Mullen Tony Andaur Claudio - Blender studio projects: digital movie-making

Acquisitions Editor: Mariann Barsolo

Development Editor: David Clark

Technical Editor: Carlos Ivan Hoffmann

Production Editor: Elizabeth Ginns Britten

Copy Editor: Sharon Wilkey

Editorial Manager: Pete Gaughan

Production Manager: Tim Tate

Vice President and Executive Group Publisher: Richard Swadley

Vice President and Publisher: Neil Edde

Media Associate Project Manager: Jenny Swisher

Media Associate Producer: Shawn Patrick

Media Quality Assurance: Doug Kuhn

Book Designers: Frank Baumhackl, Lori Barra

Compositor: Kate Kaminski, Happenstance Type-O-Rama

Proofreader: Nancy Bell

Indexer: Ted Laux

Project Coordinator, Cover: Lynsey Stanford

Cover Designer: Ryan Sneed

Copyright 2010 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana

Published simultaneously in Canada

ISBN: 978-0-470-54313-9

ISBN: 978-0-470-87583-4 (ebk)

ISBN: 978-0-470-87584-1 (ebk)

ISBN: 978-0-470-87586-5 (ebk)

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise, except as permitted under Sections 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, (978) 750-8400, fax (978) 646-8600. Requests to the publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, (201) 748-6011, fax (201) 748-6008, or online at http://www.wiley.com/go/permissions .

Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty: The publisher and the author make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this work and specifically disclaim all warranties, including without limitation warranties of fitness for a particular purpose. No warranty may be created or extended by sales or promotional materials. The advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for every situation. This work is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting, or other professional services. If professional assistance is required, the services of a competent professional person should be sought. Neither the publisher nor the author shall be liable for damages arising herefrom. The fact that an organization or website is referred to in this work as a citation and/or a potential source of further information does not mean that the author or the publisher endorses the information the organization or website may provide or recommendations it may make. Further, readers should be aware that Internet websites listed in this work may have changed or disappeared between when this work was written and when it is read.

For general information on our other products and services or to obtain technical support, please contact our Customer Care Department within the U.S. at (877) 762-2974, outside the U.S. at (317) 572-3993 or fax (317) 572-4002.

Wiley also publishes its books in a variety of electronic formats. Some content that appears in print may not be available in electronic books.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available from the publisher.

TRADEMARKS: Wiley, the Wiley logo, and the Sybex logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of John Wiley & Sons, Inc. and/or its affiliates, in the United States and other countries, and may not be used without written permission. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Wiley Publishing, Inc., is not associated with any product or vendor mentioned in this book.

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Dear Reader,

Thank you for choosing Blender Studio Projects: Digital Movie-Making. This book is part of a family of premium-quality Sybex books, all of which are written by outstanding authors who combine practical experience with a gift for teaching.

Sybex was founded in 1976. More than 30 years later, were still committed to producing consistently exceptional books. With each of our titles, were working hard to set a new standard for the industry. From the paper we print on, to the authors we work with, our goal is to bring you the best books available.

I hope you see all that reflected in these pages. Id be very interested to hear your comments and get your feedback on how were doing. Feel free to let me know what you think about this or any other Sybex book by sending me an email at . Customer feedback is critical to our efforts at Sybex.

Best regards,

Neil Edde

Vice President and Publisher

Sybex, an Imprint of Wiley

To all the tenacious dreamers

Acknowledgments

More than any of the other books Ive worked on, creating the content for this book was a highly collaborative affair. Id like to thank my coauthor, Claudio Malefico Andaur; the books technical editor, Ivan Hoffmann; and the rest of the team at Licuadora Studio: Manuel Perez, Diego Borghetti, and Juan Redondo. Its no exaggeration to say that this book couldnt have happened without them. I truly appreciate their involvement in making this book an enjoyable and educational experience for me. Im very grateful to the editing and production teams at Sybex for bringing all of this to the printed page. Thank you to Mariann Barsolo, Pete Gaughan, David Clark, Liz Britten, and all involved in editing and producing this book. No Blender-related thank-you list is complete without a nod to Ton Roosendaal and the extraordinary team of developers, both paid and volunteer, who make the software what it is. Thank you very much for your wonderful work, all of you. Finally, Id like to thank my wife, Yuka, and my daughter, Hana, for their love and patience.

Tony

Id like to thank Tony and Mariann for inviting us to be part of this book, for their interest in our little short movie, and for the trust they put in the project from the very beginning. My gratefulness and respect to my comrades at Licuadora Studio, Manuel, Diego, Ivan, and Juan, who were always there trying to get things done in time (for so many years now), and of course to Ton and the Blender developers, for giving me the tools I needed to change my life. Finally, Id like to thank my wife, Laura, and my little girl, Roco, for being so patient with me having long hours playing with the computer. :)

Claudio

About the Authors

Tony Mullen, PhD, teaches computer graphics and programming at Tsuda College and Musashino Art University in Tokyo. His screen credits include writer, codirector, or lead animator on several short films, including the award-winning live-action/stop-motion film Gustav Braustache and the Auto-Debilitator . He is the author of Mastering Blender , Introducing Character Animation with Blender , and B ounce, Tumble, and Splash!: Simulating the Physical World with Blender 3D , all from Sybex.

Claudio Malefico Andaur was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina in 1970. After graduating as a chemical engineer from National Technological University in Buenos Aires, he worked in nuclear fuel research for several years. He always had an interest in art, so he became a self-taught 3D artist and eventually left engineering to dedicate 100 percent of his time to CG. Blender was his first 3D animation suite back in 1999 and still is the only 3D tool he uses regularly.