3D Books

The book of Jason Wolf is excelent to develop produts Shockwave 3D. It's read easy, practices examples and applications.

I work five years with Shockwave 3D and approve!

Luiz Chaves
Multimedia Producer

I might not be the greatest director user out there but i am very interested in the 3d area of director to bring my 3d models to life. Sure a lot of us are great 3d modelers but this book does not cover the real core of what director is able to do in the 3d field. This book is more of a just look at the surface of the 3d power of director and thats it. Basically nothing really hardcore about it and this auther or people that help out to make this really dont cover anything . The whole book is basically rush. I thought hey its going to be cool because its a fast but you wont learn nothing really. You might as well just copy and paste the codes within the book and thats it.

I'm a student of computer graphics. Right now we're making a shockwave game. This book was really helpful, both for giving ideas and helping to apply the concepts we want to be in the game.

It really helped our creative process going through those examples, and now we're thinking about combining some of the things from the book with old knowledge and create something even bigger than we've tried before.

All examples are nice written, and easy to follow, both for people who like to program with Lingo and who use predefined behaviors.

I've been a fan of 3D Studio Max for sometime now and ever since the Shockwave 3D Exporter came out I've been trying to learn it! This book helped me learn FAST. I'm a very visual person and this book has tons and tons of graphics showing everything step by step. I would recommend it, if you are interested in just jumping right in and making something without having to read forever!

This slim book simply doesnt't have enough material on shock 3d, and the coverage isn't balanced either. It doen't even discuss the basics such as 3d coordinate system in diector. A whole chapter is devoted to 3d behaviors, which even a non-lingo programmer can easily figure out for her/himself, but the lingo codes in the book are not explained in detail. You can find better explanation on these lingo codes at many web sites like [website], where Tom Higgins writes many tutorials and he is the one who wrote the most of the lingo code in Chap. 3 of this book. Chapters 4 & 5 are concerned with Havok physics Xtra, for which the Havok manual does the better job, and the Havok behavior is NOT utilized in the examples in this book. This book is concerned only with the creation of walk-thru type movies, and absolutely no subject on animation is discussed. The book is probably more useful for 3D designers wishing to publish their work as a shockwave movie than for (aspiring) director developers. Finally, the publishers list price of the book is US[money], not [money] something, so don't be ....

I really love these books. I am fascinated by the technique used to get the 3-d affect. I have everyone out.

We like all books like this. Fun for the whole family!! I'm glad I could choose ones with a biblical theme!

My 13 yr daughter was into these 3D books, so I bought several for her. She enjoys looking at them. Not many of her friends can find the picture.

My 13 yr daughter was into these 3D books, so I bought several for her. She enjoys looking at them. Not many of her friends can find the picture.

My kids were really filled with wonder seeing these amazing images and reading the stories. This is a great book for building discussions about such stories as: Creation, Noah, Moses,Jonah,The 23rd Psalm,Ecclesiastes,Daniel and the lions den, Annunciation of Mary, Loaves and Fishes,Crucifixion,Easter and the Pentecost. The front cover looks like a stained-glass mural but melts into a 3-D Crucifixion scene (once you figure out how to see in 3-D! Instructions are included). Probably the best image is the Annunciation of Mary. You can see the faces of Gabriel and Mary! I also liked the way Moses "parts" the Red Sea in 3-D. Very effective. Also should mention the dove and the olive branch and the burning bush for their unique 3-D images.

This book shows tons of different kinds of rocks. Very great if your child likes rocks or if you want to read up on the subject.

Beutiful pictures with detailed captions. It shows igneous rocks, sedimentary rocks, and metamorphic rocks. It tells which rocks we use in our everyday life. Overall it is pretty good. I like the part were they tell the uses of flint.

THIS WAS THE WORST DK BOOK I EVER READ THE ONLY GOOD
PART WAS IGNEOUS ROCKS.I LIKE THE OTHER DK BOOKS BETTER
THAN THIS ONE

[...]

I bought this book as a gift for a bright young lady who was fascinated with the appearance of the stones themselves, but although I liked the content of the book, I was wholly unable to persuade the recipient even to peruse the text as light reading.

