Computer Graphics Books

I bought this book based on the raving reviews I read on Amazon from other users, but when I received it I found some MAJOR issues. This book is a true and utter disappointment for any intermediate or low-intermediate designer.

The Good
- This book is very comprehensive and good for TRUE BEGINNERS as it covers the basics of html, xhtml, php, javascript, and image editing.
- The only mildly useful bits for the hobbyist web designer are the PHP and Javascript chapters... but you can find the same, or better information on the basics of these two technologies posted for free on the net. You don't need to pay 40.00+ bucks for this info.

The Bad
- This book is extremely, extremely outdated. Most of the design tips date back to the time when IE 5.5 and 6 were the cutting edge, and the examples are aimed at IE and Netscape Navigator users! Hence, the tips & techniques are virtually useless now that IE 7 is standard, IE 8 on the horizon, and FFox 3 about to be released.
- This book is filled with statements such as "PNG-8 and PNG-24 formats have only recently received FULL support from the most used-browsers, Netscape Navigator 6 and Internet Explorer 5"(pg 290). THAT's how old this book's tips are.

DO Buy This Book...
- If you have NEVER built a web page before
- If you want the basics to build a personal web page, a hobby web page, a static site with less than 10 pages and no functionality other than a mailto form.
- If you don't mind building your site for primarily for IE users.
- If you don't mind your web page looking like the Geocities Sites of back in 1999.

DO NOT Buy This Book.
- If you know how to style a paragraph using CSS.
- If you have ever used an editor like Dreamweaver, or Adobe Golive, or even FrontPage.
- If you want a site with any sort of interactive functionality like wikis, blogs, discussion boards, etc.
- If you are aware that the world has moved on from Netscape Navigator 6.

In summary, I found this book to be a giant pile of rubbish. In the future, I would strongly recommend NEVER buying a Web Design book that has been published more than 1 or max 2 years before your actual date. Its 2008, DON'T buy anything written prior to 2006 in order to learn basic web design. You'll end up wasting your time, as I did.

This book is outstanding. It covers everything you need to know about web design. It was highly detailed, explaining everything you need to know. And it's well written.

Inside the chapters are small sections that they refer to as Tips, such as Explaining the Uses of a Table as a layout tool. With the tips, it makes it a lot easier to go back and look over something you forgot or don't understand.

Overall, exellent book, and I highly recommend it as a resource

A friend of mine recommended this book to me. I read it in about a week. It was very simple and understandable. Plus I learned some very intresting things I never knew about CSS.

The best coverage of PHP that I have found. Excellent discussion of tweaking server, appl, and session variables. Security discussion was very easy to apply.

I found this book to be excellent. It is very rare today to find a computer science book that is thorough, logical and well organized, yet brief and to the point. This can be said for all of the chapters in this book. I would strongly recommend this book to anyone wanting to learn about web programming.

Do you need help with your photography skills? If you do, then this book is for you. Authors David Pogue and Derrick Story, have done an outstanding job of writing a book that is designed to serve as the iPhoto manual.

Pogue and Story, begin by covering buying, using, and exploiting your digital camera. Then, the authors cover the fundamentals of getting your photos into iPhoto. Organizing and filing them, searching them, and editing them to compensate for weak lighting. Next, they cover the many ways iPhoto can present those photos to other people. Finally, the authors cover a miscellaneous potpourri of additional iPhoto features, including: turning photos into screen savers or desktop pictures on your Mac; exporting the photos in various formats; using iPhoto plug-ins and accessory programs; managing Photo Libraries; backing up your photos using iPhoto's Burn to CD command; and, even getting photos to and from camera phones and Palm organizers.

This most excellent book provides an invaluable grounding in professional photography. Perhaps more importantly, this book gives you all you need to know about digital photography!

Some say lightening can never strike the same place twice. The Missing Manual series proves that wrong. David Pogue and the O'Reilly gang constantly hit the mark and spark creativity and knowledge in a variety of programs.

IPhoto 6 covers absolutely every aspect of digital photography on your Mac, leaving few stones unturned. In order to make sure you get the great photos you need and minimized the editing needed in iPhoto, Derrick Story and David Pogue make sure you buy the right digital camera for your needs and tells you the basics of lighting and composition. After reading that chapter, I looked at my own iPhoto library and understand why I liked certain shots and why others ended up on the digital darkroom floor.

