Acknowledgments

I first want to thank all the professional character artists who contributed directly, or indirectly, through inspiration, to the information contained in this book. A special thanks to Tim Naylor of ILM, and Maricela Perdomo of Tippett Studios, for taking the time to provide insights on working as professional character modelers and rigging artists.

I also want to thank all the excellent Full Sail students who contributed images of their characters for use in this book, including Chris Frobose, Sat Nam Kaur Hartigan, Peet Cooper, Gregory Hearne, Allan Norico, Ken Shaffer, George Vasiliadis, Travis Burcham, Michael DelGiudice, Adam Fisher, Zachariah Inks, Jonathan Mariucci, Giles O'Dell, James Procopio IV, Samson Tsehaye, Chelsea Kibler, Adam Smith, Maegan Walling, Michael Donovan, Joshua Betts, William (Forrest) Crump, Dena Light, Shawn Rinehart, Carlos Saldivar, Jeff Unay, Eliezer Zayas, Carla Merrell, Paul Browder, Greg Hearne, Nick Miulli, and Arturo Pulecio. A special thanks to Michael DelGiudice, Jeff Unay, Carlos Saldivar, and Maegan Walling for contributing their character renders for use on the cover of this book. All these students have the potential to become great character artists. Most of these students are just now starting out in their professional careers. If any potential employers want to contact any of the artists featured in this book, I will be happy to forward their contact information. You can reach me by email at [e-mail].

Another group of people I want to thank personally is my many Full Sail colleagues in the computer-animation program. All of them continue to inspire me daily with their understanding of the subjects they specialize in and with their dedication to teaching. These include Jeanne Kiraly, my associate course director of the Modeling and Rigging classes, who really did a great job developing the modeling class. In addition, I want to thank my lab specialists John Capozza, Carlos Breban, Fidel Cibeira, Todd Patterson, and Marcus Scarsella for all their help testing out new techniques in the labs. I also want to give a big thanks to the directors of the computer-animation program, Pete Bandstra and Erik Noteboom, who completely supported the writing of this book.

Finally, I want to thank the many professionals who made up the New Riders team for this book. These especially include my development editor, Chris Zahn, and my Acquisitions Editor, Elise Walter.