It was enticing enough for me, but I claim the blame for missing the target. Experiences may vary -- if they're readers, they're readers -- if they're not, that's another subject.

Most of the rock-and-mineral books I see are full of colorful pictures of exotic minerals, underground caves or far-away mountains. This is the first book I've come across that actually takes you to those places. The simple, clever mirror device pops those rocks right into your lap, or brings the mountain up close.

The information is accurate and well-written. Full color spreads illustrate the location or object and the photography is breathtaking. This is one you'll want to find space for, on that "oversized" book shelf, to accomodate the height of the book.

3ds Max Animation with Biped
I've been working with 3ds max over 3 years and this book is Very Simple and not really helpful for beginners and advanced users.

This book was exactly what I was looking for. It had detailed instructions for how to perform nearly every task in Character Studio (now just called the biped system in 3DS MAX). It's not going to have anything conceptual in it.

If you want a comprehensive animation guide, you need to get the animation bible (The Animator's Survival Kit: A Manual of Methods, Principles, and Formulas for Classical, Computer, Games, Stop Motion, and Internet Animators) in addition to this. Make sure you know everything about squash and stretch, anticipation, etc. Come to think of it, start with the book The Illusion of Life: Disney Animation (you can find a lot of this info online, because it's so old, but it's good to have it when you're not on the interwebs as well).

Actually, you can start with whatever excites you most, but you won't get anywhere interesting without the foundational concepts in these two other books. They apply to even the realistic kinds of animation you see in action movies. In fact if you're going to Mo-Cap everything you ever do, you should still know them.

If you've looked around for books on learning Character Studio, you've undoubtedly noticed there's not much of a selection. 3ds Max Animation with Biped is probably as good a book on the basics as you're going to find. Also addresses some of the more advanced features of CS including combining mo cap files in Motion Mixer and building multiple Biped crowds. Michele Bousquet does a good job breaking things down into easy to understand terms. If you're wanting to learn a few things about Max's 'other' Bone system...get the book.

This is by far the best book covering Biped. 3ds Max Animation with Biped is for the beginner who wants to learn how to use Biped. Few books cover the Biped in any detail.
The examples are straight forward and well explained. The authors know "How to Teach". Very few books about 3ds Max are well written. Most leave details out and confuse the reader. I have purchased almost all the books written about 3ds Max and have been greatly disappointed by most. Michele Bousquet and Michale McCarthy have done an excellent job in writing this book.

I had a little biped experience before reading this book and have learnt nothing new from it. Only buy if you are a complete beginner. Nicely laid out, clear and well explained.

Just bellow average

This book is nothing special, you can find in the internet better 3D computer graphics, so way buy!!

Someone has printed one of those on-line 3D galleries :-} I love 3D; it is most definitely my favorite genre of art and only about 25 years old. You can really see that the talent of the artist is by far the most important trait by looking at the work of different 3D artists using the same software. Usually most of that credit is attributed to what software or hardware was used. It was interesting to see such good quality work was created with software other than the usual four programs {Maya, LightWave, XSI, 3dsMax}. It was also very nice to have a CD with more content; I can never get enough of that 3D imagery. What a great ice breaker for the office! What a wonderful way to break away from that cartoon/animation mold that 3D often gets thrown into and show the versatility of 3D in a print medium. I liked that there was a list of contributing artists with contact information. I very much prefer hard covers.

A few suggestions for the next book. It would look nicer with glossy pages. The images on the CD are way too small. Some of the pages are of a color not very complementary to the art contained on them. A couple of 3D videos on the CD would be nice. Maybe a video interview or two with the 3D artists. There should be plenty of room on the CD for this extra content, and even more room on a DVD.

Perhaps the publishers could include the option for people to buy poster size prints with a large portion of the royalty going to the artist :-}

I would also like to have seen a page dedicated to the talent and toil of the artist. A good 3D artist has to learn very complex software with menus and concepts 1000 times more complex then any spreadsheet. They must have knowledge of traditional film techniques, of camera and lighting. A good art education helps tremendously with color, composition and theoretical concepts. But most importantly there has to be the raw talent and of course a large investment in expensive hardware, software. Then there is the time invested, years of school and then years of sitting in front of a computer. After developing this talent, some of these images took days, weeks, or even months to create.

