The indie game developer’s complete guide to running a studio.

The climate for the games industry has never been hotter, and this is only set to continue as the marketplace for tablets, consoles and phones grow. Seemingly every day there is a story of how a successful app or game has earned thousands of downloads and revenue. As the market size increases, so does the number of people developing and looking to develop their own app or game to publish. The Indie Game Developer Handbook covers every aspect of running a game development studio―from the initial creation of the game through to completion, release and beyond.

• Accessible and complete guide to many aspects of running a game development studio from funding and development through QA, publishing, marketing, and more.

• Provides a useful knowledge base and help to support the learning process of running an indie development studio in an honest, approachable and easy to understand way.

• Case studies, interviews from other studies and industry professionals grant an first-hand look into the world of indie game development

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BlenderTM is a free Open Source 3D Computer Modeling and Animation Suite incorporating Character Rigging, Particles, Real World Physics Simulation, Sculpting, Video Editing with Motion Tracking and 2D Animation within the 3D Environment.

Blender is FREE to download and use by anyone for anything.

The Complete Guide to Blender Graphics: Computer Modeling and Animation, Sixth Edition is a unified manual describing the operation of the program with reference to the Graphical User Interface for Blender Version 2.82a.

A reader of the Sixth Edition should use Blender 2.82a when learning the program and treat it as a training exercise before using any later versions

Key Features:

• The book provides instruction for New Users starting at the very beginning.

• Instruction is presented in a series of chapters incorporating visual reference to the program’s interface.

• The initial chapters are designed to instruct the user in the operation of the program while introducing and demonstrating interesting features of the program.

• Chapters are developed in a building block fashion providing forward and reverse reference to relevant material.

The book is also available in a discounted set along with Blender 2D Animation: The Complete Guide to the Grease Pencil.

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Create excellent 3D animations with free, open-source software

When you’re looking for help with creating animation with Blender, look no further than the top-selling Blender book on the market. This edition of Blender For Dummies covers every step in the animation process, from basic design all the way to finished product. This book walks you through each project phase, including creating models, adding lighting and environment, animating objects, and building a final shareable file. Written by long-time Blender evangelist Jason van Gumster, this deep reference teaches you the full animation process from idea to final vision. With this fun and easy guide, you’re on your way toward making your animation dreams a reality.

• Set up Blender and navigate the interface
• Learn how to build models in virtual space
• Texture, light, and animate your figures―then render your final product
• Get help and inspiration from the Blender community

If you’re new to Blender or an experienced user in need of a reference, Blender For Dummies is the easy-to-use guide for you.

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Get to grips with the base workflow and create your own cinematic scenes in UE5 by learning to develop the main elements, animate, and combine them into a complete rendered movie scene with the help of key images printed in color

Key Features

• Perform your entire rigging and animation workflow inside Unreal Engine 5 using Control Rig tools
• Create hand-keyed animations and clean up motion capture natively in Unreal Engine
• Learn the basics of creating 3D assets and customizing a MetaHuman for your movie needs

Book Description

Unreal Engine 5 (UE5) offers beginners and seasoned professionals the ability to create detailed movie scenes with realistic human characters using MetaHuman and combine it with custom props and environments. It also comes with built-in industry standard animation tools to develop such scenes in a fraction of the time compared to old methods. This book takes you through the entire 3D movie production pipeline using free (open – source) software.

By following the step-by-step, beginner-friendly tutorials in this book, you’ll learn how to create your own custom 3D assets in Blender and texture these 3D assets in Quixel Mixer. Next, you’ll take these completed 3D assets into Unreal Engine 5 and use them to build a virtual 3D movie set for your 3D movie. You’ll also populate your 3D movie set by using Quixel MegaScans assets and create and customize your own photorealistic human character using MetaHuman Creator and UE5. As you advance, you’ll discover how to rig, skin, and animate these 3D assets and characters using Blender and UE5’s new Control Rig. Finally, you’ll explore the process of setting up your movie cameras and animation sequences and rendering your 3D movie using UE5’s Sequencer.

By the end of this Unreal Engine book, you’ll have learned how to combine different elements in UE5 to make your own movies and cinematics.

What you will learn

• Create, customize, and use a MetaHuman in a cinematic scene in UE5
• Model and texture custom 3D assets for your movie using Blender and Quixel Mixer
• Use Nanite with Quixel Megascans assets to build 3D movie sets
• Rig and animate characters and 3D assets inside UE5 using Control Rig tools
• Combine your 3D assets in Sequencer, include the final effects, and render out a high-quality movie scene
• Light your 3D movie set using Lumen lighting in UE5

Who this book is for

This book is for beginners to Unreal Engine or 3D animation and art in general who want to learn the entire process of creating 3D movies with Unreal Engine 5. Experienced 3D artists and animators new to UE5 will also find this book invaluable as it covers cutting-edge techniques for making real-time 3D movies using Unreal Engine, Blender, Quixel Mixer, and Quixel Bridge. Although prior experience with 3D software is not necessary, it will be helpful in understanding the concepts more easily.

Table of Contents

1. An Introduction to Blender’s 3D Modeling and Sculpting Tools
2. Modeling a Robot Drone Character
3. Let’s Sculpt an Alien Plant!
4. UV Maps and Texture Baking
5. Texturing Your Models inside Quixel Mixer
6. Exploring Unreal Engine 5
7. Setting Up Materials in UE 5
8. Using MetaHuman to Create a Photorealistic Human for UE5
9. Building a Virtual 3D Movie Set in UE5
10. Adding Lighting and Atmospheric Visual Effects in UE5
11. Alien Plant Joint Setup in Blender
12. Alien Plant Skinning in Blender
13. Robot Joint Setup and Skinning in Blender
14. Making a Custom Rig for Our Alien Plant with Control Rig
15. Creating a Control Rig with Basic IK Controls for a Robot in UE5

(N.B. Please use the Look Inside option to see further chapters)

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