After explaining how to buy a camera and create great photos, the authors take you through the steps of using iPhoto in logical order: importing, managing, outputting and of course backing up. More technical manuals need to do this. Instead of taking you through the features, they take you through the workflow.

The writing was typical of the series: clear, understandable with plenty of screen shots to explain the concepts. While I consider myself an expert on iPhoto, the book was full of subtle tips and tricks to shave hours off my digital photo management.

The strength of the book was definitely the extensive chapters on what to with your photos after they are in iPhoto. Photos are meant to be shared, not locked up in your hard drive. He went over not just the specifics of all the printing options such as photo books and calendars, but also using iMovie, iWeb, and iDVD to share the photos with the world.

The final chapters covered some more advanced options such as AppleScript and Automator. Unlike other Missing Manual books that simply point you to the website to download utilities, Pogue and Story explained some of these programs and how they can help you expand your iPhoto capabilities. The Appendix was definitely the icing on the cake handling practically every iPhoto error and it's solution, as well as walking you through the basics of every iPhoto menu command and its implications.

My only complaint was somewhat weak coverage on desktop printing of photos. I always get confused about the way to feed the photo paper and how to configure settings to get the proper output. iPhoto, the printer's software, the printer, and Mac OS X must all be in alignment to print properly. These days, I simply upload it to the drugstore website and print it there. Printing to services other than Apple's wasn't really covered either.

While iPhoto basics are simple and quick to learn, "iPhoto 6 the Missing Manual" helps you become the hands down master of digital photos on your Mac. Others will tremble in fear of your massive knowledge after reading this book cover to cover.

Pros: Covers every aspect of digital photography and makes everyone an iPhoto wiz.
Cons: Needed more coverage of desktop and third party printing of photos.

ANY question you might have, any project you might conjure up.....this book has all the answsers in the most easy format. A must have if you have an iMac and a digital camera!

As a beginner with digital photography,there is a great deal of iPhoto that is intuitive;however,there are so many options and errors that can be made,at least in my limited experience,that this book is a constant reference guide. I previously purchased "Switching to Mac,The Missing Manual",and found it so valuable that I bought this "Missing Manual".This series of books has been both informative and entertaining.

Might not have much for experienced power users - but for me as a Mac newcomer it did the trick. iPhoto is easy to use and most things you can figure out by yourself, but this book is a big timer saver in doing so and has also some tips that you otherwise might not have figured out

While I use it primarily for iDVD and occasionally for iPhoto (I am an Aperture user), the media browser is AWESOME! Just burned a DVD with multiple slideshows and was able to select images straight from Aperture. To me the media browser is the best thing since sliced bread!! Programs are uncomplicated and easy to use while the help file is good too.

This book is well-written, easy to read, with lots of effective illustrations. It is a great purchase for someone who wants to be more efficient in using the new version of iLife, especially iPhoto.

With every version of iLife, I have purchased the corresponding version of The Macintosh iLife book by Jim Heid. While I am a big fan of the Missing Manual books, the Heid books actually show you the controls as well as write about them, and there are very useful tips included on every page. Even after learning an iLife application, this book is very valuable to come back to for details when doing later projects.

The '05 book included a tutorial DVD that was useful, and I believe these are still available for viewing on Jim Heid's website. The '06 and this version do not include a DVD, probably to allow the book to be published sooner, which is OK with me. The book does a better job of instruction than the DVD tutorials, because it can provide more detail.

The Macintosh iLife 08

This is THE book to get to work through the learning of iLife 08. Color phots and written in a manner that helps you through the problem you are working on and does not make you go through a lot of other material to get to your issue. Bought the same book for iLife 06, but there are enough new things in iLife 08 that I like having the new book.

This visual guidebook grabbed and held my interest with the book's color photos and graphics. The table of contents gives you insight into iLife, iTunes and iPhoto,iMovies, iDVD, Garageband and iWeb.