Often this talented 3D artist is paid less than a plumber, or in many cases is not paid at all for the work they produce. I think a statement like the one in the paragraph above would do nicely to promote the appreciation for what I believe to be the most gorgeous art on the planet.

People looking at this 3D art may come to realize its true value. I believe this book may eventually contribute to that cause. Hopefully future artists will be justly honored and compensated for their work. The art & video industries are unique as people do not associate the horrors of third world sweatshop labor to the compensation offered for work of this caliber that is produced by these tremendously talented artists.

Buy the book, contact one of these artists in it and ask them to produce some 3D for you !

Wow, what a great book. I just got my copy in the mail yesterday and I can't stop picking it up to browse through the pages. The artwork and presentation are truly first class.

In a time and society saturated with computer graphics, this book is truly a gem. It showcases the best of what the 3D world has to offer from talented artisits around the globe. These are not simple 3D renderings anyone can do with an out-of-the-box 3D modeller, they are true works of art. The people at Rockport Publishers have also done a superb job of printing with quality inks on the finest paper. The images jump out at you with their vibrancy and detail.

My favorite feature is in the back of the book where some of the artists walk you throught the process of creating their images. Working with 3D, this will be an invaluable tool and inspiration.

In summary, if you have an interest in well-done 3D graphics or just want a really cool coffee table book, The Best of 3D Graphics is sure to please!

"The Best of 3D Graphics" is an amazing pictorial journey through some of the best 3D on the planet. This book is gorgeous! Art in print is always a gamble - I've seen some great Michelangelos mutilated by bad reproduction - but this book rises to the challenge with gleaming images in richly saturated color vibrating on every page. It is excellently edited (clearly by a lover of color and composition) so the experience of looking becomes an art in itself; the images flow from page to page in an aesthetic and sensitive arrangement. Everything about this book breathes art, from the font choice to quotes about art to the awesome artists' methodologies in the last chapter. The web has made digital imagery instantly accessible to both viewer and artist; the problem is that online galleries show everything, no matter how bad the "art." Many times I've come away from these galleries feeling depressed and with sore eyes. "The Best of 3D Graphics" is an antidote; every single image worth studying (and be amazed by) with lots to think about. And it's cumulative - the more I looked, the more intriguing, enriching, the experience became.

Excellently crafted, marvelous attention to detail, stunning imagery, with the added bonus of the artists' work process and thoughts - and you've got a book that gets my vote for "Best of 2003".

I just got this book and was amazed at the wonderful digital graphics that were in it.
I noticed that many pictures were made with programs that were reasonably priced and within the reach of most people, thus inspiring even the most amateur digital artist to be able to eventually achieve great works of 3d art!
It was definetly inspiring and I recommend it to all of those who wish to be in the 3d graphic realm.

I search the information about programming in Maya for weeks. This book is essential for maya programming (MEL and C++ API) and I only find it about this theme.

I bought the volume I (Complete Maya Programming: An Extensive Guide to MEL and C++ API) and is great book too. If you going to buy this book, read before the first volume.

Excuse my english.

compared with the first book, this one is much less interesting or useful. The examples about the polygonal meshes, nurbs, and subdivision surfaces look useful at the beginning, but they are just so similar to each other and finally turned out to be boring and a waste of time. Lots of mathematical errors, especially in the part of matrices, transformations. So I guess I will recommend the first book than this one.

I can't say enough good things about the book. Not only is it extensive, but its really well written. Its written in a way that you would want to read it and the explanation are among the best in a maya book, not to mention typically technical books are boring to read. The examples the author gives and the analogies he makes are dead on and simple to make the reader understand. Again, well written and written in a way that makes you continue to read. This is rare and I feel it deserves recognition in this achievement. On top of all this, the book content is actually Really good, very detail, and advance enough for power users. And for anyone that Really wants to know the ins and outs of maya, its architecture, and how everything works internally. Also to know some pitfalls, and there are quite a bit of tips and know hows in there from someone who has been through production and are solutions that are realistic and practical. Great Book, Highly Recommend it!

