Game Anim: Video Game Animation Explained

by Jonathan Cooper

Game Anim teaches the technical and artistic fundamentals of video game animation and goes further to provide practical advice and industry insights to help you become a rounded and successful game animator. Covering every stage of game production from the animator’s perspective, it is packed with the lessons learned from working on a variety of game types in both in-game and cinematic roles in animator, lead, and director positions. These have been successful across multiple studios regardless of team, size and culture. The 2nd edition includes a new chapter on 2D and Pixel Art Animation, an enhanced mocap chapter covering the latest developments in Motion Matching, and even more interviews with top professionals in the field. Game Anim provides essential guidance to those looking to break into the industry and successful animators wishing to take the next step in their career. Key Features • 20 Years of Accumulated knowledge from 2 decades of experience in all areas of game animation. • The 5 Reinterprets the classic 12 animation principles and sets out 5 new fundamentals for great game animation. • Animator Notable game animators offer behind-the-scenes stories, tips, and advice. • Free Animation Free "AZRI" maya rig, tutorials and other resources on the accompanying www.gameanim.com/book

Genres: Game Design, Video Games, Gaming, Games

350 pages, Paperback

First published January 14, 2019

Reviews

[Valentine · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this book. A certain amount of it was review from what I've learned about film-making and animation from other reading/research but there were also a lot of considerations especially for game animation that were also interesting.

Every so often I felt a little bit out of my depth, where a concept I'm not fully familiar with felt under explained, but as I'm relatively new and self taught when it comes to 3d modelling and animation, maybe this is something that I would have already known about with a more formal education.

I would have liked some more technical info, but browsing the book website it looks like the tutorials there might cover most of the things I felt like I wanted to know more about.

Including information about the actual process of production was a good call. I imagine a lot of people getting into studio work don't really know what to expect, so the author covering a number of different disciplines, what their concerns might be, and how they typically might interact felt like a really good inclusion.

Overall, it feels like a solid reference. It gave me a lot of things to think about.

[Mason Jones · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good insights into how game Animation workflow runs. A few applicable tips here and there, but most of the learning will be based on hands on work actually animating first. It mainly felt like an enhancement of knowledge one should already have before reading.

[Mushfiqur · Rating 5 out of 5]

Invaluable

This book has been invaluable to me about setting up an animation pipeline for my game studio. Highly recommended, especially for beginners.