3D Books

This book is pretty thorough in covering all the aspects of digital cinematography, such as what the production process looks like, how to construct a compelling story, camera direction, lighting..... The sections on Lighting are especially thorough and very much tailored for the "Digital" part of Digital Cinematography, with easy to follow examples of how to create different lighting schemes in a 3D environment. Also, the artist spotlights on professionals working in the animation industry are very good to read as they add other insights and help you understand how they think and use this information. With most of the educational art books that I look for, good visuals are very important, and this book doesn't dissappoint. Great examples of 3D animation to illustrate the points of the book.

Exploring Digital Cinematography is the perfect source to inspire or inform those looking to leap into the fields of animation and film. From those with little to no experience to those with countless numbers of years in the field, this book provides detailed knowledge about topics such as color theory, cameras, and lighting that will help pave the way to create a visual masterpiece. Mr. Donati provides plenty of pictorial guidance to help ease students into learning the subject material. He also provides some hard truths that few beginners to the field realize before making the decision to enter animation. One specific overtone to this book that makes it a great reference is that animators are film makers and artists first. There is no way around that. Make great films, animation, and art with the help of this book. Highly recommended.

This book is a great resource for animation instructors or anyone looking to improve their skills as an animator. As the title indicates, it is built around the premise that good animators are first and foremost filmmakers--a fact that few budding animators consider. Donati walks readers through the entire animation process, and I've used several of the sections in both intro and upper-level classes. It conversational tone makes the text fun to read and there are plenty of graphics to reinforce the lessons. His thorough explanations of color theory, storyboarding and camera work make my lessons in these areas more effective. The accompanying CD-rom is full of helpful material as well, including a fantastic tutorial on 3-point lighting. If every 3D student followed this, there would be no more floating figures hovering above the ground when they should be running on it! Finally there's a book that covers the essential cinematographer's skills as they apply to animators. Strongly recommended.

This book is perfect for anyone hoping to gain a greater understanding of all facets of digital cinematography and producing films/animations.

Super for use in the classroom and personal projects. The thing I like most is that the chapters give a nice basic overview then go into great detail for those that want a lot more.

-Michael

I didnt buy this book to learn about flash coding, or web development. I bought this book because I am interested in Software rendered graphics. That is, applications that dont utalize OpenGL or Direct 3D for rendering to the screen. I bought this book for the techniques it discusses in "faking" 3d, and also producing real 3d. So far it has done a perfect job in giving me ideas and techniques that I can use in my applications. For anybody interested in producing anything that is real time, and 3d, I would reccomend this book.

This is the best book I have read in years! If you know the basics of ActionScript and you know sine and cosine, this book opens up whole dimensions of possibilities for both games and business applications of Flash.

It is clearly written and reads more smoothly than most programming books. While it does assume a basic literacy with ActionScript, it does not leave you flailing with complex 3D concepts. You may have to pull out your definitions of sine and cosine, but beyond that, it is pretty light lifting.

The genious of the book is that it violates commmon assumptions, and this results in simple, elegant techniques that are also powerful for a wide range of problems. The common assumption is that Flash doesn't do 3D. Don't believe it anymore. If you are willing to use some basic limitations to your application (such as keeping your polygon count down), you can have some smoothly flowing, useful 3D applications with relatively little effort. And unless I'm mistaken, those applications will run equally well on a browser running on a Mac, Windows or Linux.

The solutions are simple and eclectic. The authors have created a variety of 3D engines - each optimized for a given purpose. The engines are simple enough that (in theory) you can take the source and enhance it to your needs. Each technique is backed up by source code that you can download from the publisher's web site. But don't shortchange yourself with only the sample code - the explanations in the text are worth the cost of the paper book.

Here are my favorite techniques:

* ch 8 (P 195) - Drawing API and Math for 3D - here they explain and provide a working polygon 3D engine. The demos work smoothly (at least 20-30 frames per second) on my cheap Dell laptop. The demos include a oragami bird and a rocket ship with at least 10-20 polgons each. It doesn't support bitmapped textures, but it does offer fill color and shading support.

* ch 9 - 3D Slice Engine - this is the more clever, powerful and non-obvious technique of the book. Check out "dad.swf" in the binary samples from the web site to get an idea of the power of this approach - the author has made a 3D talking head of his father from a photograph! The idea here is that if you can view your 3D world as a topographical map, then you can model it with a set of parallel planes, where each plane represents a certain cut through the entire 3D model. This approach, though not immediately intuitive, is extremely powerful in Flash because it plays on the strenghths of Flash. Each plane is represented by two "movieclip" objects, with one embedded in the other. The first one handles scaling, and the second handles rotation, within the scaled clip. The hidden surface problem is finessed because the planes are parallel - so you only reverse the rendering order once every 180 degrees of change in viewer angle. This enables you to handle full bitmap detail of your scenes, and the result is pretty dazzling! The basic rendering engine requires only about 50 lines of ActionScript!

