Idioteex

Quinbould says:

As author of “Virtual Humans” I’m always looking for good books that bring a higher level to face animation. This is it. Jason writes in an accessable style, good humor and the kind of authority you want in a book. Frankly most other books that cover this subject are pretty boring and the faces are ugly. Jason is a very talented pro who privides you with everything you need to create the best, most realistic facial animation in remarkably easy ways. I recommend it highly to those of you who want to perfect your face animation techniques. His approach is different and better than any other that I’ve seen. I especially recommend this book to anyone who has purchased “Virtual Humans”

Peter Plantec
Rating: 5 / 5

James G. Petropoulos says:

I can’t possibly say enough good things about this book and its author! The first thing which struck (and stuck with) me is that Osipa is an animator first and foremost; Osipa spoke my language from the first page! Basically, he simplifies the many elements which go into facial animation and has come up with a virtually fool-proof yet expandable system based on combining several blend shapes at a time into an extremely flexible series of facial expressions! Previous books either left me marooned with a gazillion blend shape sliders, or otherwise barely explained the process at all in any clear terms. Osipa’s book concentrates on facial animation as it applies to lip sync and facial acting!

Using his own head as a model, Osipa also takes the reader through a quick yet very complete facial modelling course, which concentrates on modelling the head with animation in mind and avoiding many of the pitfalls we might otherwise overlook. Particular attention is given to the eye area, the mouth area, and less obvious but equally important areas such as the teeth and eyebrows (all of which figure in to quality facial animation). Subsequent sections deal with the blend shape process and modelling the various expressions themselves. His advice here is priceless, and he constantly reminds us of basic facial proportions and relationships and how they change as the facial expression changes. He also applies these “rules” to more cartoony heads. ALL of this is well-represented by examples on the accompanying support CD. There is very little room for error!

Perhaps the most important feature of this book, however, are the chapters concerning the rigging and weighing of the head, and setting up the facial controls (things many animators tend to shy away from). Had it not been for Osipa’s book, I probably would have shied away from the expression editor entirely…no one had ever explained how it works in any of the other books I’ve purchased…but Osipa eases the reader into the magical realm of creating expressions. To make it even easier, the support CDs contain the control sliders and expressions. All I had to do was copy and paste them, and Lo! it worked! By seeing expressions in action, I tried a few of my own and they worked as well! Osipa should be covered in gold for this chapter alone!

Finally, Osipa presents his own take on how to approach lip sync. It may or may not be to everyone’s liking, but it does work and it is well-founded on what real dialogue looks like on film. Rather than the traditional phonemes (where the facial expressions are based on the sounds one usually hears), Osipa uses “visimes”, a more visual breakdown of a dialogue. Instead of vowel/consonant sounds, he explains visimes in terms of “open”, “closed”, “narrow”, “wide”, &c. His control system, however, can be used for both his “visime” method as well as the more traditional phoneme method.

I’ve said a lot already but there are a few more things I wish to share with potential readers of this book. ALL books have a few warts, and this one is no exception, but the warts are few and very far between! The most significant “wart” is that some of the support files were written for older versions of Maya and may not work on newer versions, but Osipa maintains a website with updates, and perhaps newer editions of the book have already addressed this. Another relatively minor inconvienience is the flow of the book. One must jump ahead a few chapters and then back a few in order to build the head, which can make things a bit confusing the first time through. There is a method to this madness, however, and with patience and repeated readings (you WILL want to read this until you’ve memorized it!), it isn’t a problem. There are one or two places in the book where Osipa’s wonderful sense of humor might temporarily confuse the reader, but studying the support files cleared up most of my own confusion.

Perhaps the BEST thing of all is Osipa himself. When all else failed and I still couldn’t figure something out, he actually answered my e-mail questions! He is an author who supports his product, and will endeavor to help all who ask. I’ve practically worn out my first copy of this book but not in vain! Once mastered, the contents of this book will bring a new confidence to any MAYA animator and open up a whole new world hitherto available only to a knowledgable few! If I could give this book six and a half or even ten stars, I would! Bravo Zulu, Jason Osipa! WELL DONE INDEED!!!
Rating: 5 / 5