Pages Worth Bookmarking

Pages viii-xx. Read me first includes how the book works and the website www.maclife.com for video tutorial links. The author,Jim Heid developed the videos at www.apple.com/life.

Pages 2-3. Computers get personal with a spreadsheet of audio, imaging, video and storage information. Period covered is from 1960s to 2007.

Page 10. iLife keeps you connected. Audio and video podcasts, YouTube and blogs. Also, mentioned are RSS feeds in Safari and net newswire.

Pages 12-13. This has a good illustration of iMac G5 and how to use the iMac G5's rear connections.

Page 22. Audio formats explained. The different encoder options: aac, mp3, Apple Lossless, wav and aiff. Note: The iTunes store delivers music tracks in Apple's aac format and becomes distorted when changed to mp3 and aiff and burned to a CD.

Page 66. Coverflow and Art matter. Using advanced tab to get Album Artwork when using Leopard (Mac OS 10.5) in screensaver with the iTunes visualizer.

Pages 74-75. Learn how you can import old tapes and albums' audio tracks using Griffin Technology's iMic and Final Vinyl. Also, you can use Roxio's CD Spin Doctor.

Note: the new Quicktime 7 Pro allows you to import audio. Impressed with information on Griffin Technology's iMic, I purchased an iMic. I attached an external microphone in the iMic's audio port for voiceovers in both the iMovie HD and Final Vinyl programs. The iMic works quite well on my Mac G4 and iMac G5's 20 inch screen.

Pages 80-81. Excellent tips on using cross fading songs, sounds enhancer and how to crop songs in iTunes.

Page 90. Included are iTunes, applescripts, visualizer plugins and iTunes videos.

Pages 96-97. Give you information on the full-sized iPods: first to second generations. Also, detailed Information on first to fifth generation full-sized iPods.

Pages 290-291. iDVD at a glance with illustrations showing the icons and their various uses.

Pages 296-297. Learn how you can add movies to your DVD using Jim Heid's step-by-step procedures. Also, learn tips for DVD Movies with encoder settings: The very best to the fastest.

Pages 301-302. Refining a slide show with icons fully explained. Also, slide show tips with TV-Safe area so you can avoid cutting off the outer edges of your photos.

Pages 314-315. Burning DVD tips. Learn how to create a disc image to your DVD and how to use Roxio's Toast software.

Pro Reaction

This is a wonderful book for beginners and intermediate iLife users. There are excellent teaching graphics and photos throughout the book. Also included are sidebars and glossaries to help you learn how to use iLife programs. The book has two-page spreads with concise illustrations. This is an excellent way to quickly learn The Mac iLife `08 programs.

Con Reaction

Missing in the index are keyboard commands for the iLife programs. The index print size is small and major sections are not boldfaced. My wish is for a separate iMovie HD and iDVD book by author Jim Heid.

Final Reaction I highly recommend Jim Heid's Mac iLife `08 Book. This is a very good book for learning how to use iLife `08 programs.

Jim Heid doesn't waste time about getting into doing things with the iLife suite. The DVD alone is worth the purchase price if you're a new or novice user. I use the iDVD portion of the DVD with beginning students to video editing. It's a no nonsence approach that keeps things moving.

As a typical instruction-manual-phobic kinda guy, this is a delight. The real clincher is the well-presented DVD tutorial, so I can sit back and learn on "autopilot".

...

This is the sort of guide that Apple should be shipping with every Mac.

...

It's November 2004 as I write this, and I'm surprised and a little distressed to see that this book is still selling fairly well.

Why distressed? Because this book is an older edition that covers the 2003 iLife product.

If you're using iLife '04, be sure to check out the new edition of my book/DVD, called -- amazingly enough -- "The Macintosh iLife '04." Every page has been updated for iLife '04, and the DVD is completely new, too.

Of course, if you're still using the original iLife suite -- or if you want the older DVD, which contains material not present in the '04 edition -- this is the book/DVD for you.

I have decided to review "The Macintosh iLife" by Jim Heid
in addition to the iMovie 3 Visual QuickStart Guide. This book, also distributed through Peach Pit Press, takes a more visual approach to teaching you how to use
iMovie 3 (along with the iPod, iTunes 3, iDVD 2, and iPhoto 2). When I
say visual I don't really mean pictures in the book. The book includes
a feature-length DVD (broken up into digestible parts) literally
showing you how to do the things that are written in the book.