This book gets into the area where math and computers really mix. It does a thurough job of explaining how the geomitry of maya works. Hopefully there will be a third volume that covers shaders and rendering.

great book on programming maya mel and api. It is the only references on this material. However my biggest complaint is that the proof reading on these sorts of manuals is just as bad as I have seen. Double negitives, typos galour, confusing examples rule the content here. I sometimes wonder if David Gould speaks english. It is as if he is explaining it to himself and not the reader. Changing emphasis in mid thought really makes for some guesswork on the readers part. A necessary evil, I guess as, I recommend his series whenever someone is asking about mel or the api.

Dan Ablan is a great instructor, hands down! His books, courseware and support are far none the best in this industry. This book is truly a reflection of quality, quality that you'd expect Dan to provide.

Some of you might say that some of the chapters in this book are pretty basic. I am not here to bash any of you, I just want to write a review about this book, but... Not everyone will find these chapters "basic." They are what I call, informative!

This book provides a wealth of information. Some of it was information I already knew, but that's because I have been doing photography since I was a kid. His technique and ideations however, put a whole new spin on how I work with my digital photos. I admire Dan for his creativity and ideas. This book will definately give you a new perspective on how to use digital pictures and how to incorpoate them into 3d.

If you are looking for an excellent book to accompany your library, this book is it! I am an amateur at best when it comes to 3D animation. Owning this book, I see myself advancing past this "amateur" level. :)

If you like Dan's teaching style and his other books, you truly wont be dissapointed by this one! I would also like to suggest his courseware! Dan's courseware is just as good, if not better than his books!

There was nothing in this book that I did not enjoy or get bored with. However, if you are a pro working for Pixar or some professional company, this book might seem "basic" to you.. For the other 95% of us, this book is a great investment!

-Justin

This is an important topic. The publisher should have found a more experienced author to write this book!

The coverage of HDRI imaging was full of mistakes. In a step-by-step tutorial, the author makes every mistake in the book: he focuses his camera wrong, he changes the f-stop between bracketed exposures even though this will change the camera's DOF and mess up the alignment of images, in assembling his High Dymanic Range Images with Adobe Photoshop PS2 he advises readers to change modes from HDRI to 16 bit and back, without mentioning that this means he is no longer creating a High Dymanic Range Image. The author doesn't seem to notice that the series of bungling mistakes he has made hasn't produced a HDRI map suitable for image based lighting, and instead acts as if he has achieved highly realistic results.

The author's mis-adventures photographing a Christmas Tree ball in his back yard to make HDRI are only one chapter in this book. He also attempts to make texture maps out of photographs (he gets to the color maps, doesn't go much further into how to derive bump or specular or other maps based on the color.) The book is also full of "filler" chapters that would only be useful to a beginner first using a computer. There's a chapter on image management, showing how you can use a program like iPhoto to organize your pictures, and explaining the difference between compressed and uncompressed image files.

Overall there's not much for a dedicated 3D artist in this book, although some beginners might find some of it useful.

I'm somewhat of a noob in 3d modelling and animation, and so this book really interested me. I was hoping to learn how to better use photography to do things like create effective reference images, textures, normal maps, bump maps, displacement maps, and such.

After reading through most of the book, I'm pretty disappointed. While the book does cover such topics, I feel that it gives those topics a pretty superficial treatment, and the focus of the book seems to be on other, what I'd consider, "oddball topics".

The book devotes a lot of time covering digital photography in general. It does this fairly well, but honestly, a book like "Real World Digital Photography" does that much better.

The book also has large sections where it goes into great detail into how to create a 3d slideshow, and another on how to create a digital collage using After Effects. While these topics are kind of interesting, honestly, how often are you going to do something like that?

The book is kind of an interesting read, but after reading it I'm wondering who the intended audience for it actually is. Certainly not 3d animators or modelers like the title and the description of the book seem to indicate.

