Rating: 
Summary: I've never seen a 3D book like this before...
Review: I haven't finish reading this book but I'd say this book is definitely great. and I think the book is all about human model. and I think i've never seen a book that has detail about facials, anatomy, chacter animation like this before. and surely it's very useful. We don't have a CG book like this and I really hope we can have translated one in Korea. as you know, the most important thing about computer graphic is not the skill about using tool. I think it's artistic license and basic theories...
Rating:
Summary: The book is great!
Review: I like how it's not directed at any particular package and that it has a lot of theory (anatomy, animation principles, etc.) included. The author has put together a thorough education of human modeling and animation without being overbearing. The book is about 300 pages long, and covers all the important aspects of the trade, including the theory behind character animation as well as the anatomical basis for human modeling. The book is also well illustrated with clearly notated images, nicely lit renders for reference, and a selection of beautiful full color pictures for inspiration.
Rating: 
Summary: Not for Animation
Review: I read a lot of reviews, but not until now have I been moved to write one.
This book may provide useful information for modeling and setup, but don't expect to learn animation from it. This would be like the blind leading the blind. I looked through the examples on the cd and there isn't a good piece of animation anywhere on it. I think he used all his students work for the main examples, he certainly has populated the cd with the works of his students. The basic principles of animation are missing, even though the chapters on the disk indicate the contents to be such.
I have been in the cg animation business for 20 years, so I think I know what I am talking about. For those who doubt my veracity, I have worked on features you have gone to see in the theater. I have worked on tv shows and commercials you have watched on TV and I have worked on video games you have played. My review is not personal, just my honest observations, where some comments directed at me were personal. I suggest that Mr. Ratner, put better animations as examples on his next version. And, by the way, I also teach animation at the University Level.
Rating:
Summary: An invaluable resource for animators
Review: I've been an animation student for 2 years and this has been the most helpful book on human modeling and animation I have read. My animations have gone from moving puppets to life-like humans thanks to the priniciples taught in this book. The hair tutorial alone makes this book an invaluable resource for animators looking to create realistic models with natural looking and reacting hair. The lighting discussion has improved the visual quality of my renders ten-fold. Buy this book.Professors: this is THE book to use in teaching both theory AND application of all that is 3D human modeling and animating.
Rating:
Summary: There are better books than this one
Review: If you want to learn how to model the human form, I defitnely won't recommend this book. I bought this book as a newbie modeller. But it didn't help me a bit. I learned more from reading about modeling and topology on diferent forums. And now I can say that about 90% of Peter Ratner's modeling theories are plain incorrect. He doesn't even mention edge loops. Even if it is mentioned because I missed it, still edge loops is a term that should have been mentioned 10 times or more on every page. It is one of the very pillars of modeling theory. Instead Peter Ratner tells us to extrude a polygon, cut it a few times and move the vertices around until you get the nose shape, or the ear shape or whatever. My grandmother could have told me that for free.
Anyway, the second half of the book was helpful though. But I must say that the second half (that's about animation and lighting and texturing) is standard knowledge that is explained far better in other books. The CD has a few nice artwork on it. Nothing I could have downloaded from various sites on my own. What could have been more useful was tutorials on how the authors of those images made those images.
If you are a beginner, skip this one! There are better books like "Stop starring", all the books from the [DIGITAL:] series from the top of my head.
Rating:
Summary: Simplifies the creation of beautiful animations
Review: Peter Ratner did a wonderful job explaining the complex techniques used to create beautiful animation in a simple, easy-to-digest manner. The chapters flow smoothly and follow a logical step-by-step progression that de-mystifies the oftentimes overwhelming results achieved by industry professionals. His tried-and-true techniques have helped his students secure careers with such noteworthy companies as Blizzard, Pixar, Square, Metrolight Studios, Big Idea, Bethesda Softworks, etc. His former students have worked on Monsters Inc, Toy Story 2, A Bug's Life, Diablo, Warcraft, Starcraft, Total Recall, Final Fantasy, Veggie Tales, Penguins, Pirates of the Caribbean, The Elder Scrolls and many others that are too numerous to list here. I'm aware of this because I'm currently a senior animation major and have learned the majority of what I know from Mr. Ratner. I feel justified in my praise of his work. His lessons have inspired me to go above and beyond what I thought was possible and will play an integral role in my securying a career in the highly competitive field of computer animation.
Rating:
Summary: 3 animation classes for [$$$]
Review: The book is everything you'd expect from the title. It shows how to model and animate a human from start to finish. The book progresses much like a class. In fact it has a proposed class schedule on the back, which is also good for those who are learning at home. Goals w/o deadlines are only dreams. It begins with some simple models to get accustomed modeling until it progresses to actual humans. It uses two different methods. One with surface/patch modeling. the other uses sub-d. He then progresses to teaching animation, with some classical animation principles, morphing targets for the face, boning and rigging a char, even hair and I think a bit of clothes. What attracts me to the book is the theory behind all the actual instructions. The book devotes a chapter to anatomy, and consequently refers to it in the following chapters, and also addresses the theories behind animation. It tells you why as much as how. It's pretty much a classroom in a book. That's also the downfall. If you are not willing to study, do not buy this book. It's not a tutorial that shows every single cut to make or point to move or face to extrude. It shows the basics and requires you to use the theory it teaches to adjust your model. If you are completely new to character modelling get Paul steed's book first. This book should be used as a supplement in a classroom, where a teacher would explain some of the details to the student, or by someone willing to research the info. The latter is not at all easy. Lastly, it does contain nudity. So unfortunately, i wouldn't recommend this to minors. it's really unfortunate cuz many young ppl are starting in this field, and this book could really give them a jump start. hope that helps. Oh and as far as my opinion, Excellent book. It's the best character modeling resource, i've found thus far, but it is still only a resource. In the end, learning the craft is still reliant on the student. Also, all reviews displayed here from 2002 back are from the first edition, which I assume is significantly different.
