Game Character Development With Maya Book Review

Learn 3D Character Modeling in Maya for Games with Antony Ward

Apr 9, 2009

Using the 3D model creation software Autodesk Maya, Antony Ward demonstrates in tutorial form how to model, rig, texture and animate 3D game characters.

Autodesk Maya, along with sister product 3D Studio Max, dominates the professional 3D game model development market. This extremely sophisticated modeling software can take years to master, and most game companies do not expect a single person to design, create, rig, texture and animate a game character model. Rather, a team of specialists all work on their particular area of expertise to create a single 3D game-ready model.

However, there are rare individuals with the talents and experience to be able to create a 3D game character in Maya from scratch. One such individual is Antony Ward. A professional 3D technical artist by trade, Ward has worked for such game giants as Atari and Electronic Art on titles including Micro Machines, Super Street Fighter II and Outrun: Coast 2 Coast.

In his book, Game Character Development with Maya, Ward demonstrates the 3D character modeling techniques he has developed during a successful career as a game developer. In doing so, he proves that a single person working in Maya can create a fully functional animated game character by applying his modeling methods.

Game Character Development with Maya Contents

Game Character Development with Maya includes 16 detailed chapters and a comprehensive appendix that lists web sites and additional reading on the subject of 3D modeling and animation. The chapters walk through the entire game character creation process, from the basic design concept to a polished and optimized game-ready model. The book covers the following areas of game character development:

To illustrate his 3D modeling workflow, Antony Ward designs, models, rigs and textures two separate low polygon 3D game characters: Kila and Grae. Kila is a realistically proportioned female character, while Grae, her alter-ego, is a super-sized heroically proportioned winged monster.

The two vastly different styles of character design demonstrate how Ward's 3D modeling techniques and Maya can be used to create any character model, regardless of potentially difficult design concepts, such as additional limbs, tails or wings. Game Character Development with Maya is supplied with a CD which contains these 3D game models in various stages of development along with all of the reference images used in the book.

3D Game Character Design

The character models Ward creates are, as one would expect from a respected 3D modeling professional, outstanding. Using low polygon 3D modeling techniques to create the form of the characters, he makes expert use of textures to provide detailed touches that bring the characters to life.

As well as being a superb game character developer and expert in the Maya toolset, Ward also proves to be a talented writer. It is a difficult task to explain so technical a subject as 3D game modeling in less than dry terms, yet Ward succeeds in entertaining while educating. The tone of Game Character Development with Maya is relaxed, but always informative. Unlike many similar titles that are rich in content but read like a reference manual, this book is an approachable and enjoyable read.

How to Create 3D Game Models Like a Professional

Game Character Development with Maya is simply the most comprehensive and detailed study of how to create 3D characters for game engines. Antony Ward offers what appears to be an apology for not covering character animation in more depth, but his book, already weighing in at over 800 pages, supplies adequate coverage of the animation basics, and provides an extensive bibliography on the subject of character animation for games in the appendix.

Ward offers a proven design strategy and a detailed account of the 3D model-making process in Maya which he has developed and uses in his career as a professional game character developer. The process itself is far from simple, and may overwhelm the game design beginner, but the insights Antony Ward reveals in Game Character Development with Maya makes this an absolutely invaluable resource for any game developer or seasoned 3D hobbyist who uses or is interested in using Maya as a platform for designing 3D game characters.

The copyright of the article Game Character Development With Maya Book Review in Computer Books is owned by Nicolas McGregor. Permission to republish Game Character Development With Maya Book Review in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.