Animation Books

This is a must have book for experienced actionscript programmers who want to learn actionscripting in depth. This book has been a fountain of knowledge for me. Truly inspirational.

If you are new to actionscrip, this book is not for you.

Thanks.

Ok. Every body knows that Flash 8/9 has now a better OOP than MX. Also, every body knows that Flash no longer use structures like movieClip.prototype etc.

But what Robert Penner's books offers is a great explanation about Math and its possibilities in Flash. Vectors, 2D and 3D simulation with an elegant and well formed codes. This book opens a great land to be explored. With a important difference: now you have a brilliant GPS! :-)


If you do not know how the stunning flash effects are made, get it. Every thing will be, after all, clear like water.

What happens when a math whiz turned philosophy major learns how to program in Flash? The answer is one of the most interesting Flash programming books ever written. Robert Penner, well known for his experimental site, wrote a brilliant book outlining how to combine math and programming to create stunning visual effects in Flash MX.

This is not a programming reference. This book takes you beyond the world of simple ActionScript and introduces you to object oriented programming, motion in 2D, motion in 3D, physics, drawing/coloring, and his impressive array of case studies.

Robert Penner's writing style is clear and concise. If you are familiar with Flash programming, the book is an easy read. Following along with his explanations is a breeze. He introduces a concept and goes in great detail explaining how the concept can be created in Flash. The code is not simple ActionScript syntax that is easily understandable at first glance. A lot of the code involves Penner's own groundbreaking work and research.

What separates this book from the other Flash books is that he applies the concepts he teaches in case studies and example animations. What use is learning how to move objects in a three-dimensional space if there is no way to apply in the real world? The downloadable files for this book are filled with source files and example animations referred to throughout the book.

After reading this book, you will definitely gain a better understanding of Flash and programming. It delves into the complex Flash programming concepts that many other books shy away from. Even if you think you know all there is to know about ActionScript, this book will teach you a few interesting tricks you might not have known. Sure, ActionScript 3.0 is now out, and the book could use an update, but it is not that difficult to modernize the code. A big bonus to me was to actually have the algorithms on the four fascinating case studies - aurora borealis, snowstorm, fractal dancer, and cyclone. That information for a multimedia programmer is timeless and transcends implementation language.

Knowledge directly from the man who we can thank for the easing equations used in many of the tweening classes out there. This book is great. The topics are somewhat diverse, and all very intriguing. The examples are written for AS1 however that doesn't matter that much unless you are concerned with applying the code in an OO manner, anyway it's kinda fun trying to re-write the code in AS2. This and Moock's books have been the most helpful in getting to understand what actionscript is all about.

Thank You Robert Penner!

granted, anyone who doesn't have a basic hold of flash development (that means actionscript folks) will be lost. However, those who do have a little experience should read it >TWICE. I have found it to be enlightening and enjoyable. Penners methods will help you get a better handle on Actionscript, OOP and even regular daily life. he has developed some really interesting ideas not just about how to use actionscript, but how to approach any substantial task. The book will bring you up to speed on the math concepts you need to create dynamic graphics (2D&3D coordinate systems and trigonometry) and teach you good practices in code desing and project management.
I hope he publishes a second edition (for ActionScript 2) soon, i'd love to see what he does with the language now that it has matured.

3DS Max 4 In Depth is a book that I feel no serious artist working with 3DS Max should have -- even if they are working with a later version. While the tools shown in this book are refined and their locations moved, the descriptions of their use that you find within this book is priceless.

This is not a pleasure book, nor is it a "cookbook". You won't find the magic numbers that will create a low-poly character in here. What you will find is knowledge if you have the patience to read it. When I first learned 3D -- using 3DS Max 4 -- I began with this book, and I simply treated it as a textbook, reading measured amounts of it every day until I was done.

I cannot recommend this book highly enough. Even if you are an advanced user, it is likely that this book has something to tell you.

