Skip to Main Content

Animation, Games & Visual Effects: Finding books

A guide for students studying Animation, Computer Animation, Games and Visual Effects and Motion Graphics at USW. Mae'r canllaw hon hefyd ar gael yn Gymraeg.

Books

Books give an overview of a subject and provide information on core concepts and theories.  This makes them a good starting point for your assignments. Core books for your subject will be listed on your module reading list.  If you have an online reading list on Blackboard or another learning environment, this will show you the copies of the book available from the library.   You can also find books by searching FINDit, the Library search engine. 
 

Shelf marks

You can browse the collection using the shelfmarks below:

004.019 Virtual reality
006.693 3D / Three-dimensional graphics
006.696 Computer animation
306.487 Games culture
741.58 Drawing and storyboards
743.4 Figure drawing
777.7 Animation: cinematography
777.9 Special effects / visual effects
781.54 Music/Audio for games
791.43 Film
791.4334 Animated films
794.8 Games studies
794.8151 Game design
794.81526 Game programming & development
794.8166 Game art
794.816693        3D Game texturing
808.23 Writing for animation


Use FINDit: Search/Libraries, to perform detailed searches for individual books or for material relevant to your topic or subject.

Looking for a book

1. To find a specific book title, enter the book title or author in the FINDit search box and select the Libraries search option. 

2. To find books on a subject, enter a keyword into the FINDit search box and select the Libraries search option. 

3. Can’t find the book you are looking for? You can request it as an interlibrary loan or Recommend the book to your Librarian 

Recommend a book

Help us grow our Library collection

  • Is there a book that would make a useful addition to our Library?  
  • Have you found a fascinating read that you’d like to share with other students?  
  • Do you think we need more copies of an important textbook?

Let's work together to make our collection blossom

Fill out the online form or email your librarian.

Useful books

Architectural approach to level design. 2nd ed.

Written by a game developer and professor trained in architecture, An Architectural Approach to Level Design is one of the first books to integrate architectural and spatial design theory with the field of level design. It explores the principles of level design through the context and history of architecture. Now in its second edition.

Breaking out of the games industry

This book offers a perspective into a phenomenon becoming more and more common: AAA developers 'going indie'. Written through the personal story of the author finding his way into the AAA games space, only to retreat back to indie games and consulting work and finding a new-old life making games for himself, and finding fulfillment in doing so. It is both a word of warning to creatives seeking a corporation and a call for disillusioned developers to break free and do something wild, creative, and unexpected. 

Figure and force in animation aesthetics

How can we describe movements in animated films? In Figure and Force in Animation Aesthetics, Ryan Pierson introduces a powerful new method for the study of animation. By looking for figures - arrangements that seem to intuitively hold together - and forces - underlying units of attraction,repulsion, and direction - Pierson reveals startling new possibilities for animation criticism, history, and theory. 

Global esports : transformation of cultural perceptions of competitive gaming

Global esports explores the recent surge of esports in the global scene and comprehensively discusses people's understanding of this spectacle. By historicizing and institutionalizing esports, the contributors analyze the rapid growth of esports and its implications in culture and digital economy. Dal Yong Jin curates a discussion as to why esports has become a global phenomenon. From games such as Spacewar to Starcraft to Overwatch, a key theme, distinguishing this collection from others, is a potential shift of esports from online to mobile gaming. 

Pattern language for game design

Chris Barney's Pattern Language for Game Design builds on the revolutionary work of architect Christopher Alexander to show students, teachers, and game development professionals how to derive best practices in all aspects of game design. Using a series of practical, rigorous exercises, designers can observe and analyze the failures and successes of the games they know and love to find the deep patterns that underlie good design. 

Producing animation 3rd ed.

Producing Animation is a clear and comprehensive guide to a dynamic industry. Already a relied-upon resource by professionals and students alike, this book covers the process from concept to screen while defining the role of the producer at each phase. The third edition features new content on the latest innovations plus insights on key topics from industry experts, sidebars on legal matters, as well as case studies on content adaptation and artists' insider production experiences. 

Spectacular posthumanism : the digital vernacular of visual effects.

Spectacular Posthumanism examines the ways in which VFX imagery fantasizes about digital disembodiment while simultaneously reasserting the importance of the lived body. Analyzing a wide range of case studies-including the films of David Cronenberg and Stanley Kubrick, image technologies such as performance capture and crowd simulation, Game of Thrones, Terminator: Genisys, Planet Earth, and 300-Ayers builds on Miriam Hansen's concept of "vernacular modernism" to argue that the "vernacular posthumanism" of these media objects has a phenomenological impact on viewers. 

The VES handbook of visual effects : industry standard VFX practices and procedures. 3rd ed.

The award-winning VES Handbook of Visual Effects remains the most complete guide to visual effects techniques and best practices available today. This new edition has been updated to include the latest, industry-standard techniques, technologies, and workflows for the ever-evolving fast paced world of visual effects. 

eBooks

The Library has access to a wide variety of eBooks across all subject areas, these are discoverable and accessible via FINDit.  Type your keywords or title into the search box and choose to search 'Libraries'.

FINDit search for eBooks

Next refine your search to 'Full Text Online' on the left hand side of the search results. 

Refining to eBooks

When you have found a book that you would like to read then click on the title and access via the 'View it' link.

More information can be found in our eBooks Guide.