* Ch 6 - Parallax Scrolling - This name is misleading - it really goes beyond a scrolling 2D game model. In the Wyvern's Claw" example, it explores the idea of building a 3D world like a movie set - with a set of strategically placed flat surfaces (like the fronts of buildings in the studio sets). Each surface is a movieclip, and your script manages the proper scaling and shading as the viewer moves through. The demo then shows an animated walk-through of a small town rendering in such a way. This seems very cool for a potential game.

I'm already using the Chapter 9 slice engine for a work-related project - multidimensional data browsing. So for me, the book was not only stimulating to read but valuable!

TOC:

Chapter 1 Introduction to Flash 3D
Chapter 2 Light and Shadow
Chapter 3 Scaling for 3D
Chapter 4 Isometric 3D
Chapter 5 Focus and Depth of Field
Chapter 6 Parallax Scrolling
Chapter 7 Text Effects in 3D Space
Chapter 8 Drawing API and Math for 3D
Chapter 9 3D Slice Engine
Chapter 10 Departure Lounge: Moving beyond Flash 3D

Chapters 1, 2, 3, 4, 6 and 10 don't require a trigonometry
background. One of Chapter 6 topics uses XML though.

The best chapters for me were 1, 2, 3, 4 and 6.

I gave the book 5 stars because it has something for everyone.
Some people use Flash to create digital art while others use it
for practical purposes. This book delivers to both people.
Unfortunately, I belong to the latter kind and some of the topics
aren't for me.

I also think that some chapters are impractical unless you're
really a math geek. For example, I think Chapter 8 - Drawing
API and Math for 3D -- is unnecessary because you can import
Swift 3D files.

Some of the authors also show you Actionscript without really
explaining what it does (I think they assume you do know trig).
I work for a software engineering firm (not as an engineer
though) but I do know that it's bad practice to embed magic
numbers -- literals that don't have apparent meaning -- in
any code. It's better to put them in constants.

One of the authors (the Chapter 4 author I think) said to get
a good book on trigo. I don't think I will because there are
plenty of free trigo tutorials on the web. I agree though that
to get the most out of Flash and this book, learning trigo is a
must.

This has to be about the best book I have ever seen. The 3D cheats in it are amazing -- and you surely wouldn't know you were cheating. There are some incredibly insightful techniques, and some more staple things if you're not quite steady on your feet yet.

I think I am, but this book showed me how much more there was to know!

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

I love Magic Eye Imagery, and I love garfield, so this book was a winner before I even got it. It was a little smaller than I expected, but jam packed, and theres even little clues hidden as joke questions at the top of the page. A lot of time and effort went into this book specifically for Garfield fans, and speaking on behalf of them, we appreciate it.

This book has really good images. They pop out really well. I especially like the star one.

I love Garfield and I love Magic Eye! Buy this book if you love either. I didn't realize this book was a paperback til I got it, regardless, this is a great coffee table book for everyone to enjoy.

Nicholas Boughen has really created something amazing! He walks you thru all theighting tools in LightWave Eight at an easy to read pace with great examples and lessons. What makes this book special is that although it teaches you how to light in LightWave 8, it covers the fundamentals of lighting , how to recreate real world lighting,and more.

Nicholas has a talent for explaining complex techniques in an easy to understand way. This is a must own for any LightWave user, or anyone wanting to know more about lighting in general. Not only has my LightWave lighting improved, but my digital photo's have gotten better as well. Thanx for the great book!

I've got 3D Lighting and Rendering as well, and I like this book alot better, simply because he explains things a little better.. he's straight forward and shows you how things are done. The explinations on the different types of light types and properties are great.. I believe this is a must own for any LW user.

Don't buy this book UNLESS you want to learn from a professional who thoroughly understands real-world lighting and how to apply it in Lightwave 3D. Everything from Principals of Lighting, HDRI, Volumetrics, Plug-ins & Image filters, Rendering times and fakes to speed it up, recreating light sources from a photograph, Setup examples, and a lot more. And all from a guy who does Lightwave 3D lighting for a living.
-nuff said.