While some may mistake this for a masterclass in 3D and digital photography, it is quite clearly geared towards beginners. But, it's value as a source of professional training does not stop there. What I found most profoundly useful about this book by Dan Ablan is that it not only helps newcomers to 3D and/or digital photography, but that it may also inspire those who may be intimidated by the depth and complexity associated with 3D to now pursue this wonderful medium to enhance their self expression and understanding. I have purchased many training materials written by Dan Ablan, from video tutorial DVD's to instructional books such as this one, and have always felt the wiser for doing so. I waited until I finished this book before sitting down to write this review. Contrary to other assessments, the techniques taught in this book are accurate for the uses stated in their related topics. If you want to dip your toes into the water of 3D while improving your digital photography skills, then I would highly recommend that you pick up this book. Read it thoroughly. I believe you will find yourself returning to it as a source of reference again and again, as I have. Enjoy.

I was hesitant to get this book after reading the one review posted. But instead I got the book anyway. I have to say that the information is excellent. I've worked in 3D for a while, using Maya and Cinema 4D, but had not explored the use of digital photography to the fullest extent. I had emailed Dan Ablan and he replied right away. He told me this book was about ideas and that it helps bridge the gap between photography and 3D, two fields he's worked in for over a decade. He was right and I found that his example photos were outstanding and use of them even better. This book covers managing files which is a big deal as you start taking more shots such as textures and image maps. It covers how to create panoramas in more than one application, and it covers hdri and as Dan shows, works great in modo. I'm new to modo, but the project was cool. I was surprised that the book even covered image modeling using image modeler from [...]and then there was the after effects tutorial creating a heavily layered, animated montage all from photos using masks and keys and blending. I liked the use of 3D for animated photo slideshows and image mapping ideas.

What really surprised me the most was that even though the tutorial are geared towards beginners it has helped my 3D work immensely. What's cool is that Dan included hours of video training tutorials on the book's DVD to help you learn more and there's tons of sample images to work with and free demo software.

Top notch book!

As an adult, I purchased this book for myself. Yes, I know that it was intended for a "children's audience", but it also happens to be one of the *best* drawing books that I have ever come across!! In the past, I've purchased a variety of other drawing books, but my experience with such books really has been quite frustrating, as most of them are usually written by artists who are clueless how to teach...

However, this is NOT the case with Mark Kistler's book! Mark not only knows how to teach well, but he also vividly understands how to make drawing fun, educational and best of all -- a true delight. For the first time, I find myself coming home and during my spare time, wanting to pull out a new sheet of paper and let my imagination go wild... In other words, have fun drawing all kinds of cool stuff!

If you truly want a fun experience that will teach you to draw well, this is a must buy. I have been absolutely amazed, along with my family and friends, what I could draw. For the first time, I can make artwork that I'm proud to show others... and that's a great feeling!

Take my advice -- BUY THIS BOOK!!! (I'm so glad that I did.)

P.S. - This is the workbook. Make sure you get the regular book that this workbook was designed to go along with. :-)

Mark Kistler has created fun, exciting, and challenging drawing lessons in his Draw Squad and Imagination Station books. Using a few simple rules, he teaches how to draw 3-D scenes, objects and characters. This book, "Drawing In 3-D Wacky Workbook", is a companion to Mark Kistler's "Drawing In 3-D." When used with "Drawing In 3-D", the Wacky Workbook becomes a place to practice the skills and characters taught. I like the fresh, fun drawings he teaches. When used thoughtfully,the book becomes an art journal, showing how you are improving as you go through the book. The skills learned can be applied in many and various ways. The only objection I would have is that it does not stand well on its own, but depends on the "Drawing In 3-D" book for it to make sense. Otherwise, it is a fine tool to help children practice their drawing and record their progress.

I think Marks books are wonderful, hands down! My daughter did the Draw Squad book when she was 10 and now she's 14 and draws like a pro. She gets better every day, thanks to these books!