Im brand new to the 3d world. I had no clue how 3ds max 4 worked at all. I was clueless about what book to buy but for some reason i coose this one. I have only had it for a few weeks but it is so hard to follow its quite frustrating to use. Now it might just be a hard program to use but the book leads you though but you spend a lot of time looking for buttons, finding shapes and not really sure what the book wants you to do after you find it. I dont know if all the books are like this but i sure hope not. I just want to do fun stuff and it doesnt really look like the book even shows you how to. But im just in the begining so i have no ideas. Do you have an idea of a better book that wont take forever to lean? It looks quite exclusive in some of its progrmas. It needs to be shaped for the newbe in the beging of the book. I have spend hours with this book and got no were. You have to much dissifing to do.

If you're looking for specific tutorials to get the more out of specific tools in MAX this may not be the book for you. But if you are like me and just entering the 3D graphics field, this book is invaluable. In Depth has goes into the subtle nuance of 3DS MAX that you won't find in other books or tutorials. It explains the means to the end. Rather then teaching a specific goal, it gives you comprehensive knowledge of MAX that you can apply your 3d scenes. You may not end up with a nifty 'hey-look-at-what-can-be-made-in-max' scene, but you'll have an comprhensive understanding of the tools and how to apply it to any scene. Basically you learn what the hell all the features are and how the hell to use them. It gives you an 'in depth' comprehensive knowledge of said features to apply to a broad ranges of situations rather than a way to use whatever tool to apply to a situation you may never even encounter. I think it's my best peice of reference I have on my shelf, but if you already have a fairly good understanding of all the features of 3D with MAX it may not be worth the investment. I can almost gurantee you'll learn SOMETHING you didn't know, but if you're already very experienced it may not be worth the overhead. To sum it up, if you're new to 3D and to MAX this book will teach you all the skills you need to be cool, but people with a fairly extensive knowledge may want to look to more specialized book specific to your needs. However, if you've got the money to spare there's at least something in there for you.

I found this book tremendously useful when I first started out using 3ds max. Of course, that was in it's previous max 3 incarnation, but it's usefulness to me has not diminshed. I teach 3d modeling classes at a technical college and I recommend this text to students who are looking for something more extensive then thier provided textbook, 3ds max 4 Fundamental Coursewares. While that book is quite useful in the tutorial respect, this book gives a more textbook reference approach to the subject. The book begins with the basics, things such as primative modeling and transform modifiers and builds from there into polygonal modeling, patch modeling and NURBS. Sections are well planned out and useful to me as a reference and teaching aid. Also, I found the sections about materials and track animation superb. I recommend this book to anyone who is starting in 3ds max or even to those that have used it for a while as a reference.

If you're looking for specific tutorials to get the more out of specific tools in MAX this may not be the book for you. But if you are like me and just entering the 3D graphics field, this book is invaluable. In Depth has goes into the subtle nuance of 3DS MAX that you won't find in other books or tutorials. It explains the means to the end. Rather then teaching a specific goal, it gives you comprehensive knowledge of MAX that you can apply your 3d scenes. You may not end up with a nifty 'hey-look-at-what-can-be-made-in-max' scene, but you'll have an comprhensive understanding of the tools and how to apply it to any scene. Basically you learn what the hell all the features are and how the hell to use them. It gives you an 'in depth' comprehensive knowledge of said features to apply to a broad ranges of situations rather than a way to use whatever tool to apply to a situation you may never even encounter. I think it's my best peice of reference I have on my shelf, but if you already have a fairly good understanding of all the features of 3D with MAX it may not be worth the investment. I can almost gurantee you'll learn SOMETHING you didn't know, but if you're already very experienced it may not be worth the overhead. To sum it up, if you're new to 3D and to MAX this book will teach you all the skills you need to be cool, but people with a fairly extensive knowledge may want to look to more specialized book specific to your needs. However, if you've got the money to spare there's at least something in there for you.

