Rating: 
Summary: It's like having a teacher there showing you every step!
Review: 3D Human Modeling and Animation, 2nd Edition" was easy to follow and has excellent step by step clear and concise ilistrations. The best thing about this book is that it's not software specific so you can follow along with any software package. It's like having a teacher there showing you and explaining every step. I would recommend ("3D Human Modeling and Animation, 2nd Edition") to any person, beginer or advanced, who wants to learn how to modeling the human figure and the principals behind animating it as well. This book has certanily advanced my skills as a modeler and animator.(Special thanks to the author, Peter Ratner, for the great support in answering my emails).Kassun Majchrzak
Minnesota
Rating:
Summary: It's like having a teacher there showing you every step!
Review: 3D Human Modeling and Animation, 2nd Edition" was easy to follow and has excellent step by step clear and concise ilistrations. The best thing about this book is that it's not software specific so you can follow along with any software package. It's like having a teacher there showing you and explaining every step. I would recommend ("3D Human Modeling and Animation, 2nd Edition") to any person, beginer or advanced, who wants to learn how to modeling the human figure and the principals behind animating it as well. This book has certanily advanced my skills as a modeler and animator.(Special thanks to the author, Peter Ratner, for the great support in answering my emails). Kassun Majchrzak
Minnesota
Rating:
Summary: Quite an accomplishment!
Review: Creating the human figure in art is hard enough with paint or clay let alone 3D software. In his new book, 3-D Human Modeling and Animation, 2nd Edition, Peter Ratner builds the reader up to the task by introducing the concepts with simple, easy to construct models, then simple characters and finally the human figure. By the end of the book your models will be walking and talking. Quite an accomplishment.
Rating: 
Summary: disappointed
Review: First, I find the reviewer who penned the expression " idiotic critic " insulting. Since when have these reviews become personal attacks. Just because a person has a dissenting opinion, does not make him wrong or idiotic. Second, I see that Amazon has supported the majority by striking the dissenter's review from the list. I have seen negative reviews on other publications that were not removed. If Amazon is " unbiased " , then why remove the review? It did not appear to be a personal attack, but one person's opinion of the book in question. I have read the book in question and I find that the dissenter had some valid points. I found the modeling to be useful. The setup info was a little sketchy. The animation examples were disappointing. I think there was some misinformation about some of the principles of animation as I compared them to the principles defined in " Illusion of Life " and found that some differed, especially overlapping action, follow through and secondary actions.
It is good that some people found the book useful. I did not. Better to look at " Illusion of Life " or " The Animators Survival Kit ", for information on animation techniques.
Rating:
Summary: The Ratner Magic Continues
Review: For people with an inclination towards 3D modelling, human or otherwise, Peter Ratner's series of books are perhaps indispensable. For people who are just starting out on the magical world of 3d graphics, Peter Ratner's series of books are god sent.
The technical nitty-gritties of modelling and animation are carefully, thoughtfully and thoroughly dealt with in this book. The advances of 3d graphics made since the last edition are expertly covered.
I am sure that budding 3d artists like me shall find this book to be a veritable asset.
regards
Partha from India
Rating: 
Summary: To vague
Review: I bought this book after reading all the reviews thinking it would help me finally make a good human character. Sadly it didn't. The section on modeling the simply stuff like the knife and cow are pretty good but when you get to the modeling of a human part it becomes so vague you have to guess at everything and the picture don't even help that much. You start of with the box and make some cuts then all the sudden it says make a general shape of the head with no help at all. He could have atleast showed it lined up with a referance picture. The guy that said the animations were poor on the cd was right. I mean body parts passing through each other is pretty bad. I know they are student animations but come on do you think thats usefully to me? Another thing that bothers me is the cover. Anyone that looks at this would think wow I can make something like that after reading this book but the fact is that model is created by the great Steven Stahlberg who is as far as I'm concerned the best human modeler out there (He should write a book). Look at the cover model by Steven and compare it to Peters enough said.
Rating:
Summary: To vague
Review: I bought this book after reading all the reviews thinking it would help me finally make a good human character. Sadly it didn't. The section on modeling the simply stuff like the knife and cow are pretty good but when you get to the modeling of a human part it becomes so vague you have to guess at everything and the picture don't even help that much. You start of with the box and make some cuts then all the sudden it says make a general shape of the head with no help at all. He could have atleast showed it lined up with a referance picture. The guy that said the animations were poor on the cd was right. I mean body parts passing through each other is pretty bad. I know they are student animations but come on do you think thats usefully to me? Another thing that bothers me is the cover. Anyone that looks at this would think wow I can make something like that after reading this book but the fact is that model is created by the great Steven Stahlberg who is as far as I'm concerned the best human modeler out there (He should write a book). Look at the cover model by Steven and compare it to Peters enough said.
Rating:
Summary: Disappointing content, few supporting visuals
Review: I had hope for this book; glowing reviews online and (admittedly) the slick cover compelled me to purchase this to learn about human modelling. While it seems to thoroughly touch upon many aspects of modelling techniques and tools and human anatomy, the book's diagrams are not very helpful and often jump steps. For example, the chapter on head modelling using polygons only shows perspective views, omitting the front and side views, and often skips several steps without much explanation as to why particular polygons were created. The rest of the book acts in a very similar fashion. The author's own models don't look particularly aesthetically appealing, as they look like they come straight out of Poser. This doesn't offer much encouragement. ~_~ For more comprehensive modelling and animation techniques, I'd recommend Maestri's "Digital Animation 2." It is much easier to learn from, and its full-color diagrams and easy-to-digest text help with the learning process.
Rating:
Summary: A must have for 3d Modelers and animators.
Review: I have purchased many books on this subject, and I would recommend this one for the following reasons. My best 3d work has always come from a thorough understanding of the object(s) I am attempting to model. Mr. Ratners book not only covers modeling in a detailed and thoughtful manner, but also takes time to take an in-depth look at the subject matter - anatomy in this case. I have found this book extremely useful, and look forward to more titles from this author.
Rating:
Summary: Perfect modelling, no proper manuals.
Review: I have read thru this book in the library and I would not recommend this book to any 3D graphics novice since this book is only giving you the ideas to improve your imagination on the human body structure, advanced texturing and etc.
This book is only USEFUL for those who are experts in using their 3D programme tools and therefore this book might contribute to their creativity.
Other than that, this book is a NO NO to me because no proper instructions are written on how to use your tools in a particular 3D programme(such as 3Ds MAx).
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