested in creating their own CGI shorts as well as for those who are simply fans and enthusiasts of CGI films in general. This book presents detailed examples of every step of the production process; from initial concept through character design, set design, modeling, texturing, lighting, camera animation, character animation, lip sync, rendering, post-production, compositing, and all the way to film festival submissions and online web distribution. It truly has something for everyone interested in CGI films.

Using readily available off-the-shelf hardware and software such as modo, LightWave 3D, FPrime, HD Instance, Peak, Shake, iMovie, iDVD, GarageBand and more, Creating a 3D Animated CGI Short shows how to produce a complete 3D animated CGI Short, including how to fund the production by taking on paid freelance projects along the way. Where other filmmaking books typically describe industry standard methodologies that are most effective for larger productions, this book shows how to drastically simplify and condense those processes and focus only on the essential elements that will enable a single artist or filmmaker to complete a CGI short on their own.

CONTENTS:

Part 1 The Many Milestones Leading to The Autiton Archives

  Chapter 1 Early Tests

  Chapter 2 Creating a Dry Run Test Short - BlastOff!

  Chapter 3 BlastOff! Results

  Chapter 4 Lessons Learned

  Chapter 5 Funding the Pilot

  Chapter 6 Tools of the Trade

Part 2 Creating the CGI Pilot - Fault Effect

  Chapter 7 Time to Chart a Course

  Chapter 8 Making a 3D CGI Film Star - 0090

  Chapter 9 Lip Sync Animation Study - Tuna Fish

  Chapter 10 0090 Takes a Walk, with IK Booster

  Chapter 11 Designing the Instance Generator Lattice Exterior

  Chapter 12 Designing and Modeling the Interior Set

  Chapter 13 Lighting and Texturing the Interior Set

  Chapter 14 Designing and Animating the Autiton Drone Instances

  Chapter 15 Special Effects

  Chapter 16 Creating a 3D Digital Storyboard and Shot List

  Chapter 17 Animating the Main Character

  Chapter 18 Network Rendering

  Chapter 19 Compositing, Editing, and Output

  Chapter 20 Adding a New Dimension with a Sound Track

Part 3 The Journey Beyond Production

  Chapter 21 Show and Tell - Short Film Distribution

  Chapter 22 Looking to the Horizon and Beyond