Digital Animation Bible: Creating Professional Animation with 3ds Max, Lightwave, and Maya

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Summary: why this book is the one...
Review: I bought the 'Digital Animation Bible' in December 2003 and I've been reading and re-reading it ever since. I can honestly say that it is about the most useful book of its kind that I've ever come across. My background is in graphics and digital audio and I would describe my general knowledge of computing as strong...but you don't need that much computer experience to get major benefits from reading this.

The book offers comprehensive overviews of the three leading animation programs (3ds Max, Lightwave and Maya) and also gives extensive coverage to general information about virtually every aspect of the field. If you're starting out with either no knowledge or just a general grasp, you should finish up with a very clear idea of what's going on and how you could get in on the action.

Normally, I get bored with shelf-busters because they often don't tell you much you don't already know - or if they do, they take relatively straight forward ideas and pedal them out over so many pages that you either loose the thread, or fall asleep before you arrive at the meat of the issue.

George Avgeraki's book is different. He's got a real knack for condensing key ideas into just a few pages or paragraphs in such a way as to make it possible for you to 'get it' with comparative ease. He also has a positive and enthusiastic 'can do' writing style that makes it easy to absorb what he's pitching you.

There is a great intro to splines, an extremely revealing description of the use by professionals of 3rd party compositing programs for rendering, and lots excellent insights on how people actually approach their work on a day to day basis.

The chapter on 'objects and surfaces' is particularly worth visiting - even if you think that you already have the basic idea.

One of the unique things about this manual that sets it apart from the competition is that George Avgerakis has peppered it with lots of valuable little nuggets from his business experience in the field. He's done this in a way that's funny and entertaining - it never gets in the way of the the reason why you're reading the book - but it's illuminating, whether your coming to this field as freelancer or as potential (or actual) employee. If you want some insight into what your client or employer is looking for from you in the computer animation game then you can get that perspective courtesy of Mr Avgerakis.

So, in summary, a great book and well worth your reading time.