Rating:
Summary: Disappointing at best, misleading at worst
Review: The cover of this book suggests that the book will help you model and animate human characters with the same subtlety and expression shown in the picture. It turns out that apart from being a 3D human character, the cover shot is unrelated to the content. The book is a clumsy and uninspired walkthrough of basic construction techniques and theory, apparently aimed at the complete novice who won't know that the examples are poor. The book takes you through the steps required to build and animate perfunctory human models, with some related theoretical instruction, but the examples are amateurish, and the reasoning behind the instruction isn't well-supported or explained. Techniques specific to the building of a human character aren't adequately addressed -- in fact, the book begins with the assumption that you've never modeled anything in 3D at all, and gives brief overviews of modelling techniques better illuminated elsewhere. Brief examples of storyboards, posing, making hair, and other ideas tangential to the key concepts are given, but even these are unsatisfactory. One example summed it up for me-- to show how intial sketches may lead to a more detailed storyboard, a series of frames from the animation clearly rendered with a "cel shader" was photoshopped onto an array of pseudo-randomly rotated rectangles, with faux-paper wrinkles and drop shadows added, to make them look like a number of drawings on cocktail napkins. As in this example, nowhere in the book was any artistic sense or grasp of theory shown, things which I feel are essential to human animation, and I would guess that the result of studying this book would be more of the same Bryce and Poser cookie-cutter creativity in abundance online. Perhaps the book may be useful for someone who has never taken an art class, drawn a figure, or used a 3D program before, but it's disappointing to someone looking for genuine insight into what may be the trickiest field in art.
Rating:
Summary: 5 stars all the way throught the text.
Review: This book is definitely at the top of my list as one of the most useful 3D texts that I have reviewed. It is so jam packed with information and illustrations that it will probably take me 3 years to go through it. It must have taken the author twice that long to study the complexity involved with computer animation.
I found that Mr. Ratner covers the most popular modeling techniques such as subdivision surface, NURBS, and
spline modeling. He has the reader start modeling simple objects and gradually builds up to humans. After learning how to model, he shows how to rig up humans for animation. Lighting and texturing is also covered. Details such as making hair, teeth, eyes, etc. are also in the book and make it complete for the beginner and advanced illustrator to take note of his advice. He even includes an anatomy chapter. He must have been a med student at one time or had one of those plastic see through human figure models where you can take out individual organs. Another chapter tells how to make morph targets for facial expressions and dialogue. He tells readers which basic facial morphs are made (about 50) that lets them create thousands of others by blending variations of them. There is a lot of information about animation techniques and principles. The color insert has human model illustrations from well-known artist around the world. This book
has too much in it to do it justice in one little review.
Rating: 
Summary: Not nearly worth the price
Review: This book was assigned for an introductory modeling course that I took at RIT last year. I and all of my (about 35) classmates had major difficulty with it. Our professors got so frustrated with it that they stopped giving us assignments from it within six weeks. If you're an educator, consider the following before giving this book to your class: The modeling section is unbelievably vague. How do you model the interior of the human ear, or the human torso? Ratner frequently answers both questions (and many others) with, "cut polygons and move points," rarely saying where to cut or what to move. Simple tasks are covered in multiple steps, complex tasks are glanced over. The illustrations are uninformative, often jumping from a rough template to a fully articulated model in one or two steps. Worst, Ratner omits a lot of crucial modeling fundamentals. He never mentions edge-loops, the concept of topology following the contours of form, or the prevailing practice of using mostly quads (in fact, both the patch and subdiv examples are loaded with triangles). Incidentally, the NURBS/patch exercises are incompatible with Maya because of all the triangular patches. Beyond the modeling section, the book is even less useful. It's not bad, just very incomplete, and what is there is not terribly well-explained. For example, Ratner touches on the principles of animation but gives no tutorials on how to employ them. (The only animation tutorial in the book is a walk cycle, and it's both simplistic and confusing.) Moreover, the example animations from book's accompanying CD are lacking in those fundamentals. Typical of beginners' CG, they show a poor sense of weight, their timing is off, and the characters MOVE, but don't ACT. They're not terrible, but they clearly need work. Judging from all the glowing reviews, it's obvious that a lot of people disagree with me. Let me clarify what I mean to say about this book: it's not worthless, and it WILL provide someone new to CG with some basic information. However, you can find the same information and much more on any high-end CG website, free, better-written, and with much more detailed tutorials. And, if you want books that go even more in-depth than that, I'd recommend any of the alternatives other reviewers have offered up on this page, especially Richard Williams' definitive text "The Animator's Survival Kit." I would also recommend "Anatomy for the Artist" by Sarah Simblet.
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