Heid is a quality presenter both in writing and demonstration. It'd be
VERY difficult to watch this DVD and not learn how to do some pretty
sophisticated things. The pace of the DVD is well-suited to the novice
user, but not tedious for those with experience. The book on it own is
a decent reference for each of the products covered, but used as a
follow-up reference to having watched the DVD, it is a powerful
instrument making it easy to recall what you've seen without having to
actually load the DVD back into a player.

While Heid's book focuses more on the most-commonly used features, it
makes up for any gap (say, between it and the iMovie 3 VQSG) by
covering the whole suite of iLife programs rather than just one. Even
if you have the new version of iLife '04 (like I do), you can still
benefit from this book because the material in it is geared toward
utilizing functions that will exist in the new versions too. Even if
the interface has changed a little, I did not find that it was
difficult to follow anything that Heid demonstrated. Unless he
specifically updates this book (and DVD) to match iLife '04, I can do
no less than highly recommend it to all iLife users.

This book/DVD combo is simply superb. I am not technically gifted -- though I'm the son of a rocket scientist! -- but I am totally geeking out. Jim Heid is a master instructor with an utterly uncanny knack for speaking to exactly the point that you want him to address next. His sense of sequence is flawless! Apple has done a stunning job of creating an awesomely powerful, yet completely accessible, package in iLife. I'm already importing tunes, burning custom CDs and running out to buy a digital camera. I am even considering personally creating instructional DVDs for my Los Angeles based media training firm. That, in itself, is a minor miracle. I used to concede everything to IT experts; now I'm not so sure! I think Jim Heid's book -- along with David Pogue's Missing Manual series -- ought to be standard issue with any Mac.
The Mac, in my obviously biased opinion, is the most elegantly intuitive computer on earth. Equally so is this book and DVD combination. You'll be amazed at how quickly you assimilate information and navigate with growing confidence. My only criticism of this set is that I wish there was more. To that end, I plan to check out what else is available from Peachpit Press and Avondale Media (they collaberated on this combo). Well, folks, I hope I've made myself clear: The Macintosh iLife book and DVD are as good as it gets. If you've been on the wrong side of the digital divide, and if you're now ready to advance exponentially in your multimedia skills, then you simply can't go wrong with this purchase. Buy it!

I bought this product about a week ago. Im somewhat familiar with photoshop cs2, but know-where near an expert. This book opened my eyes to all type of creative ideas. The tricks that are in this book are easy to follow, thanks to the step by step tutorial. The tricks that I thought i knew, thanks to this this book i found easier ways to complete a project with less time. If you are a beginner I strongly suggest this book. If you are an intermeidate I strongly suggest this book.

The only thing i wish is that they were actaully 100 tricks. Few tricks are your computer settings. A few other tricks are plug-ins, you must have plug-ins to complete about 5 or so tricks. This is nothing to worry about, because this book compensates for that.

You can not beat the price for this book! GREAT BUY

This book is easy to follow. The step by step illustrated instructions are easy to follow. Great book!

This is a wonderful book for those of us that learn by SEEING rather than just reading words on a page. Each project takes you step by step from start to finish. You see every screen. Listed in oder, it is easy to follow. Excellent for those of us "cyber challenged" users.

I absolutely love this book!! It is easy to follow and shows some terrific tips. If you're looking for a book to make some Photoshop CS2 editing easy go for this book. I rate it 5 out of 5 stars for what information I'm looking for.

I gave this book only four stars as it was a little to basic for me. This was the only reason!

There is lots of valuable information and it is very easy to follow the instructions to get the desired results/effects. Some things I had already learned either on my own, from another book, or from a two day Photoshop CS2 class I took.

Would recommend to beginners or maybe beginner/intermediate looking to expand with fast tips.

I bought "Hacking Photoshop CS2" use off of Ebay, Amazon has them new, but this book really paid for itself just in the first chapter of tweaking the Photoshop preferences, etc. Starts up noticiably faster on my laptop now! Would recommend that book highly for intermediates and up.