I'm 13 and I want to make a story with a retro/modern theme. I closely watched the Incredibles and saw that was the theme! So I bought the book, very excited. It arrived. It was used, so it had a few tears and some markings, but thats ok. I read the book rather quickly, which I was upset about because I wish it was longer. It was good, but I felt I was expecting more. More pictures. I noticed there was a lot on Edna's house. I wish there were more pictures on the characters like Mirage, and there was text about creating the characters. Nevertheless, it was a great book and if you want a nice book of retro themed artwork, go ahead and buy this. I'm thinking of buying the postcards and framing them, or putting them in an album.

I bought this book as a gift, but really enjoy it myself. Beautiful illustrations, high quality paper (with some fold-out pages), lots of info on the movie and its design. Great for fans of the film, or fans of this type of art in general!

I saw _The Incredibles_ in the theatre, & was blown away. When it came out on DVD, I bought it immediately, & have since watched it three more times, something I've done with only a few other films of any sort.

After sitting through that delightful & well-crafted rollercoaster, what stood out most in memory was the artwork in the closing credits. And when I watched the Features & noted the artwork tacked to the walls in the studio, I needed to find out more.

The heroes of this film, for me, are the artists who created apparently most of those angular saturated-color "sketches," Lou Romano (primarily responsible for the closing-credits illustrations) & Teddy Newton (whose techniques of creating "sketches" & panels from cut-out bits of photographs). Between them, they seem to have provided half of what's in the book.

The book looks pricey until you realize that it's entirely on heavy gloss paper. I entirely recommend this to artists of any stripe (advertising, fine arts, computer rendering) & to digital renderers from programmers to detailers -- this shows you what you start with & some tantalizing little bits of evolution. And, it's simply a great bit of fun & visually amazing.

This is a coffee-table collection of pre-production art work for "The Incredibles." If you're a big fan of the movie (like me), it's indispensible for your collection...especially if the price is right, like it was when I bought it. You won't get much in the way of the movie-type stills, so it's not for the casual fan or the kids.

I gave this as a present, and the gift reciever loved it so much he read it within a week of the gift-giving.

Finally, a one stop book that tells me everything I need to know to improve and expand my experience with Second Life. While the Second Life tutorials online are okay this books clearly explains both the simple and complex options for customizability and expansion with excellent examples and sample code that is effective and clearly stated. If you are looking for the ideal reference for beginners and experienced users you can't get much better than this book.

I got quite alot out of this book. There are a lot of resources that you wont find in world. Templates, textures, tutorials, and advice. All of it good. I just wish that there was a little bit more detail. It seems that no matter how much I learn from books, websites and in world I am always still behind the eight ball. So buy it YES for sure but be prepared to go right back to your search for more knowledge. Hopefully someone will write a tome on just the art of building and designing Structures someday soon.

This is a -great- book for starting into content building. Covers enough topics, including scripting, to reaaly introduce you to all the tecnology you need to know, while having enough detail to actully do stuff.

Definete recommendation for andying intrested in SL content

This book did not turn out to be the resource I thought it would be. It's little more than a re-hash of "The Official Guide." Everything is dealt with as an introduction to the subject, even though much of the information can be found in the previous book. Few topics are dealt with in any depth except LSL scripting. Unfortunately the scripting section is quite obviously written by a programmer who is not a teacher. Many assumptions are made about the level of knowledge of the reader who needs a previous grounding in Java or C++ to understand what the author is talking about.

Overall, this book would be fine as a stand alone, but it is NOT a companion to the Official Guide. Nor is it useful as a guide to actually making things in second life. The reader is, instead, merely given a gloss of what is possible and then sent off to experiment on his own. As much or more can be learned through in-world tutorials, web sites and You-Tube videos (which are a far better resource for learning what this book purports to teach).

If you're really interested in becoming a designer or builder in second life, this book is not your guide.