This book might be entitled 'Lightwave 3D 8 Lighting', but the book extends beyond just the realm of Lightwave 8. Nicholas has created a tome of knowledge in all things CG lighting related. The book is written for the newbie to any current or future lighting technicians. He walks you through lighting from looking at the world around you, to lighting theory, color theory, how to recreate lighting from plates and finally how to create your own worlds greatest lighting rigs. Along with all of this he continously points out time saving tips and cheats. With it comes plenty of images and exercises to bring the words to brillant life. This book is written the way all CG books should be written from theory to pratice for new user to pro. If you are a Lightwave user this is a must own book. If you are not a Lightwave user but still work with anything lighting related this is still a must own book.

VALUE OF THE BOOK:

Already having about a 3-ft pile of computer books, I still found it most valuable about a year and a half ago to borrow and read this one by maranGraphics. For anyone needing to do much work using programs in Microsoft Office 97, I recommend reading this book cover-to-cover. It's a quick reference for sophisticates, and it is a powerful enabler for novices, whether they have used this software for just 1 month or have used it unskillfully for 10 years. Especially valuable is the option of reading the entire book without ever turning on the computer, since nearly every discussed screen, dialog box and drop-down menu is printed in the book. I found this abundant use of printed screens to be a more accurate representation of the actual computer experience. Not having to fumble between the book, the pen and the computer is great, especially for studying on bus or train.

WHY READ THE WHOLE BOOK?

1) It's doable.
2) The reduced frustration in learning afforded by this format nets one more learning per hour.
3) One can better understand each of the MS Office components by reading about all of them.
4) One can develop more of a "computer way of thinking."
5) It leads to a better intuition about how the software probably works.
6) It enables one to choose more efficient methods and programs for one's tasks.
7) The resulting increased familiarity converts the book into a more rapid reference.
8) It helps to prepare one for the reading of material with higher information density.

SUGGESTED STUDY METHOD AND ATTITUDE:

1) Fine print & icons: to make the most of the learning task at hand you will need to be able to read all of the fine print and make out the designs in all of the icons in the pictured program screens. Drug store reading glasses might be helpful. The pictures of computer screens display some very fine print which should not be skipped over.

2) Thorough reading: recognizing that no thick computer book covers all topics or all of every topic, and trusting that the writers have chosen to depict the most useful material, read and strive to understand every detail of the text and the screens - this will enhance understanding and memory.

3) Repetition in the text: welcome it as a memory enhancer.

4) Taking notes: write book notes, or possibly write your own rapid-access help document comprised entirely of one-liner command selection sequences. Example: Scroll bar, horizontal: Tools > Options > View > Horizontal Scroll Bar

5) Workshops: if, for example, you are going to attend an Excel or Access workshop, don't go in there ignorant. Be sure to master the related material in this book first - you will be able to keep up with the workshop pace, you will learn more, and you will experience less embarrassment.

6) Efficiency and attitude: understanding that optimal use of the programs will save hundreds of hours of work, one can more readily accept that a few tens of hours will be needed to master the material. That's not much time considering that thousands of careers have already been expended over decades to develop the software to its present powerful level.

THEORETICAL VS. PRACTICAL:

This book is about gaining a practical understanding and proficiency in the use of the software. Anyone who is disdainful of this concept (but favors a more theoretical understanding) needs to be reminded that he/she probably understands nothing at all about how his or her automobile works - including its computer - but nevertheless judges the simple memorization of the operation of all of the controls as appropriate knowledge.

COULD THE BOOK BE IMPROVED?

While I believe that this book is probably the best for teaching via graphics, I would still call for inclusion of larger pictures at least of featured icons, sometimes with text explanations of their designs. This would make them easier to memorize.

Bill Norwood

VALUE OF THE BOOK:
Already having about three feet of thick computer software books, I still found it most valuable about a year ago to borrow and read this one by maranGraphics. For anyone needing to do much work using programs in Microsoft Office 97, I recommend reading this book cover-to-cover. It's a quick reference for sophisticates, and it is a powerful enabler for novices, whether they have used this software for just 1 month or have used it unskillfully for 10 years. Especially valuable is the option of reading the entire book without ever turning on the computer, since nearly every discussed screen, dialog box and drop-down menu is printed in the book. I found this abundant use of printed screens to be a more accurate representation of the actual computer experience than the representations in other books. Not having to fumble between the book, the pen and the computer is great, especially for studying on bus or train.

WHY READ THE WHOLE BOOK?
1) It's doable.

2) The reduced frustration in learning afforded by this format nets one more learning per hour.
3) One can better understand each of the MS Office components by reading about all of them.
4) One can develop more of a "computer way of thinking."
5) It leads to a better intuition about how the software probably works.
6) It enables one to choose more efficient methods and programs for one's tasks.
7) The resulting increased familiarity converts the book into a more rapid reference.