In one word WOW! You have to have this book, Matt explains things in simple terms and makes using PSE easy to use.

Bill

MATT KLOSKOWSKI DOES AND EXCELLENT JOB. VERY EASY TO FOLLOW! MATT'S HUMOR IS A DELIGHT. THE EXAMPLES MAKE IT EASY TO LEARN.

THE ONLY NEGATIVE IS THE BINDING ON THE BOOK. IT IS OK SO FAR. BUT I USE A BOOK HARD, I AM CAREFUL. BUT MYEXPERIENCE WITH THIS TYPE OF BINDING IS NOT GOOD. THEY SHOULD USE A SPIRAL BINDING.

This is a wonderful book. I have had it now for almost a year and use it constantly. It reads like a recipe book, which makes it extremely user friendly. I use it alone and in conjunction with "Photoshop Elements: The Missing Manual".

I echo the comments from everyone else. This is the best choise book to buy to learn how to use this product.

I have uesed this book more than any book I have on photoshop. This is my seconed copy. My first I gave to a friend. Everyone who sees this book wants it. Mat makes everything so easy, you will wonder how you ever did with out it. I give this book five stars. I would love to give it 20 stars,but they only give me five. You will be working in elements and photoshop like a pro in one day. Debbie

Blatner and Fraser have the right stuff. This book is based on what photographers need, unlike many of the Photoshop after market manuals. This is the text to use for digital photographers. Inspiring (technically) for the students and the instructor.

As an Adobe Certified Expert in Photoshop I think I can talk about this book with some soft of knowledge.

Well, this book is awesome. No doubts. From a certain point of view it's even embarassing: I've read things never seen elsewhere, small tips, too small even for the manuals (but sometimes really helpful), and Big concepts explained really well. Every single page of this book hides something useful. This might be not a good thing to say if you're a certified expert, but that's it.

Of course this book is not for everyone: you will get the greatest experience if you're an expert Photoshop user and you work daily with it, as it concentrated on productivity issues and professional tasks. Forget this book if you're a Photoshop enthusiast and you're just looking for pseudo-creative tips&tricks: there are no special effects recipes, no step-by-step tutorials and no bundled clipart CDs.

This is 800 pages of deep Photoshop production techniques. I think no other book, except for Dan Margulis' "Professional Photoshop", can teach such a lot of things to already-expert readers.

First off let say this. If you just beginning to used photoshop cs, this is not the book for you. This book is aimed at the experience user who not only want to know more advanced photoshop techniques but also want to know why photoshop does what it does, in other words how photoshop thinks. Its not an encyclopedia that cover every little feature methodically, instead it covers advanced concepts in themes such as Color management, image manipulation and output. Great book, very informative, like a textbook in some respects. Until you've read it, you dont' really understand photoshop.

This book gives extremely in-depth coverage to topics that cover the gamut from the basic of images and color spaces, through to image editing, filters, typography and finally output. The coverage is very in-depth. This is not a step-by-step book. The idea is to give you a fundamental understanding of the technology and then show it's application in Photoshop. The sections on building selections and using the sharpening features are particular standouts.

If you are the type of person who learns by understanding the fundamentals and not a raw process then it's a tossup between this book and Photoshop CS Artistry. The latter is a little more terse in it's style. This book is more relaxed in style so it's a little easier to follow.

This book is absolutely, no doubt, without question, surely the best book on Photoshop CS out there. It's a real pleasure to read a book by people who actually know what they're talking about. Scott Kelby's "The Photoshop CS Book for Digital Photographers" is an exceptionally fine book if you're just starting with CS and trying to get your photographs under control and don't have time to read about the finer points, but once you've begun to get the hang of it and want not only to know "how," but "why," this is the book you absolutely have to have.

I really wish I had discovered this earlier! I received it yesterday and have already fell in love with the wide array of add-ins that are included on the cd. The book is a great tool to quickly identify the effect that I want. This is a must-have for anyone who has Photoshop Elements!

The book isn't worth much, but the plugins are great. The one click stuff is a great time saver for me, and it really does make things look more snappy without too much hassle. Well worth it for the CD full of plugins!