This informational book has been a great help not only for me as a novice but for advanced users to find some quirks they didn't know about. Its clear, concise, and a good informational guide that I can see still referencing for a long time. It does a great job of covering everything from using the Second Life creation tools to building objects such as homes, rooms and clothing all the way to scripting and animation.

It also gives advice from folks that are considered professional in Second Life which I found to be helpful.

It's a good introduction to creating and using 3D animated characters. Although I love doing 3D art, 3D animation isn't a hobby I plan to start any time soon. I just don't have the time or money! So this book that I got about five years ago needs to be set free.

I'm a beginner in the field of computer animation... Your book is a must have for all those who are just starting out in computer animation.

This book is a complete joy to read. The author explains things in plain, easy to understand terms, and when i'm done reading a chapter, i fully retain everything i've read. He covers just about every aspect of character animation, which no other book does as well. It's full of color photos that explain his techniques, which are invaluable. I am never left confused. Although the book uses a variety of software, the majority of screenshots seem to be Softimage, and 3D Studio MAX a close second.

I will probably be using this book for a class in 3D animation that I teach. However, as good as it is, and it is excellent, I wish it was just a bit more technical, and perhaps up to date. In an environment that changes constantly, all of the author's concepts are sound and will last forever. However, more technical detail, especially in something like IK, would make this book perfect.

When I bought this book one year ago, I was completely amazed of it because it gives you the very basics of Character Animation especially due to 3D Graphics. But dont expect George Maestri to tell you how to claim the highest jobs in the industry - to be a character animator requires hard training, work, endurance and - most important - enthusiasm. See this book as a guide but not as the key to be a good character animator. Apart of that George Maestri has done an exciting job - buy this book, if you want to understand how to start learning the "royal class" of animation.

I had both of the authors books for an online class.

This book was a lot of fun, even though Maya itself is a bit much to take on with 4 other classes. The tutorials allow you to be creative, but still follow directions.

I really liked the information from Loomis - and got introduced to a whole new topic. I found several of his books on line, and they have helped me with composition. The authors introduce you to a couple cool new resources like that.

I wrote the authors for some advise, and they actually wrote me back :)

Amazing book!!! Best 3d Instructional book I have ever bought for ANY 3d program. I would even venture to say that it's the best graphic Design book if it weren't for the WOW! series of books and "Real world Illustrator."

KEEP IN MIND THAT THIS BOOK ONLY FOCUSES ON MODELING! But it does a great job explaining the complex in a simple way.

Bottom Line: GET THIS BOOK!!!!

I teach in a tech program at a community college. Recently, due to the loss of an adjunct, I had to take over the 3D course. I have experience with 3D Studio Max, but very little with Maya. This book has been wonderful. It is structured in a way that is very simple to build a class around. The skills are sequential, but get students creating interesting objects very quickly, so that they remain engaged. The teaching tools, available separately, include a course schedule, and Powerpoint slides to introduce the basic skills of each chapter. This has allowed me to walk in and teach a program that would have been very difficult otherwise.

The tutorials are really good, complex and thorough and the book does its' job of teaching you a lot about the tools in the program and how to make them do what you want them to. However, I had the book for a few days and pages began falling out of it. Not one or two but a lot. I never had a book do this before. The second complaint is that there seems to be a step left out of the tutorials here and there. I went crazy trying to figure out the brief introductory part about projecting a curve onto a surface to 'cut out' a shape; turns out it was because the instructions were incomplete.

The tutorials themselves are otherwise great and I still recommend this book despite these annoying flaws.

took a CC class on Maya and used this book. i got a lot out of it. usually i work with 3d max. now i feel confident in maya. really good chapter on shading networks.

After reading the other reviews I decided to give this book a try and I don't regret it.

I'm surprised a book by O'Reilly was released with this many typos. I've been going through it and typing the tutorials that were new material for me. The amount of mistakes is just unacceptable, especially that many times it happens in code. The code is correct in the examples from their web site which begs the question, why didn't they just cut and paste it from the WORKING examples? The errata on their web site has a few of the mistakes but I've found many more.