8) It helps to prepare one for the reading of material with higher information density.

SUGGESTED STUDY METHOD AND ATTITUDE:

1) Fine print & icons: for the learning task at hand you will need to be able to read all of the fine print and make out the designs in all of the icons in the pictured program screens. If needed, experiment with (drug store, thrift store or prescribed) eyeglasses which will allow you to read at a distance of about 12 inches, for greater magnification.

2) Thorough reading: recognizing that no thick computer book covers all topics or all of every topic, and trusting that the writers have chosen to depict the most useful material, read and strive to understand every detail of the text and the screens - this will enhance understanding and memory.

3) Repetition in the text: welcome it as a memory enhancer.

4) Taking notes: write book notes, or possibly write your own rapid-access help document comprised entirely of one-liner command selection sequences. Example: Scroll bar, horizontal: Tools > Options > View > Horizontal Scroll Bar

5) Workshops: if, for example, you are going to attend an Excel or Access workshop, don't go in there ignorant. Be sure to master the related material in this book first - you will be better able to keep up with the workshop pace, you will learn more, and you will experience less embarrassment.

6) Efficiency and attitude: understanding that optimal use of the programs will save hundreds of hours of work, one can more readily accept that a few tens of hours will be needed to master the material. That's not much time considering that thousands of careers have already been expended over decades to develop the software to its present powerful level.

THEORETICAL VS. PRACTICAL:
This book is about gaining a practical understanding and proficiency in the use of the software. Anyone who is disdainful of this concept (but favors a more theoretical understanding) needs to be reminded that he/she probably understands nothing at all about how his or her automobile works - including its computer - but nevertheless judges the memorization of the operation of all of the controls as an appropriate knowledge level.

COULD THE BOOK BE IMPROVED?
While the book is probably the best for teaching via graphics, I would still call for inclusion of larger pictures at least of featured icons, sometimes with text explanations of their designs. This would make them easier to memorize.

This was my first review of a computer book (quite different from reviewing Glasser's Choice Theory, Fumento's book about AIDS or Levenstein's book about cancer). I hope it will be helpful for you.

Thanks for reading.

Sincerely,

Bill Norwood, Greenbelt MD

Simple for first timers. Easy for advanced to locate answers to questions

This book is absolutely the best way I've seen to learn Office 97. Even better than a video. Very well thought out, very easy to follow, covers a lot of ground. This whole series is the best computer learning tool of any kind I've ever seen. Get this one first.

Thi book, is really good for all,
with simple exercises it teach about a character, from modeling to animation.

This is a very good book! I really like it. I am still reading and find it very helpful.

Both beginners and intermediate designers and 3D artists who want to learn the basics of character modeling and animation with Maya will relish the blend of step-by-step instruction, an accompanying cd-rom filled with chapter-oriented details and backup movies and presentations, and an attention to clear explanations of the animation process from start to finish. Screen shots and step-by-step examples on building a character model make MAYA CHARACTER MODELING & ANIMATION a top pick, especially for college-level art and computer libraries strong in Maya references.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

Designed for the beginning to intermediate user, this book is aimed at the artist who want to learn 3D character modeling and animation using Maya. It is suitable for either classroom or individual use.

This book has an interesting combination between a theoretical/reference book and a tutorial book. Each chapter starts with a theory or reference section that gives the basic concepts for that chapter. This is followed by a detailed tutorial or two. For instance Chapter 2 is entitled 'Fundamentals of Computer Animation.' The theory section goes into the physics of how things move. This is important because people have an instinctive understanding of movement. The first tutorial then is on making a light and then a heavy ball bounce on the screen. Then the second tutorial makes the ball squash as it hits and then stretch as it bounces back into shape.

At the end of the book you won't be quite up to Pixar standards, but you'll be well on your way.

The CD-ROM supplied with the book contain project files including all of the figures from the book, organized into folders by chapter, all of the movies, organized by chapter and contained in folders called movies, and all of the Maya working files.

I am a dyed-in-the-wool Wordperfect user and was trying my best to switch over to Microsoft Word. This book has given me the oomph to stick with it. It is crucial to my home business for me to be somewhat proficient in Word and this book will do it. I love the two-page displays and simple tutorial. Thanks IDG Books.

As a teacher, I am often creating worksheets, homework, and notes to parents on the computer. With this book, I am now able to mail merge, create labels, and make more attractive and professional documents using my computer. I am now adding graphics with ease and my work looks more like the way that I want it to look without all of the extra trouble.

