Animation Books

This book presents all the concepts needed to get started on your own games in Flash. It covers the basics for game programming and even provides a little on advanced topics. This was my first book on game programming (any type not just in flash) and I can definitely recommend it as a good introduction.

The first two chapters start with brief introductions to Flash and ActionScript. With these chapters, existing knowledge of Flash is not technically needed. But, anyone using this book should probably already understand Flash, including some ActionScript. In lesson 3 we code our first game - a simple mouse chaser. Every lesson after that progressed at a nice pace with each adding a little more material and eventually leading to advanced topics. In lesson 10 we use a recursive function to program an AI for a tic-tac-toe game. Even simple game physics was introduced, including the code needed for object collisions and reflections. Some of the math required includes the trigonometric functions (sine, cosine, tangent), the Pythagorean Theorem and vectors. The last chapter wraps up with a few game and general Flash concepts such as a preloader, loading data dynamically and JavaScript calls. Although no game is introduced here, a simple high score board is demonstrated with CGI as the server side language. All the code for each game or chapter is broken down into small fragments with each explained with plenty of detail. The CD includes project files with all the complete game code as well as without code for those who want to type it out.

Like many programming books there were a few mistakes and problems in this one as well. A few of the project files had library symbols with incorrect identifiers in the linkage properties window. Sometimes small code fragments or even functions, which did appear in the final code listing, were missing along with the usual related discussion. Also, the actual placement of code occasionally needed to be clearer. However, the completed games on CD worked perfectly and the code listing at the end of each chapter helped to correct any errors or confusion. Ultimately, a support website with an errata sheet could have helped. One final note is that this book does not go too much into object oriented programming (OOP). Only a single chapter is dedicated to the topic and no example game. Anyone interested in OOP based games will need to look for another book.

I was a bit hesitant to purchase the book because I have had a bad experience with other books in the series. However, Craig Murray does an excellent job of pacing the information so that you never feel like you are learning too little or trying to cram too much. Very well done and lots of good information.

This is a pretty decent book in an easy-to follow format which does a great job of providing information for it's stated purpose (Flash MX game programming).

As an experienced programmer who just started toying with Flash, I would say this book certainly opened my eyes to the capabilities of Flash and Actionscript. After reading Chapter 6, it took about an hour to modify the "Space Invaders" type game into a "Math Blaster" game to help my son learn his multiplication tables.

It also does an admirable job of being useful for beginners and experienced programmers. For those already familiar with Javascript, there will be a lot of repeated material but the book's format makes this easy to skim through.

Now for the problems. First off, the index is one of the worst I've ever seen. I typically scan through an entire book to see what kind of information is available then use the index when I need to look up the specifics. This book might as well not have one. I finally started writing my own additions in the margins of the index pages.

The second problem probably isn't fair to mention but, because of the useless index, you will definitely still need a good Actionscript reference (is there one out there?). Again, to be fair, the book never claims to be a reference.

If you plan to program Flash games or just want to learn what Flash is capable of doing, read this book. If you're looking for a reference guide, move on (and please let me know when you find one).

I always wanted to make games, but making games with languages
like c++, java, visual basic is not an easy job. Thanks to
Macromedia it in now much easier to make games with Flash than it was ever before. Therefore Macromedia Flash mx 2004 Game Programming is a great place to start. Why? Well this book is
simple, fun and easy to follow. You dont need to have a computer science degree. Even if you ever have programmed games
with other languages, this book will open your eyes on capabilities of Flash. The book starts with an introduction to
Flash enviroment and scripting. These two chapters could've
been removed. Any one having no knowledge of Flash can never
attempt to programme games. It is obvious that one must have
some minor(or in some cases major) understanding of the tool.
This book also does not cover any thing about sound. I think
sound is a great way to convey your message. If the authors have replaced the first two chapters with a sound chapter,
this book could have been a great book. But even without any sound it is still a great book to read.

