Graphics Books

This book is the best tutorial for learning 3ds Max that I've read. It is not for novices, in that it assumes you know the 3ds Max interface. However, it is a step-by-step guide for creating professional quality animations for broadcast media. The author works for MSNBC. He breaks down 3 real-world projects in an easy-to-understand way, from storyboards to final output. This single book jump-started my understanding of complex modeling and animation techniques using 3ds Max. Although this book was made for version 4 of the program (the program is currently in version 9), the interface has not changed significantly in that it would make this book obsolete. I used it using version 6 and returned to it in version 8 with no difficulties. Well worth your time.

I am a beginner user of Viz and Max and will be using it for architectural 3D rendering. What I look for in a text book are lengthy tutorial exercises. I want to know step by step everything that I have to do to reproduce what the author is showing. This book is great for that. There are three main excercises that go the full length of the 550 pages of this book. As an example the 2002 voting machine tutorial goes from pages 182 to 315, covering each step of the construction. Chismar even includes alternate means of construction to show why one method works better than other methods.

I am looking forward to an updated book by Chismar on the lastest release of Max. I have not heard if one is being made.

One slight drawback...Chismar does not deal with the possiblities of drawing and rendering for architecture. If the new release of Max does include the architectural functions of Viz, then there will be a need for tutorials on those items. None the less the command structure of the software for Viz and Max is virtually the same, so learning that part from Chismar's book is still very important.

The most important feature of this book is the lengthy step by step tutorials. This is the first thing I look for in a computer book - to see that the tutorials are long. to me this indicates that the writer is very thorough with all steps in the project and does not leave out important steps along the way.

If you buy used make sure the disk is included.

Overall, it is a good book with clear instruction for intermediate user.

I give it 4 stars since it doesn't tell you the detailed procedures to reproduce the cool special effect described in the Part 4 (Real World Case Stuides).

This book is a fantastic example of how all computer text books should be structured - Step-by-step tutorials that demonstrate experienced solutions to real-world projects. I know I speak for many people when I say that I learn by DOING, not by reading paragraphs upon paragraphs of text and lengthy descriptions of "what this app can do for you". No one likes to attempt to digest a "features description" manual and try to piece together the various complexities of a high-end application like 3DS MAX from various disjointed sources. I need a seasoned, talented professional, with years of industry experience, to step me through exactly how an application performs various industry tasks, e.g. how to make a 30-second TV spot from scratch, how to make a highly-professional News program opener, or how to make robotic-looking voting machines animated together in a 3-camera shoot. John Chrismar performs this tasks with a detail and finesse that is extremely hard to find in the computer textbook industry. I look for this style in every computer book I pick up, but don't often find it, if at all. The industry giants on the programming side of the industry, like Wrox Press, should use John's book as an example of how to write an effective computer textbook. Don't waste my time with information overload, stuffed together losely by a quasi-team of 6 geeks. SHOW ME how you solved a problem with the application or programming language, from start to finish, while I follow along, bit by bit, line by line, click by click. Show me how to build a genuine and valuable creation using the tool you are teaching me to use. This is exactly what John does.

I started with the last of three tutorials and worked backward through the book, because the News Program Opener tutorial looked the most intriguing. I learned more about 3DS MAX after that one tutorial then I had by reading the documentation or from any of the other three 3DS MAX books I own. I saw someone else mention that there were some small mistakes and missed "figure" numbers on the screenshots here and there, but this did not detract from completing the tutorials in the slightest. Two extra seconds of thought got me passed these minor editing oversights very easily, and they were very minor in comparison to most computer textbooks.

It was beyond refreshing to witness and practice along with a professional at work from beginning to end: from importing your vectors from Illustrator, to cleaning up the splines, to extruding, modelling each piece, assembling, naming conventions, creating materials, shortcuts, to animating, adding a soundtrack, right down to post-production and final render. I absolutely can not stand books where Step 1 is "Import our half-finished Design #643.2 from our accompanying CD-ROM". Not the case with this book. You are stepped through the process, end to end. When you are done with each tutorial, you have a finished work of media art THAT YOU CREATED and a head full of usable, retainable 3DS MAX knowledge that can be carried into any job or hobby.