I love this book. I've already used alot of the layer styles already. Lots of examples. Tons of ideas.

I have had Photoshop Elements 2 for over a year, but until I got this book and CD ROM I had no idea just how creative I could be with the program. There were a lot of effects that I tried to apply to my art but did not quite get the results I desired. This book has helped me unleash my "creative genius". As graphic design student, I have found it to be the best investment I have made besides my computer components. You will find the book helpful, as well, to view the layer styles before applying them to your art. I had found at first that I spent a great deal of time applying and deleting styles and effects before finding the right one, and then I read the book (duh!). I found full-color samples of all the different presets contained on the disk scattered throughout the chapters. It is a small book, but it is very content-rich.

I had used Photoshop 7 in the graphic design lab at school , but I could not afford to buy it. This book and PSE 2 together cost less than $100, and I have no problem duplicating lessons and completing projects at home that are supposed to be done using PS 7.

When Adobe introduced Photoshop Elements it had a low-end program for newcomers to digital photography. It based the cut-down Elements program on its expensive and complex main Photoshop program. However, when you buy Elements you are actually installing quite a lot of the main program (even though no menu commands exist to use new features), and people have been finding ways to exploit the advanced features of Photoshop that Adobe thought would be too complex for Elements users.

Several web sites and two books supply software to advance the capabilities of Elements. One book lets you use some of the professional-level features of the main program, and the other provides some wild effects. That book is the One-Click Wow book I'm reviewing here (the other one is Richard Lynch's The Hidden Powers of Photoshop Elements).

Years ago I wrote a book on Photoshop version 3, and even without enhancements Photoshop Elements 3 is close to being equal to it. The effects in One-Click Wow can be done in several steps in the Main Photoshop program, and in fact that's how they're produced. Unfortunately the effects are of the "take it or leave it" variety - there's no way of altering them - but luckily Jack Davis has produced effects that will appeal to most people.

Because this is a "cheat" and not an officialy approved set of program extensions, you have to manually copy the extensions from the CD to your hard drive. If Elements is running you need to reboot, and then you'll find them listed in the menus for Layer Effects and other places.

One set of extensions work on photographs, and as well as those allowing you to change the appearance of the whole photograph there are other effects that let you add frames or edges. There's a whole series of effects that allows you to change a photograph so that it looks like a painting.

The major set of effects works on graphics and type. They'll change your designs and words to look like chrome or many kinds of natural materials, as well as plenty that look like neon signs. In fact there are several hundred effects, as well as extra brushes and patterns.

It's easiest to see this product not so much as a book, but more like a software add-on with an instruction manual that gives examples of almost every effect - in full color. There's even a multi-page tutorial in using the effects which should explain all you need to know about how to use them.

Davis has been producing the Photoshop Wow books of effects since the beginning of the main program, so the effects here will make a major difference to your pictures. What I've also noticed is the way Davis crops his pictures which is a tutorial in itself - he crops very tightly and you can see the improvement.

So if you can see a copy of this book before you buy it, take a look because what you see is what you're going to get. For most people it's a no-brainer buy, especially since even if you had the main Photoshop program you'd have to do numerous activities on your pictures to equal what you get here.

For the price, it's an amazing bargain for the extra powers you get. I have both this and The Hidden Power of Photoshop Elements, and the two of them make Elements a much more powerful and worthwhile program.

Technology affects art and the many changes in computer animation and effects means that the art world faces both new challenges and new innovations in 3D modeling. Surprisingly, Peter Ratner explains, the changes mean less technical challenges for artists with more ability to focus on creating art rather than deciphering computer systems - and the second edition of his Mastering 3D Animation is just the place to begin. Ratner is a professor of the topic at James Madison University - and the founder and head of the first computer animation program in Virginia, so his background lends particularly well to discussions. His paintings and computer graphics have received exhibition and acclaim - also a plus for artists seeking more than just a programmer's technical tips.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, from its technical standpoint of working between the program and the supporting 3D theory/thought process that Mr. Ratner provides.

Finding that balance of an artist and technologist from where to launch one's vision and future visions of creativity starts with good knowledge. Ratner gives many facets of where to see this vision and tutorials to follow through with your own creative projects.

