Table of Contents

An Introduction to Digital Characters. Overview. Contemporary Issues Related to Digital Characters. Interview: Josh Carey, Rigging Supervisor, Reel FX Creative Studio. History of Digital Characters. Interview: Tim McLaughlin, Associate Professor and Department Head Department of Visualization, College of Architecture, Texas A&M University. Character Technology and Code. Interview: Daniel Dawson, Lead Character Technical Director, DreamWorks Animation. Character Technology. Introduction To Character Technology. Interview: Wade Ryer, Character Technical Director. Anatomy for Character Setup. Interview: Lee Wolland, Character Technical Director, Consultant. Motion Systems. Interview: Cara Malek, Character Technology Body Lead, DreamWorks Animation. Deformation Systems. Interview: Robert Helms, Lead Character Technical Director, DreamWorks Animation. Face Setup. Interview: Nico Scapel, Creative Director, Faceshift. Rig Synthesis. Interview: Stephen Mann, CG Supervisor, Shade VFX. Rig Construction. Animation Technology. Introduction to Animation Technology. Interview: Javier Solsona, Senior Character Technical Director, Sony Imageworks. Traditional Animation Techniques. Interview: Stephen Candell, Lead Character Technical Director, DreamWorks Animation. Motion Capture. Interview: Brad Clark, Character Technical Director, Consultant. Procedural Animation. Interview: Terran Boylan, Lead Character Technical Director, DreamWorks Animation. Case Studies in Character Interactivity. Interview: David Hunt-Bosch, Rigging Tech Art Lead, Bungie. Conclusions. The Frontiers of Digital Character Development. Interview: Ken Perlin, Professor, Media Research Laboratory, Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences, New York University.

About the Author

Rob O’Neill is a Character Technical Director Supervisor at DreamWorks Animation. Prior to joining DreamWorks, he was an Assistant Professor at Pratt Institute where he was Director of the Digital Arts Research Lab, and a founding partner of Kickstand Animation.