After reading this book and contemplating just how seriously Mr. Greene takes the Planet of the Apes movies, I can only say one thing: his premise would make for a great magazine article. :-)

Greene also does the text commentary on the 35th anniversary DVD of the original PLANET OF THE APES movie, and you can see why he was chosen. His deep insights into that film, and the ones that follow, are an absolute joy to read. If only the producers of the dismal remake of PLANET OF THE APES had read Green's book, they'd perhaps have understood how deeply symbolic and profound the original was. Although this is a scholarly work, it is also just a whole heck of a lot of fun. Five stars.

Eric's book is a marvel of academic analysis. The way in which he relates the Apes series, in all its incarnations, to the political and racial strife of the day is nothing short of amazing. I highly recommend this book.

From beginning to end this is the study of the Planet of the Apes series that everyone of the series' fans have dreamed of and that academics who never took the series seriously will learn from and hopefully teach.In addition to being an enjoyable read, Greene has a politically-minded scholar's insight that helps lift the series from trivia into concrete seriousness. I think it is a model for future works of film scholarship and appreciation.

More than I expected! Actually bought it for my daughter who is an English teacher. This was one of the books on her Christmas list. Buy it if you can!

Having just returned from Disneyland with my two granddaughters age 4 and 7, this was the "quintessential Disney"...it will continue to bring back the memories of our visit and the pop-up is just fantastic. It is not however, a book for the little ones to use without guidance....the pop-ups need a little help and little hands probably wouldn't work. It's worth the wait though, for now, we look at it together.

This book is pretty simple, 5 pop-up pages of scenes from different Disney classics from the Walt Disney era. All representing what the author explains as the "quintessential elements of Walt and his work" - romance (Lady and the Tramp), adventure (Peter Pan), friendship (Bambi), fantasy (Pinocchio), and music (Snow White).

Each pop up page has a fold-out excerpt about the movie and it's element.

It's a really nice book, and definately deserves a place in your Disney book collection.

NOTE: the cover is nothing like what Amazon shows. It is a bi-fold hardcover, with black and white images of the 5 animated films. The cover/fold has a magnent so it stays shut (nicely done, too).

A beautiful, clever and well engineered book. Minus one star for it is missing some of the best classic moments especially Cinderella magically transforming into her ball gown.

This book is fantastic for artists or programmers looking to get started with shader programming. Anyone with a little C++ experience (or similar) ought to be able to get a good grip on the material in this book. Lots of practical techniques are introduced at a introductory level. The other great thing about this book is that it covers the use of ATi's Rendermonkey software for the creation and visualization of shaders. This is a great boon, as some similar books like The Cg Tutorial presume you already have a working real-time 3D engine you can write shaders for, and are already experienced with DirectX or OpenGL programming. Providing and explaining the use of a user-friendly API like Rendermonkey makes this book well-suited for entry-level programmers.

I would have rated this book 5 stars based on these qualities, but much to my chagrin the book is weighed down by an inexcusable amount of typos and errors. The overall effect is that the author never even tested his own code, as MULTIPLE shaders presented in the book simply do not work as described by the author. Furthermore, in some of these cases (two major examples including the motion blur shader and the depth of field depth-impostor shader) the sample/reference code included on the CD does not work either, so the reader is left high and dry, wondering what the problem is. The author's website only includes errata for one error (which is neither of the above cited examples.) I have not yet completed this book, in fact, I'm only a third of the way through; but I can only assume the path ahead will be similarly rocky.

These problems are particularly egregious as the book is ostensibly targeted towards beginners, who will be poorly equipped to solve the author's errors. While it could be said that this is an effective way of learning the language (i.e. learning by doing research and correcting the author,) it sometimes makes the process very discouraging and slow-going. Beyond these errors, the book is a fantastic introduction to learning real-time shaders and is accessible to artists even if they have little programming experience. A second edition of this book, rectifying the many errors in the book, would be a must-have for anyone interested in learning shader programming. Until then, however, the reader will have to be patient and willing to meet the book half-way on a lot of occasions.