This book is extremely organized. The pictures and step-by-step instructions are easy to follow.

I highly recomment this book to anyone who is not a computer wizard. It will make you look like one.

This good book is too simplified. Layout and generous screen captures are good, but some graphics are too cute. I learned several things from it, but the audience for this book is on par of a "dummies" book. Word beginners could get better value with a book with more tips and advanced features without the fear of getting lost.

As a teacher I am always word processing worksheets, homework, and notes for parents. This book was extremely helpful in teaching me how to mail merge and to create labels. Even things like adding graphics and changing text styles were easily learned through this book. I can now make more attractive, more professional documents with ease. The step-by-step directions and pictures were easy to follow and the book was well organized. I highly recommend this if you are not a computer wizard. It'll help you look like one.

Great Book, But not that scary. If you collect Ghosts of Fear Street books, buy it.

Wes bought a poster from Sal's 5 and 10 store. You have to cross your eyes to find the hidden picture inside. It was a sterogram poster. Mr. Grosling the 6th grade teacher, was teaching Wes about that there was a picture inside. Wes spent about 2 hours looking at the poster he still couldn't find the picture inside. He wished he had not bought it. Wes said the thing inside saw me to. The thing inside the poster is a ghost that wants to get out of the poster and get Wes.If you think this book is cool then read it.

I thought this was a good book. Wes Parker wanted to show everyone that he could see 3-D pictures. He goes to Sal's Five and Ten and buys a picture so he can win a contest . But then strange things start to happen...To find out what happens read the book!!!!

Wes Parker bought a poster. When he sees a mantis, he thinks he has gone crazy but he can only see the mantis. Now the mantis is alive!

I first saw this book in an Excel class I took a few days ago.
We were not allowed to keep the books because they were needed for future students. However, I was completely sold on Office 97 Simplified during the class and knew I wanted a book of my own. I came back to work and told my boss about it and he is allowing me to purchase two for our office. So many computer books are so complicated the average person cannot follow them but Office 97 Simplified uses a step-by-step, no nonsense wording with pictures that even a young child could benefit from it. I salute the writers and publishers for creating a book that almost anyone can understand. Thank you!

A great book for those who want to skim through and pick up what they want, without having to fight through the jargon. Also very good for those of us who learn faster by visual prompts.

In our corporate environment, all our computers are loaded with the Office software, minus reference materials. In the beginning, not all of us were fully comfortable with the programs, and I was one of them.

I wanted a quick reference guide as well as a pictorial tutorial (the pictures helped me overcome my initial computer-phobia).

YEARS later, this book continues to help my colleagues who now come to me for my "expertise." I merely whip out my book and show them, step by step.

My book now shares space with my dictionary and thesaurus as my go-to resource. Since then, I also bought other Simplified Books on the Internet, Web Development, Powerpoint, Word, Excel, Windows 95 and 98. What a great series! Can't think of a better library of computer basics.

Thanks for making it seem so easy, and so much fun!

As a computer instructor, I have gone through many books trying to find an easy-to-understand textbook for my beginning students. I found it in Ruth Maran's "Simplified" books. I find most textbooks on Office 97 too wordy and hard to follow. The "Simplified" books show you how to use each application in short easy steps with colorful illustrations. Anyone can learn how to use Microsoft Office with these books. There are no excuses now.

This guide is very usefull for to Duke Nukem 3D Gamer(not Atomic Or the PAK version). The book had all the secrets to each level and episode; good for people who want to master it. However if your a begginer, it tells you the basic and simple parts of Duke,his ego, and his enimies. Gives you a Map guide of the level and path to beat it. Gives hints, tips, and demos of other games by 3D Realms. however, the book can be hard to understand a bit for younger or less educated people. Still, a great book for a great price. get this book if you want to know how to MASTER Duke Nukem 3D!

This book was a great help to me when I was playing Duke. This guide shows and explains how to get out of each level and also shows secret areas! If you've ever been lost in the levels of Duke Nukem 3D before, this book is the answer!

As strategy gaming host for bellaonline.com, I have to read through quite a number of pitiful walkthroughs. This one is a great exception! The book is extremely well laid out, with clear, easy to use maps, tips and techniques. The instructions are all dead on. But best of all, the book isn't written assuming you're 2 years old. It's written with a fantastic style, with humor and knowledge all mixed together. I was extremely impressed, and this has stayed on my shelves while other books were tossed out long ago!

The Game Book for Duke Neukem 3D is the bomb! It has all the stuff you need to finish the game without missing blasting a thing! If you want the total experience of Duke's adventures, buy this guide!