Anyway, apart from the ridiculous number of typos it is a pretty good book. I don't think its the be-all Flash book like some people on here that have been raving, but it is a good stepping stone book to learning some OOP. Its very practical and eases you from timeline code into classes. Most Flash books seem to go all timeline or all OOP, so good job to them for understanding their audience. Another knock I have is that in many examples they try to show you additional techniques apart from the main thing they are trying to illustrate. Normally I would applaud this because you just learn more, but too often here it just confuses. My last issue with the book is that it sometimes fails to explain an important element of code or give you a really vague explanation, even if that is the purpose of the exercise! Personally I want to know why I'm typing every line in so I can be more flexible when I write my own code, as opposed to blindly memorizing and hoping I remember it when I need it.

All in all, you won't go wrong with this one, but it is by no means perfect. It could've been great. Its not. But its still good and worth a purchase.

Any computer library strong in web development titles in general and ActionScript in particular will want the beginner's guide to Flash, LEARNING ACTIONSCRIPT 3.0. It's an excellent introduction which also lends well to classroom use and assignment, covering all the basics of how ActionScript and Flash work and surveying logic, content, transferring projects to ActionScript, waveform visualization, loading HTML and more. Chapters offer hands-on exercises to reinforce skills building learning and also pair well with a companion web site offering material for all the exercises plus test quizzes. ActionScript learners will find it an essential - and surprisingly easy - reference.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

I'm plugging away with Learning ActionScript because I can see how it's capable of amazing things, and I have been using Flash for a little while.
However this book is written using the kind of language that seems simple to a programmer and obscure to the rest of us - a lot of what is written I simply can't fathom despite frequent re-reading (I'm afraid this probably says more about me than the writers of the book). It's probably best for those who are more familiar with the composition of scripts and want to upgrade to ActionScript 3. Not really a beginners guide.

First, please note that many of the 5-star reviews are written by experience Flash professionals, who already have experience with actionscript concepts -- and that makes them poor judges of how clear this book will be to a beginning audience.

The book is explicitly written for beginners, but the authors don't always have a good grasp on what readers know. On one page they start talking about "trapping" events. What does that mean? Who knows?

Elsewhere, in a discussion of "properties" they throw in the term "elements." Are these terms synonymous or different?

They write, "all three results could potentially execute" when they mean, "any one of the three results could potentially execute."

They start throwing around the terms "parent" and "child" without defining them.

It gets better as you go along, but it's pretty rough going, especially at the beginning. These expert authors should have had a complete novice review their book for language and clarity.

I have used Flash since the very beginning and have always just used it for design and animation and always avoided the actionscript as much as possible as I thought the entire interface was a little too cumberscome to adopt.

I am a systems integrator and mostly just a hack type of coder, not really knowing any specific language to any great degree. I just learn what I need to get by.

However, when I picked up this book, I was a little intimidated because I thought it was going to be for the hardcore coding junkies (I mean look at the title for godsakes), but I was definitely pleasantly surprised.

I have been a very active amazon customer for a long time and have never ever written a review and I thought that this book definitely deserved my praise.

Let me tell you how I ended up buying this book, despite my own coding ability (or should I say inability) and despite the intimidating title of the book.

For the last couple months I have been scouring the internet, trying to find supportive material to help me build Rich Internet Applications using FlashMX2004Pro and ASP.NET with a MS SQL back-end and without the pure knowledge of ASP.NET, I thought that my mission was going to be a lost cause, or rather I was going to have to outsource my project. But, as soon as I bought this book, I was able to connect to a Microsoft SQL database and build a Flash App that generated the buttons dynamically from an XML file and provide dynamic content right from the first example in just a short amount of time. This not only sold me on the book and the author, but got me excited about what I was going to be able to do with the new FlashMX2004Pro.