I commonly work with many high-end graphics programs, Lightwave 7.0 being my newest program on my plate. Peter Ratner's 3d book getting me from a begining user from just reading the index to a 3D artist ready to start the new facets of my own portfolio. Mastering 3D Animation helped quite a bit everything from the Modeling and subdivides to the theory/progress.

Joseph Arthur
Information Architects, Principal

Peter J. Ratner's second authoring effort, Mastering 3D Animation, is a 333-page softcover text that is a comprehensive, detailed and practical tutorial guide addressing nearly every aspect and segment of the 3D graphics genre. The book's 14 chapters-and accompanying follow-along CD for PC and Mac-speak to modeling (beginning and advanced), animation, special effects, lighting, surfacing techniques, facial animation, elements of action, figure movements and composition and cinematography. It's an exceptionally capable complement to Ratner's first book, 3-D Human Modeling and Animation. (Ratner currently is updating the latter text with a wholesale rewrite.)

Make no mistake: This is no cursory guide to constructing simple geometry, slapping on some stock textures, animating basic movements along spline paths and rendering to AVI while you're sipping on a latte, watching the Discovery Channel. A full-time professor in the 3D Computer Animation department of James Madison University and the program's founder, Ratner relies on the broad and substantial digital and conventional art experience that has rewarded him with artistic entries in more than 80 national and international juried exhibitions. Ratner is well-versed in most aspects of 3D art creation, choreography and cinematography. The results of his industry experience are a splendid collection of detailed and refined insights and experiences assimilated into a thorough tutorial guide. I have no doubt-as many experts agree-that Mastering 3D Animation is equipped to serve as a collegiate-level textbook for 3D computer animation curricula.

Spanning the many processes related to generating 3D digital art, Ratner illustrates his critical techniques with 658 black-and-white line drawings and grayscale screen captures. The images vary from basic and sketchy but illustrative black-only perspectives, steps and graphs to grayscale representations depicting character renderings, particle systems, height fields, geometric displacements, facial close-ups, rendered environments and more. Of particular interest to those having cinematography or traditional art backgrounds are the commentary, instructions and grayscale reproductions of painted and sketched art dating back multiple centuries.

Those attending to a more technical emphasis and interest are accommodated in every respect, however-minus superficial references to hardware specifications. Early on, Ratner clarifies his intentions in composing this text: "[The book's] purpose is not to create button pushers who can boast about megahertz, abundant RAM, big monitors and software with all kinds of bells and whistles. It is hoped that aspiring 3D artists will learn some valuable lessons from the great art geniuses that have preceded them." (Foreward/vii) Yes, Ratner does wane philosophical, at times, but his contemplative tendencies bring a refreshing and purist perspective to a field frequently inundated by overly technical meanderings and functionally pointless rambling. Thus, Ratner blends an in-depth artistic and technical knowledge with a practicality and philosophy altogether forming a well-rounded perspective-one catering to persons of various inclinations and backgrounds.

The companion CD contains 200-plus 3D models in a variety of formats: LightWave 3D's .lwo and .lws; Wavefront's .obj; Maya's .ml and the generic .dxf. Tutorial project files are archived in QuickTime (.mov) and JPEG (.jpg) formats, and Ratner also includes a Photoshop brush file (.abr) for creating "grime" textures.

As for the text's informational composition, chapters one and two explore the basics of 3D modeling-polygonal and spline-based (NURBS). Chapter 3 addresses basic 3D animation, while the fourth delves further into animation by considering the role of deformation tools: skeletons ("bones"); kinematics; lattice flexors, etc. In Chapter 5, Ratner explains special effects, including the use of spheres, particles, collision detection, voxels, fragments, displacement mapping and more. Part II of the text, Advanced 3D Modeling, begins with commentary about the human head's structure and composition, including muscles and bone. Ratner explains both the NURBS- and polygon- based methods for modeling the head. Special attention is allotted to features, such as the eyes, eyelids, eye sockets and ears. There's no lack of detail, here, and NURBS fans will experience a rare sensation-a feeling of belongingness.