Breaking into the world of shader technologies can be a daunting task and a constructing a library of accurate knowledge is essential. "Shaders for Game Progammers and Artist" is one of the most focused books I have ever purchased. It only covers 'shaders' and does not attempt to present the surrounding technologies of DirectX or OpenGL programming. At fist this tight focus disturbed me, as I did not have a secondary support book like "Programming Vertex and Pixel Shaders". Put these two books together and constantly cross-reference the code and you have the solution to understanding the core of building good shaders. (One other note:) You might want to add "3d Math Primer for Graphics and Game Development".

I'm a 3D Artist/Animator not a programmer, heck I couldn't program my way out of a wet paper bag. I've been trying to teach myself how to write shaders for awhile. I've had some success playing around, but didn't really understand what I was doing, and have been looking for a good book on the subject for awhile. Most books are very technical and aimed at only programmers, and while I have nothing but respect for my programmer friends I think artists should be more involved in writing shaders, after all they're the ones that have to create all the art assests the shaders will be used on.

This book is very artist friendly, it does require a slight amount of technical and mathematic ability, but it doesn't drown you in the technical jargon, complicated math tables and diagrams, but rather has you jump onto ATI's RenderMonkey and learn by getting your hands dirty. It does a great job of breaking down HLSL and explaining how a shader is put together.

While it starts out very simple, it still manages to cover some more advanced techniques... render to texture shaders, high dynamic range lighting, spherical harmonics, advanced real-time shadows, parallax mapping, and displacement mapping.

My only complaint with the book is some small typos, and some of the examples have some small errors. Nothing major, but the lack of any errata on the publisher or author's website to correct them is very frustrating.

If you're already an established shader programmer looking for some new tricks and techniques... this book probably isn't for you; but if you're from a more of an artist background, not the best programmer, or just starting to learn shader programming, I highly recommend checking this one out.

As an artists I am amazed that nobody had yet considered writing a book on real-time shaders that could appeal to artists. Although somewhat technical (hard not to get technical when dealing with per-pixel lighting), this book does a great job at going through a multitude of techniques in an easy to understand way. Plus, the use of RenderMonkey as an edit tool makes the task so much easier!

A must for all technical artists!

If you are a freelance professional or a student of 3D you are going to find this book very useful. Every year I have to review several books to try to find a teaching tool that is clear and concise. This book hit the spot.

The book fills two vital needs. Not only will you learn to use the color and lighting tools in your program, but if you need to get up to speed on the other software packages that are covered, this book is the answer. The book covers Maya, 3D Studio Max and Lightwave!

If you work for various clients you will find this is a great reference to help get going regardless of software used in most of the production studios you would encounter. If you are a student or have just graduated, this is a wonderful tool to keep handy and help convert from one package to another, fast. There is just enough background or theory to let you understand what you are doing with the tools, as well as actual useful examples that reinforce the instructions in the book. But, wait, that is not enough, what I really appreciate, is that Mr. Summers actually talks about the "Gotchas" and traps that seem to be inherent in all 3D packages. These are the little undocumented software "features" that usually take hours or days of experimentation, e-mails to colleagues, or digging through the underbelly of the internet, to uncover or understand.

Now two things that bother me about the book, and hence the four stars instead of five, are the name of the book and the errors found in it. Now, the errors are all minor and I never found an error that was so bad as to make a lesson unusable (like I have found in so many other books and online tutorials), but I would believe that by now publishers should be able to find good technical editors. Which leads me to the title.

The title just does not do justice to the material. There is so much more in the book then just texturing. I find the book more of a good instructional manual or reference for color and lighting in general. For example, in one lesson Mr. Summers covers not only how to use and make layered textures, but also how to create and control displacement maps and backgrounds, without being overwhelming, dryly technical, or worse, confusingly abbreviated, like so many online tutorials.

The book is not a guide on how to paint textures, there are plenty of... well I call them "efforts" to cover that arena. I suggest you find a way to carefully review those books if that is what you are after. Instead, Mr. Summers has provided a way to form that mental map of the software that will allow you to use it or learn it effectively. In today's fast paced job market and in the everchanging academic environment, this could be the edge you need to succeed.

I love to paint textures, so I looked forward to this book. I just want to straighten that out for texture artists.

This book has a lot of theory on mapping, shaders, procedurals maps and so on. But no information on painting textures. If you are looking for a more theoretic reader on this subject rather than an artistic book, then it might be of use to you. As such I guess programmers would also benefit in part from it.