The author explains everything in a very simple and understandable manner and ties the knots, instead of leaving you hanging. I felt comfortable in learning the examples along with the server-side code he provides. (btw, he provides you with server-side code examples in Cold Fusion, ASP.NET and Java for each example - which was over and above my expectations).

Just even with example server side ASP.NET code, I can begin to develop the project that I have envisioned and I now feel that I have the proper tool set and foundation to code any idea in full.

RIA developers -- Watchout, there is a new force in town. ;)

This book delivers exactly what the title implies: it teaches developers the 4 different ways in which they can tie a flash application with external data. The information found in this book is definitely not found in any generic Flash or Macromedia Studio MX book.

After reading the book I never regretted buying it and I keep it for reference. If you do not think that Macromedia's "Rich Internet Applications" are any different than regular web applications, this book might change your mind.

This book is awesome! I've been developing CF applications for a few years and wanted to learn how to integrate with Flash. Problem was that most Flash books either leave out integrating with a database, OR assume the user knows how to use Actionscript and Flash. this book assumes neither and easily and clearly walks through WORKING examples in CF, .NET, and Java ... it's easy to see why CF is the preferred method. Geeks, you know who you are ... this is the book that will show you what you need to know to work with those artist types. If only macromedia included the content of this book in their lackluster documentation.
Thank you Nate!
Between CFMX WACK and this book .. you are so set. Bow down to Nate Weiss for his righteousness in writing this book. I'm gonna ceremonially burn the other, less complete books that I bought before finding this one. It is, as the kids say, the bomb.
A deal at twice the price ... if you can only afford 1 Flash/Data Integration book .. this is the one.
To those that didn't like this book ... do you smoke rock?
what part of "excellent book" don't you understand?

As the book stated, this is a book for application developers (e.g. people that write web applications using Java, C#, ColdFusion). If you are one of those people, and like me, need to learn how to use Flash as a rich client front-end and retrieves data from a server, this is hands-down the best book!! I have never used Flash in my life and this is the first book I went through. After going through it, I was able to use Flash adequately and have a VERY GOOD understanding how to bring data back from the server. The author explains everything from the point of a developer (not a designer) and this helps tremendously. Note that this book is narrowly focused, but gets the job done very well!!

After you read this book, you will probably want to learn more about ActionScript 2.0, you should then move on to Essential ActionScript 2.0 by Colin Moock.

I am an experienced Flash MX 2004 developer but I have little experience with server side programming. I hoped that this book would help to bridge that gap but it doesn't - unless you are already experienced in ColdFusion, ASP.NET or JSP. The author says it is easy to translate the examples to PHP etc. I have some experience with PHP. However the server side code for the examples is NOT explained which makes it difficult if you don't know ColdFusion etc. Knowing PHP is not sufficient.

In fairness, the author is very clear about the intended audience (page xxi) but the back cover of the book says it is for "web developers" and "exchanging data between client and server". If you are a web developer using (say) Dreamweaver rather than ColdFusion this book is probably not what you want. If you already know Flash MX and want to learn how to integrate it with server side programs its probably not for you either. If you are truly a server geek - you will probably love it!

I am still reading the book, but in terms of whether it is what it is advertised, yes it is very informative on the subject of MEL Scripting.

the chapters are in a very logical sequence, and each chapter leaves you satisfied that you wont have to go somewhere else to learn more.

i am also confident that the book will suppliment my 3d rigging and animation ability and allow me to do much more with much less..

I have both the first and second editions. Very helpful for reference for the more seasoned user, and a great cover-to-cover for the beginner. Well written and easy to follow. Now, can we get one for Python?

Reading the book cover to cover, I found myself obligated to write a review here about it .
I will divide my review to Good and Bad

The bad:
This book is DEFINTLY not for animators, means, it's for programmers, if you are an art person and never seen or heard about programming, this book will be very difficult to learn.