Mark Kistler has created a series of drawing books, videos and T.V. shows that teach and encourage children to draw in 3-D. His Draw Squad and Imagination Station books are full of fun, interesting and challenging drawing lessons. In this book, 'Mark Kistler's Drawing In 3-D Wacky Workbook', he provides a convenient and easy way to practice drawing and keep a drawing journal. The lessons in this book accompany another book, 'Drawing in 3-D with Mark Kistler.' This workbook provides space to practice the lessons found in the drawing book. I found the book to be a good way to encourage daily drawing practice. The lessons are compelling enough to keep children motivated. The characters are fun and friendly, and still challenging enough to keep children stretching in their artistic endeavors. The only downfall of this workbook is that it is directly dependent on the 'Drawing In 3-D' book and does not stand well on its own. Otherwise, as a practice and art journalling tool, it is helpful. I recommend this and all of Mark Kistler's books to teach children about art concepts and how to draw, draw, draw in 3-D.

Mark Kistler has created a series of drawing books, videos and T.V. shows that teach and encourage children to draw in 3-D. His Draw Squad and Imagination Station books are full of fun, interesting and challenging drawing lessons. In this book, 'Mark Kistler's Drawing In 3-D Wacky Workbook', he provides a convenient and easy way to practice drawing and keep a drawing journal. The lessons in this book accompany another book, 'Drawing in 3-D with Mark Kistler.' This workbook provides space to practice the lessons found in the drawing book. I found the book to be a good way to encourage daily drawing practice. The lessons are compelling enough to keep children motivated. The characters are fun and friendly, and still challenging enough to keep children stretching in their artistic endeavors. The only downfall of this workbook is that it is directly dependent on the 'Drawing In 3-D' book and does not stand well on its own. Otherwise, as a practice and art journalling tool, it is helpful. I recommend this and all of Mark Kistler's books to teach children about art concepts and how to draw, draw, draw in 3-D.

I have read several home-buying books and two other mortgage books and found this to be the only source for detailed information. As another reviewer suggested, if you want the feel-good basics then look elsewhere ("Navigating the Mortgage Maze", by Turnauer or "The Centuray 21 Guide to Choosing your Mortgage"). My view is that if you are taking the time to read a book on a subject, you want details. I find generalities and broad sweeping statements a waste of time. This text provides a breadth and depth of information in a clear and succinct manner. My only complaint is that the book could be updated with a newer edition. However this 10 year-old text is by no means out of date since the author gives you the framework to understand everything in the fast-changing mortgage industry.

Nine times out of ten the biggest factor that decides whether or not you successfully buy or sell a real estate property is -- financing. And yet it is the one area people know the least about. By understanding home loans and how they work, you dramatically increase your chances. And this book is the best on the subject I have read. The writer is a professional experienced mortgage broker who writes well. The bottomline, as the writer states, is "Most loans...are approved or denied based on some very fundamental rules." It's really good to know these fundamentals.

I bought this book after it was rated one of the top ten real estate books of the year in the Los Angeles Times real estate section. Boy, was I disappointed. This book didn't come close to living up to its promises. The author gave too much information and not enough direction for the typical layperson. He explains the reasons behind all the fees that are attached to loans, but does little to explain how to avoid or reduce them. He describes the different types of loans available, but doesn't really tell you why you should choose one over another. This book was a mostly a waste of time. You are better off reading the section about mortgages in Home Buying For Dummies and finding yourself a good mortgage broker.

I hesitated at first, I'd had a home loan before. What else was there to learn? I cannot put this book down. There is so much to know about home loans and this author writes it in easy to understand language. I wish I had this book 10 years ago. The is an excellent, easy to understand book packed with information that I highly recommend everyone read before applying for a home loan.

Excellent book. Took the mystery out of home buying and allowed us to negotiate a better mortgage rate (and not pay any points)!

I find that the general concepts presented in this book are still valid, even several years after its publication. Most of the commercial graphics software out there follows similar programming architectures and this book covers these fairly well.

However, you need to read the Open Inventor Toolmaker book to extend your Open Inventor Library distribution by adding more nodes/actions/engines, it also gives a much more in depth understanding. The real power of this library is that you can extend it fairly easily.

For the reference manual book for detailed specs about functions or callback methods, they are all available in the online manual pages now which are distributed freely by SGI since August of 2000.