The funny thing about this book with TEXTURING across the cover is that it seems to cover everything *except* what I'd consider texturing. It has a really good discussion on basic art design principles, then extensive coverage of lighting, color, materials, shaders, and even UV mapping, but nothing on actually creating textures!

In any case, I still recommend this book. All the materials it does cover it covers well. There are really nice color pictures throughout the book, which really helps given the topics.

One thing to note though is that after presenting some topic, the book generally tells you how to accomplish that in Max, Maya, and Lightwave. If you use one or more of those tools, then great, if not, then I think the discussion will still be useful, but obviously you'll get a little less out of it then those who do use those tools.

If you can only have one book on texturing/shading this is the book you would want. As a teacher I look for information on how to do things but more importantly, why. This is an amazing book with depth and breadth to suit the novice, the adept and the expert. You will discover the roots of the science and art of texturing in addition to the how-to.

Karen E. Goulekas has saved me quite some time with this book by providing a complete description for over 7,000 visual effects terms often referred to within the industry. In the past, I often had to search the net for certain terms and descriptions that had me baffled...but no more. For those of you who are considering buying this book, know that it isn't a book full of pictures (Although it does contain 32 pages of colour stills); It isn't a book detailing visual effects work in particular films; It is what is says - 'A comprehensive glossary of over 7,000 visual effects terms'. If this is what you're looking for, this book is for you.

From the publisher of 'Art &Science of Digital Compositing'

First of all, This book is not a case by case study book. This is A-Z Dictionary about Visual Effects. I was disappointed by first impression. but it contains huge contents. including 16 pages color pics. May be very helpful students,people who in effects industry.

A thorough coverage of industry terminology, in an industry where terms are relentless being colored, reinvented and made anachronisms. However don't expect in-depth coverage of the mechanics of a given technique - there is simply no room for detail with this many terms to cover.

I've watched Karen put this book together over the course of the last year or so (even had a chance to give my 2cents on a couple of terms) and so I can hardly be called an Unbiased Reviewer. But now that it's done, I'd have to say that just about anybody who is involved with visual effects (which these days means just about any aspect of filmmaking in general) will find this book well worth owning. And even if you HAVE been in the industry for a long time, I guarantee that you'll be able to learn a few new things (or re-learn a few old things) after thumbing through this book.

But you need to have a few comercial plug-ins and this means spend money, instead of this you can learn many tricks other people learn with experience and time. I really don't know if the book isn't good enoght or 3D Studio is very incomplete, filling the holes with expensive IPAS.

When I first picked this book up I was expecting it to be another book on teaching the beginner how to do simple effects. I could never have been so wrong. Starting at an advanced level, the book assumes you not only have lots of experience with 3D Studio, but some additional software tools as well. Then, it shows you, in detail, how to create certain effects, all of which can be easily adapted to your scenes. Some of the effects include overlaying your animation with video so that it 'fits' together, or extended use of 'Bones Pro' and 'MetaBall Modelers'(which are plug-ins for 3D Studio) to create organic models.

For beginners, I recommend "3D Studio Special Effects/Book and Cd Rom" while this book is more for users with a solid grip on 3D Studio.

First of all, I want to say that I'm from Sweden, so please be indulgence with my language. I've read the magnificant book of 3d Studio & Hollywood Gaming Effects. I used both 3d Studio and 3D max for the tutorials, and I was quite impressed. The book is based on examples and tutorials, made by pros'. The examples in the book are very detailed, and are understandble, even for an amateur like me. And the best thing is that, if you dont understand what they're talking about, just put in the CD-Rom (that comes with the book) find the chapter for the example, and run it. There you have it, step by step, all the exaples in the book on the CD-Rom are explained on the CD-Rom too. A book for both amateurs and proffesionals, that increase the flexibilaty you need to become a graphic artist. And even if you're using 3d Max, the examples in the book - and on the CD-Rom - works properly. Since Max and Studio are based on the same system. The examples in the books are well illustrated, and the layout makes it very easy to find and read. You learn new things every time you browse through the book. And just by watching the exapmles on the CD-Rom, you can load a project - and go through it - see for your self how it's build. And in that way learn some useful hints & tricks. A low cost educational book, that you can get useful hints & tricks from, that you cant get from anywhere else. As I said, my English is bad. I sometimes can't find a way to express my feelings in words. But it is a good book. I rated the book with a 9. Now that, is self explained. Happy rendering, Your Friend In The Jungle Of 3D.

