Book Recommendation - Animation Methods by David Rodriguez

Animation Methods by David Rodriguez is a very, very good book on learning animation in Maya.  It's a book that focuses primarily on 3D Character Animation, a step-by-step guide for learning Maya, and the Maya animation tools. It also has useful sections on how to get into the industry, how to make a great demo reel, and how to get a job in animation. We think this is a very useful companion book to the course at Animation Apprentice.

It is also an unusual book in that it makes extensive use of QR codes - meaning you can use your smartphone to scan the codes and then view a 3D animated clip of the lesson. So, not only can you read the lesson, but you can also see and understand it through a video demonstration. 

And what about David Rodriguez? Is he a pro? Does he know his stuff? He certainly seems to. His movie credits include: Star Wars: Unleashed The Force II, Piranha 3D, Star Wars Kinect, Ice Age - Continental Drift and Arctic Games.  And the book is written with the authority of an animator who has learned his craft. 

There is also a website that goes with the book, where you can download free rigs, see example scene files, have access to animation scripts, and watch Rodriguez's animation clips online. Rodriguez uses many of the same free rigs (such as Morpheus) that we recommend at Animation Apprentice. There is a good deal of overlap between our methods.

Of course, no book on animation is perfect, and for a full list of book recommendations, see this post. But Rodriguez's book is a very useful and maybe even necessary addition to the Maya animator's library.  It is certainly the only book on the market that teaches animation in Maya, step by step.

To find out more about Animation Apprentice, click here for a link to Frequently Asked Questions. To sign up for our next classroom at Animation Apprentice, follow this link. For more information on finding work and surviving in the animation and visual effects business, read our post on how to find a job in the animation industry, and check out our post about what not to do at a job interview. Also see our post on starting your own small animation business, learn how to create an invoice, and see how we arehelping our students find work through our film co-operative Nano Films. Download the free Escape Studios Careers in VFX Handbook. Take a look at how awn.com can help you find a job, and read our piece about how to survive as a freelance animator. Also, find out what Cinesite look for in a student's demo reel, and read our post on setting up your own animation business. Also see our post about freelancers and taxes.