The next two chapters, six and seven, are devoted to modeling the human figure. The latter stresses finishing-hair, eyelashes and clothing. Chapters 9 and 10 comprise Part III: Preparing for Animation. Lighting is the focus of Chapter 9, and Chapter 10-another that may appeal particularly to conventional artists-deals with surfacing techniques. The author goes beyond the typical texture map types-cylindrical, planar, spherical, cubic, etc.-and the use of photos to address alternative surfacing methods, such as transparency (alpha) and displacement maps. In short, Ratner extends well beyond the conventional surfacing methods most highly publicized, deeply exploring what might be categorized more aptly as upper-echelon trade tips than as common genre knowledge: creating sophisticated bump maps; using grayscale gradients in displacement; and more.

Part IV of the book, Character Animation Fundamentals, includes chapters 11-14: Expressing Emotion with Facial Animation (11); The Elements of Action (12); Movements of the Figure (13); Composition and Cinematography (14). Once again, the author uses an expansive knowledge of choreography and anatomy to help quantify how human emotions are exhibited: body posturing; eye wideness; lip contour; eyebrow position; even directional muscular pull. Each of these considerations can be projected in a 3D figure, and Ratner shows the reader how. "A muscle is composed of a bundle of fibers that work in mutual association to perform common duties," Ratner writes on Page 248. "... It is this combination of movements that results in the complicated harmony of the facial muscles."

The Elements of Action chapter confronts those issues pertinent to a convincing human portrayal by a mere collection of polygons or surfaced curved lines: timing; sound syncing; weight and recoil ("squash and stretch"); walk cycles and more. Chapter 13 addresses concerns complementary to those in the previous one, including body mass motion, pace and impact, equilibrium, action lines, rhythm and still more. The final score of this harmonized tutorial prose pursues line composition, spatial arrangement, blocking (proxy geometry) and all manner of photographic issues and techniques. The reader will learn practical cinematography terminology-camera techniques and movements, transitions, more-and the fundamental tenets of motion depiction utilized by artists centuries earlier.

Mastering 3D Animation is a wonderful book, full of useful information that you will refer to again and again. It covers many complicated issues in an easy-to-understand way so that beginners and advanced users alike can grasp the information. Definately a title that will remain in your library for years to come.

Although a nice book that goes into depth in areas that other modeling books haven't, the generalized, not-to-mention-one-specific-application approach the author has taken left me, a beginner, bewildered and drooling. Also, I think some of what isn't explained in detail was not explained purposely as it was difficult to put into words and considered common sense, which seems to be the case with several tutorials and books that I've read on modeling. I want to know things like: Once I have my splines slapped down in a front perspective, how do I push and pull them properly from other perspectives so they'll take shape, or When defining detail with polygons, how many should I tesselate, how can I manipulate them to look like a gradual bump for a muscle and not a sharp cornered cliff? To sum it up, the book was written for the more experienced and those who are very well aquainted with their software packages-I was expecting step-by-step modeling for newbies.

Got here in a timely manner, looked good. If they do this all the time,
I'd buy from them again.

I needed to lay out a school newspaper in QuarkXPress, having never used Quark before. I bought the book on Friday and had made a newspaper by Sunday. This book is that effective. The chapter about learning Quark in 30 minutes is for real. Since that weekend, I have often referred back to this book; its other chapters have included everything I've needed.

Amazing. Someone actually knows how to put a manual together. Even the president of Quark suggests buying this book so that we can learn Quark Xpress. At first I was too frustrated with Quark (having come off Pagemaker 6.5), to learn it. Then I purchased this book and whammo, I'm now an expert. Can't figure out why Quark doesn't just put this manual in their product instead of the thick, overwhelmingly poor manual they supply.

Don,t get scary by the size of this book. Usually when you are looking at one of those monsters (909 pages) you know it's more like encyclopedia than useful manual. But this book is different. Information is systemized, instructions are clear. It's easy to reed and easy to follow. I didn't know anything about Quark Express. And I started from this book. I found everything and even more that I was looking for.

This book is one of the best I have run across for learning and using a piece of software. I needed to learn Quark quickly and after reading his "Learn QX in 30 minutes" chapter, I felt I had enough of a handle to get started on a project.

I am constantly referring to the book now as a reference.

Can't go wrong with this one.