Written for everyone from beginning Blender artists to experienced animators and game developers, CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT IN BLENDER 2.5 shows readers how to model believable characters using Blender, a free, open source 3d animation package. Covering the technical, artistic, and theoretical aspects of character development, the book provides an in-depth look at Blender's modeling tools and includes information on modeling, sculpting, materials, lighting, rendering, and more. Written in a tutorial style with step-by-step instructions the book also includes an accompanying CD-Rom that features the Blender 2.5 software and sample art. About the Book Character Development in Blender 2.5 provides instruction both to Blender and to character modeling, explaining the various Blender tools and how to use them to create amazing, believable 3D characters. Providing both the how and why behind each new tool or skill presented, the book is written in a step-by-step format so you can easily follow along. Divided into five parts, the book covers box modeling, poly-by-poly modeling, sculpting, retopologizing, normal mapping, and more. You'll begin by learning the raw basics of Blender, giving you an understanding of how the Blender interface works, how you can manipulate objects in 3D space, and how to customize your Blender experience. You'll then get an introduction to some of the modeling features of Blender and how you can manipulate meshes with Bender's various modeling tools, modifiers, and sculpting functionality. In Part Three, you'll move on to the real focus of the book: modeling the character, focusing on the workflow, and various modeling techniques. Part Four provides a brief introduction to lighting and rendering characters, before the final section of the book walks you through the process needed to prepare the character for complete texturing, and shows how to bake and apply normal maps to a low-resolution version of the character. Character Development in Blender 2.5 shows you everything you need to get started as a character modeler and Blender artist. Covers the latest Blender release, version 2.5. Suitable for animators, game developers, and filmmakers interested in creating characters. The accompanying CD-ROM features the Blender 2.5 software, sample art, and complete video tutorials.