That's the only word i can describe this book with...it really is. If your anything like me and you get bored quickly this is the book for you.Unlike others it doesnt start out with those boring animated sphere tutorials.It really gets right down to business and prevents you from that inavitable hybernation of studying. Begginers-This is the Book for you. One Warning though.If you are a CD buff you wont find satisfaction with the CD inclosed here but hey you can always play frisbey with it on the spare time provided to you by the Cut To The Chase-Keep Me Awake Stucture of this book(if you wont spend time on the Useless Technical support and just give up on the CD part-you dont need it anyway).

When I deciced to start learning 3d max I din't know what book I had to buy, I was looking for a book where I could learn from the biginning and get familiarize with the Interface not something standard where they just explain things in general, I wanted to see the "CLICK here and there type of explanations" step by step. After reading the book I consider myself a Person who knows what is doing.

note: Fundamentals from riders is a book made for intermediate people. ( too standard and just explain stuff generally).

When I decided to learn 3D studio max I headed right to a book store to find the best book for for this subject however, they all looked like they were made for professional users, even the "3d studio max fundamentals" Everything changed when I got my hands on this book.. You will learn everything so fast...I'm so glad I found it.

This book doesn't tell you when to use different effects, transitions, etc, but just how to physically do them in Windows Movie Maker or iMovie. Like literally how to do a wipe or a fade. The cd that comes with it is also really bad and you'll find yourself either laughing at it or bored out of your mind. This book isn't worth the money unless you're someone who's barely ever used computers and needs to know that you much drag and drop an effect to get it to work.

This book starts with the basics. If you've never loaded a movie into your computer (like me) then the authors walk you through those steps. I found it to be a great help. I had never used Movie Maker before and was able to get into it pretty easily. You may need to get a book for iMovie or Movie Maker if you are new to these types of apps (doesn't teach these programs). But I was able to pick it up pretty easily.

This book is a cookbook of digital video recipes; you can skip around the book and choose the effect you want to achieve. The steps are thoroughly explained and easily performed. There are a bunch of creative suggestions sprinkled throughout the book. There are movies samples provided for your use for both iMovie and Movie Maker!

So you are probably wondering what types of effects you can achieve. A few of my favorites include:

Dealing with adverse lighting

Glamour shots

Sporting events

Vintage slapstick

Sound narrating

Rolling credits

The projects are fun and very well written. If you want to learn some new techniques to spice up your home movies then this book is for you. There are directions for exporting for use on DVD, CD-ROM or for the internet.

The CD has a ton of useful tools such as sound files, sample clips for all 50 projects, demo software.

I've got to admit that although I'm intrigued with digital video, I'm just a novice and find the whole video editing process a little intimidating. This book helped me over the hump: I found it to be a great resource for helping me create some cool effects by simply following the step-by-step instructions -- and there are certainly plenty of effects to choose from here. An added bonus is the included CD-ROM, which allowed me to preview each effect before I tried it with my own footage. I would definitely recommend this book.

Great book for walking through the basic, prominent features of AE. The included DVD is a definite plus.

This book is well written and fun to go through. It's a "must-have" for anyone who wants to dive into AfterEffects.

I have only begun working on the 1st 2 lessons. I have done the 1st one several times. It isn't that the book doens't have good information its just that it is often difficult to follow exactly what the writers are telling you to do. The lessons themselves are pretty basic and helpful. I just wish they could be a bit more specific so that I am not having to figure out what layers or project selection I am supposed to make. I have had the same problem with both lesson 1 and 2. I think a DVD lesson would have been better so that there would have been nothing left out of the details. Once you figure out what the writer wants you to select, the book isn't bad.