I teach a five week course using this book. Students praise the material as being comprehensible, easy to understand, and creative. After each chapter the student should be able to perform certain open inventor tasks. I assign daily programming variations drived from the book. The accumulative effect is to have a student capable of maintain or developing applications in Open Inventor. The logical extension of the programming language is to develop using SGI tools or TGS tools. I think the Inventor Mentor book is one of the most prized Open Inventor books on the market. I adhere to the book when teaching Open Inventor exclusively. The Open Inventor book sheds a new light on the next five weeks which moves into VRML and Java. Interestingly, the mechanizms for controling nodes in the scene graph using Java are very similar to Open Inventor Node manipulation.

I've concluded that I like the Inventor Mentor Book. I've used the book to teach open inventor to Senior University students. I worked with students to demonstrate a comprehensive set of programs viewable at WSU Virtual Worlds. WSU Virtual Worlds illustrates a more comprehensive code explaination. If you have questions on concepts in the book, email me. Heres what we were able to accomplish: Cylinder in trackball with Examiner Widget, Orthographic Camera and explainations of Perspective Camera, Space station w/ Camera and Point Light, Space station w/ Copper Material, Space station w/ Text, Grids (callbacks to OpenGL Code), applying Texture maps, B-Spline, using the Elapsed-Time Engine, Two Time Counters, Keyboard Events (this was very challenging to learn), Sensors, Draggers, nurb surface figure (cool technology), Walking Figure, skeleton and nurb surface skin (the best subject of the book: node kits), Examiner Widget, Water Molecule with Draggers and Timer Sensors.

This book gives a good overview of how to use Open Inventor to depict three-dimensional objects and scenes. To my knowledge, this is the only introductory book on Open Inventor. Since there are no tutorial books on Open Inventor, this is where many people start when they want to use the language.

This book describes the capabilities and features of Open Inventor and gives brief examples, often with code. By the end of the book, you have a good idea of what Open Inventor can do and what parts of the language you would use for each feature. Unfortunately, many of the descriptions leave much to be desired. The book does not go into detail on how to use any feature. Many descriptions are given a light, cursory treatment.

If your goal is to start programming in Open Inventor, you will find many omissions. You will need to compensate for this by writing test cases and experimental code. You will also need to purchase The Open Inventor C++ Reference Manual, which will fill in many of the gaps in this book.

If, however, your goal is to get an understanding of what Open Inventor is, this book is perfect.

Open Inventor is a C++ object oriented 3D graphics API that allows high level programming for OpenGL. It integrates into Visual Studio. Even though Open Inventor is an old product it is still widely used in various visualization systems around the world. Hollywood, advanced engineering systems, and scientific projects that require superior 3D visualization are still using this product. The Inventor Mentor book allows you to quickly get familiar with Open Inventor.

With Open inventor you do not need to worry about rendering or drawing, all you do is define 3D objects and their surface properties (color, texture, ambient light, transparancy, reflective properties, etc.). You define object position/motion and interconnectedness via a scene graph. It is like building with lego.

In 1996 I created a product prototype for an industrial robot visualization system. A ported ABB robot controller directly controlled the motion in the 3D simulation. A simulated Arc-Welding robot was created by converting the corresponding CAD drawings for the robots components into VRML. I used kinematic transforms (Sheith-Uicker) to connect the robot links together in the scene graph framework provided by Open Inventor. The result was a very realistic robot simulation that was nicer looking than anything you have seen on XBOX 360. The OS window seemed like a window in a wall through which you could see into a shop floor with a robot in action.

With the help of the Inventor Mentor I was able to get a working prototype ready in three weeks. I did not need the Open Inventor C++ Reference Manual or the Open Inventor Toolmaker during these three first weeks (but I used them later). I continued working with this product for four more years, and it was one of the most fun tools I have ever worked with.

10 months ago I contacted TGS about buying Open inventor. Unfortunately they wanted $4,000 for each development license, a $1,000 for each run-time license (one per unit), and $300,000 for a universal (for all units) run-time license. This was too expensive, otherwise I might have used it today as well.