[.ca] Stop Staring: Facial Modeling and Animation Done Right (ISBN 0471789208)

From Amazon.com:
Lips, brows, frown lines--they're all in motion in an expressive face. Stop Staring analyzes facial structures and movements and shows animators how to enliven the faces of their characters. The author, whose own handsome head (in modeled form) graces the cover, is an experienced animator currently working on The Sims. He writes with a dry wit and a confidence born from experience. The book is friendly but also loaded with content and precise in its directions. "I am by no means God's gift to animation, but I do pretty well at making a talking head look like a living one, not just a set of gums flapping." This is not a how-to manual, but a richly detailed guide to achieving the right movements for a given situation and emotion. The companion CD includes all the pieces readers will need in order to work along with the text: models (both realistic and stylized 'toon characters), lip-synching samples, finished Quicktime movies, and even a copy of Maya Personal LE. (More info and some movies can be found at jasonosipa.com.) Readers move from "Getting to Know the Face," to synching audio, working on the mouth, eyes, and brows, and rigging. Osipa has created a methodology for facial animation that gets results and makes the process fun. The book can be used as a step-by-step guide for learning new skills or finessing techniques, or as a reference book for troubleshooting specific expressions (for example, "happy eyes," "frustration," and "sneers" are all in the index). Although the projects are presented using Maya, the concepts involved pertain to animation in general. There are lots of production tips and, in Chapter 13, case studies using five scripted scenes. Readers can even begin with this last chapter, watching the movies (they're funny!) and enjoying Osipa's debates as he works through animating his face telling a lame bartender joke or a sassy `toon gal weighing the pros and cons of pink and blue bows. This hip writer knows what he's talking about, even when it's his own animated mug that's doing the talking! --Angelynn Grant

The best book on Virtual Human face animation design.:
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

Incredible stuff.:
It's quite difficult to find books that tackle even semi-realistic polygon modelling and animation, so finding Stop Staring was one heck of a relief. Even the excellent "Joan of Arc" online tutorial pales to what's in these pages. I'd go as far to say that what this book will teach you about modern character modelling for games (between 5k and 10k polys) is better than Steed's "Modelling a Character in 3DS Max" (which, without wishing to offend, reads like one big annotated construction journal and isn't quite as helpful).

Great facial rigging book!:
If you are a beginner or a profesional 3d artist wanting to learn more about facial animation then this book is your bible! Jason Osipa clearly describes and explains all sorts of great tips and techniques to create very life like animation. A must have for all 3d buffs!

Good facial rigging made easy!!!!:
CGI character rigging is tough stuff. Those of us who have to sit in some studio dealing with this stuff every day know that it can take years to really get fluid at this art form. I thought "Stop Staring" used an intuitive, user friendly and fun approach to teaching this difficult subject. Not only is the technical side simply explained but the author does a great job of teaching how to artistically create voice sync animation.....using our own CGI characters or those provided on a disk....to create fantastically good CGI animations. I know It'll be helpful to my career. Nice Job to all involved on "Stop Staring".

Fantastic, even if you don't use Maya!:
After reading through 'Stop Staring', I must say that it was quite helpful in explaining a lot of terms and ideas used in developing facial expression animations. While I am not a Maya developer or animator, (I use Flash for animation work) this book really helped me see things in a much more granular and detailed manner. You really start to appreciate and pay attention to all of the fine minutia that goes into a truly effective and expressive facial animation. Very careful attention to detail around the eyes, eyebrows and mouth can make the difference between a flat, boring and life-less avatar and a truly human-like interaction. The book thoroughly explained, with clear text and great visual examples, the hundreds of little tips, tricks and ideas needed to develop realistic characters for games and artwork. Now I think about a lot more levels of detail, even when doing a simple Flash animation of people, to give even the flattest cartoon a little more life and interaction. It's a great book for those who want to cover the basics (and details) of facial animation, and an even better deal for those who use Maya.