Second. a LOT OF errors!! And I don't mean errors on the text, if you download the files in the site(which should be updated) they contain a lot of bugs!! some times while reading it, I found myself debugging the author CODE!! Outrages!

Third, some of the chapters are not in place!, for example the author start in chapter one using all sorts of parameters and varibale,but only in chapter six he bothers to explain about them

Forth, as mentioned earlier there are chapters on vectors, recursive functions and more, this is for sure not for beginners, and for sure not for persons with out some math background or programming background
.
Fifth, there is to much examples on the GUI and less examples on practical things, like moving particles and stuff( there is some of it , but few..)This is sad because some of the examples the author does write are very good.

The good
This is basically the only book on MEL, and if you are joining a big team and you have some background in programming and some mat skills, you will find it very interesting because not only the author explain code, his examples are interesting, cover most of the basics in the studio needs, and some of the tips he is giving during the book worth gold, he explain many times how to work in group, how to program to someone else and what to think about before you even start to program, it can easily be seen that the person who wrote it work in the subj .
All in all a good book to start , but in some point t it missing the point
lengthy chapters with no actual code or explaining any useful things
It seems as if the author try to catch it all...
To explain things to beginners while giving advice for novice programmers...

If you release a second edition you need to support a second edition, that includes the publisher's website and the downloadable scripts that go with the book....this book is okay, but who has time to type in all of the sample scripts to learn. For not including the scripts I give it a 2.

Not only is this giving you a look at MEL scripting but it is also giving you a course in programming itself. I feel so much more comfortable with Maya now because of the fact I am learning the inner workings of the application. It's almost like learning Flash Actionscripting, you are only scratching the surface if you are just doing basic tweening and moving objects around the screen. Once you learn the scripting side of things, that's when your ability grows beyond basic use of the application.

Great book for learning some basic after effects studio techniques. The instructions are easy to follow and the manual flows with the software.

This book is everything I had expected it to be. Not a tutorial book, but more a reference tool. Get in a jam, look it up and you will get ideas on how to get out, or workarounds.

This book is good for people that know how to use After Effects already. It's a good book though full of illustrations and tips but lacks tutorials which would enrich the book a little more...If you are looking for a book to start using After Effects the best book is Adobe After Effects 7 Hands-On Training from Chad Fahs with Lynda Weinman. You read that book and you learn everything needed to work with After Effets 7, Full of tutorials, hi quality paper, color print, and tips all over the book. Simply amazing!

This updated edition improves on the 6.5 book in a number of ways. First, you have tutorials to practice the concepts. AE7 added new features that Mark makes sense of, namely 32 bit float. And he expands on topics and details. I literally compared 6.5 to 7, page by page. Though I owned 6.5, it's worth it to get this update, if for the tutorials alone.

This said, no one else has made easier sense of visual effects compositing. No one. All the other books are really directed at Shake. Which is great if you own or understand Shake. But if you own AE7, or the AECS3, you owe it to yourself to get this. You can live without the Classroom in the Book, not Studio Techniques.

As a final digression, this really is like the source for DV Rebel's Guide. They do not overlap material, but DV Rebel's Guide touches on issues that a crucial, but the author rightfully defers to this book for the indepth analysis and practices. So if you want to go further, look to DV Rebel's Guide. And if you got Rebel's guide and are confused by some issues, look here first.

Practical is without doubt the best way to describe 'Studio Techniques.' Christiansen has written a book filled with very practical and powerful advice that is sure to delight. Learning to create effects is fundamentally all about two things:

1) Learning to think like a visual effects artist

and

2) Learning to think like After Effects

Christiansen does a superb job of melding these two together. His examples, while very useful for their specific results alone, are perhaps more useful in learning how to approach problems and solve them in the After Effects paradigm.

As an added bonus, 'Studio Techniques' is also riddled with very useful tips and notes that provide additional creative insight and warnings on oddities that occur, their cause, and how to solve them.