TEXTBOOKS for
Motion Graphics Courses

3D Motion Graphics for 2D Artists: Conquering the Third Dimension
Bill Byrne
ISBN: 978-0-240-81533-6

Add 3D to your mograph skillset! For the experienced 2D artist, this lavishly illustrated, 4 color book presents the essentials to building and compositing 3D elements into your 2D world of film and broadcast. Concepts and techniques are presented in concise, step-by-step tutorials, hundreds of which are featured throughout. Featured applications include Photoshop, Illustrator, After Effects, and Cinema 4D.

Lessons include exploring the expanded 3D functionality of the Adobe Creative Suite applications (After Effects, Photoshop, and Illustrator) through a series of practical tutorials. More advanced lessons then follow, with tutorials and insight provided in specifically geared lessons for 2D artists working in Cinema 4D, 3ds Max, and ZBrush.

4-color presentation is further enhanced by various sidebars, tips, and ";gotchas"; to watch for through-out the book. The DVD contains hours of project files with which you can work along the tutorials in the book... [more]

Cinema 4D:The Artist's Project Sourcebook, 3rd Edition
Kent McQuilkin
Anne Powers
ISBN: 978-0-240-81450-6

Make the creative leap to 3D. Realize your artistic vision with this treasure chest of instructional projects. Get the essential concepts and techniques without drowning in the technical complexities.

This new edition is an artist's sourcebook for the visionary in you that wants to master 3D—and have fun doing it. It serves as a complete guide for the creative use of Cinema 4D R12 and all of its modules.

Short, playful projects show you how to put this powerful toolset to work. You will master R12's improved workflow, scene management, enhanced animation timeline and searchable object manager... [more]

Design Essentials for the Motion Media Artist
Angie Taylor
ISBN: 978-0-240-81181-9

With this book, students will master the fundamental concepts and principles of motion graphic design so they can apply them to their own work. They'll learn how to manipulate and bend the rules to create something unique and achieve their communication goals. This authoritative guide presents all of the design essentials in an engaging and inspiring way. Each principle is explained with text, illustration, and photography where necessary. The companion website (not gated) features additional resources, updates, and links to other sites for motion media artists... [more]

Creative Motion Graphic Titling for Film, Video, and the Web
Yael Braha
Bill Byrne
ISBN: 978-0-240-81419-3

Captivate your audience and enhance your storytelling with this tutorial based 4-color cookbook, featuring dozens of solutions to your titling needs. Each chapter includes case studies and interviews with the pros, lending cutting insight and lessons learned that will have you creating inspired title sequences in no time.

The book features genre-based tutorial sections, with step by step instructions for creating effective horror, comedy, drama, and suspense titling sequences. Tutorials for creating some of the most popular title sequences in blockbuster movies are included (Se7en, The Sopranos, 24, The Matrix). Other tutorials teach you how to effectively use sound and VFX in your titles, and also included is instruction on editing your title sequence. These techniques, as well as chapters on the essentials of typography allow you to apply these lessons to your title sequence regardless of whether it's for TV, the web, or digital signage.

Also included is a DVD with sample clips, as well as project files that allow you to refine the techniques you learned in the book. As an added bonus we've included 3 titling chapters from other Focal books, with specific instructions on titling within certain software applications... [more]

How to Cheat in After Effects
Chad Perkins
ISBN: 978-0-240-52202-9

"How to Cheat in After Effects is an easy-to-follow book that lets you in on all of the little secrets to create those commonly needed effects with ease and speed. With clear pictures illustrating the step-by-step procedures, this is the perfect tool for the arsenal of any After Effects user, from novice to advanced."
– Michele Yamazaki, Vice President Marketing and Web Development Czarina, Toolfarm.com

Compose eye-popping After Effects projects quickly and creatively with dozens of concise, step-by-step tutorials accompanied by vivid 4-color illustration. Covering features new to CS5 such as Freeform AE, Refine Matte, Roto Brush, and more, this book clearly explains how to perform advanced, typically time-consuming tasks in simplified, quick steps.p

• Create an entire 3D planet scene from scratch
• Create true 3D text
• Make smoke, snow, rain, chocolate, molten gold, and more from scratch with particles
• Create animated growing vines
• Fake a tilt shift effect, and so much more

The companion DVD includes project files allowing you to work alongside the exercises in the book, as well as QuickTime movies displaying the techniques shown in the book... [more]

Flash + After Effects: Add Broadcast Features to Your Flash Designs, 2nd Edition
Chris Jackson
ISBN: 978-0-240-81351-6

Flash Designers: push Flash to the next level with After Effects’ robust toolset.

• Add motion graphics and visual effects to your Flash projects
• Fuse 3D depth into 2D animations
• Prepare Flash animations for broadcast
• Save development time in executing animations

Combine these two powerhouse applications to expand your multimedia horizons. Flash + After Effects: Add Broadcast Features to Your Flash Designs, 2nd Edition gives the experienced Flash designer a working understanding of the After Effects toolset with professional techniques that raise the design bar for Web, broadcast, or CD/DVD delivery. The companion DVD contains project media that permit you to practice essential After Effects skills that include:

• Working with video and the AE timeline
• Using alpha channels for keying and enhancing interactivity
• Putting vector animation to work with Text and Shape Layers, and animation presets
• Creating 3D backgrounds with cameras and lights
• Animating with Behaviors, Parenting, Expressions and the Puppet Tool You also get a video primer, render and file optimization techniques, and publishing and streaming guidelines... [more]

Creating Motion Graphics With After Effects: Essential and Advanced Techniques, 5th Edition
Chris Meyer
Trish Meyer
ISBN: 978-0-240-81415-5

• 5th Edition of best-selling After Effects book by renowned authors Trish and Chris Meyer covers the important updates in After Effects CS4 and CS5

• Covers both essential and advanced techniques, from basic layer manipulation and animation through keying, motion tracking, and color management

• Companion DVD is packed with project files, source materials, and nearly 200 pages of bonus chapters Approx. 2,500 illustrations (2,500 in full color)... [more]

After Effects Apprentice: Real-World Skills for the Aspiring Motion Graphic Artist, 2nd Edition
Chris Meyer
Trish Meyer
ISBN: 978-0-240-81136-9

• Updated for After Effects CS4!
• 11 core lessons plus a fun final project
• 1st Edition sales over 19,000 units
• Full color presentation of engaging lessons that demonstrate real-world techniques
• Companion DVD features QuickTime movies and lesson media
• Learn to creatively edit and combine layers, animate eye-catching titles, replace a screen on a computer monitor, place a studio shot in anew environment, manipulate 3D space, and use effects to generate excitement or enhance the realism of a scene
• Easy to follow step-by-step instructions take you through each technique, including projects that encourage you to put your own creative vision to work.... [more]

Motion Graphic Design and Fine Art Animation: Applied History and Aesthetics
Jon Krasner
ISBN: 978-0-240-80989-2

Improve the aesthetic and communication qualities of your motion graphics. Reach beyond technical craft skills with this multimedia examination of the essential elements of the art, which includes:
Foundation: Realize the artistic expression of pioneering artists from film, television, interactive media, and immersive environments as they combine the principles of painting, traditional graphic design, and the dynamic visual language of cinema.

Technique: Develop an understanding of motion literacy, kinetic images and type, and the pictorial and sequential aspects of composition and choreography. Principles are presented with contextual examples and suggested assignments to challenge you artistically... [more]