Web Developer.com(r) Guide to 3D Avatars

This book can help you understand how to plan and build avatars. The author assumes that you're Web savvy but relatively unfamiliar with 3-D graphics. She first explains the concepts of avatars and avatar standards and provides an overview of working with 3-D graphics, rendering, and texture mapping. She thoroughly introduces you to several of the various avatar-construction sets (Avatar Maker, People Space, Avatar Builder, Dancer, Cosmo Worlds, Poser, 3D Assistant, Oz Avatar Editor, Le Deuxieme Monde, Figure Sculptor, and Onlive) and explains virtual reality modeling/markup language (VRML) avatars. The second part guides you through working with prebuilt bodies such as ergonomic avatars, virtual humans, and 3-D clip-art avatars. Part 3 shows you how to polish your work by using voxel technology (a 3-D version of a pixel) and by using 3-D scanners. Part 4 teaches you how to animate your avatar and give it a personality (using tools such as CyberMask and LifeForms). Part 5 reviews the three main standard bodies and takes a look at the future of avatars. A glossary defines computer graphics and Web terms and a CD-ROM lists avatar-related software, Web sites, and books, as well as demo versions of several 3-D-modeling tools and freeware versions of several 3-D viewers. --Kathleen Caster