Excellent job, John. You have gained a new fan. I will purchase your other books, regardless of topic. :D

Thank you.

Just got the book and all I can say is for the first time I am not intimidated by Photoshop. I only know the basics on PS but this book can make anyone a PS pro. Great stuff, easy to understand and make the use of the program a breeze.

If you are new to photoshop(like me)or a veteran,you will love this book.Its by far the easiest tutorial book I have found for photoshop to date.The step by step instructions are very easy to follow.I highly recommend this to all photoshop users,you won't be sorry.

This is a good book for anyone wanting to learn photoshop. A lot of other books I have purchased have been very text orriented, but this book uses very well layed out illustrations to teach. I continually come back to this book as a quick reference. I would highly recomend this book for a beginner

Bought this after a 7 hour into to PS class. It has all the projects taught and many more. Totally visual step by step to each task. You not only will be able to improve/doctor any photo but will be able to create real art.

The book lets me to dive into cool secrets of Photoshop, teaches timesaving tricks, and helps me work smarter and faster. It is certainly useful to Photoshop novices in furthering their understanding and practising, and also as as a quick hands-on reference book to seasoned veterans of this powerful program. The book is very well worth buying.

I've always been a fan of feminist comics. I wrote my thesis in 2003 on underground feminist comix as resistance art and include Arnoldi's work because it's so outside the norm. Autobiographic with stark images of people who've abused her turning into monsters. Her story of resistance and self-preservation is inspirational and moving. Her artwork is simple; it doesn't need to be more complex. Her story has enough complexity. It's a phenomenal read for an adult but it's also a great book to share with teens. I've used it in middle school and high school therapy groups and had a great response. I can't recommend this book enough!

Arnoldi's graphic-novel about a single mother is great. It is not only a direct and clear critique of the problems facing young single-mothers today (an increasingly large demographic in the U.S.), but it is also a hopeful and inspiring story about the way out of those problems -- a way out created by young single mothers cooperating as they find solidarity with one another. Although the story is simply told and very easy to read, it is not a simple story, and she weaves together issues of sexuality, family, and labor union politics.

I'm not a teen mother (or any sort of mother), but after reading a story about her struggles and her decision to put it in a comic form, I was intrigued. Her drawings describe her transition from being neglected by her mother and having no other place to go, other than to live with her sister and abusive brother-in-law. She was raped by a stranger in a car, after she left her sisters house and was again rejected from her mother, which left her to wonder the streets. She had the child from the rape, and she dreampt of leaving the town and attending college. When she was fired from her factory job after exposing hazardous working environments, she took off with her new boyfriend to Arizona. When her boyfriend began beating her, she left him, even camping out in the desert under the stars. Eventually she met up with a positive peer group, and began attending college. Great story, helps analyze the variety of circumstances that can happen to teenage mothers, particulaly alot of the negative social backlash that affects them.

I don't have a lot of experience with graphic novels, but this one is really powerful. It almost moved me to tears in several places. I love the illustrations in which she imagines what's going on in her daughter's brain. A great book to share with teen moms or any young mom who needs some encouragement about pursuing a college degree. Accessible even for those who aren't big readers.

This is the true poignant story of a young woman and her struggles to make dreams come true. Katherine Arnoldi, raped and left with a baby at 17, was forced, out of necessity, to take a dead-end, hazardous factory job. Her dysfunctional family tried to crush her and her dreams; her boyfriend turns on her and beats her. Yet through all of her pain and despair she does not give up. Arnoldi shows, in her comic book form, that if you hold on and pursue your dreams that you can overcome the ugliest past. This book is a treasure. It is simply great. And because it is so good you will want to pass it on. This is a book that can speak to the broken hearts of hundreds, if not thousands, of struggling teenagers, single moms or not. Her enduring love for her child, her courage to change her circumstances, a little luck, and a few kind people, transforms what could be a disheartening story into an inspiration.

Tears Of An Angel shows another side of Alita that you don't get to see in the first graphic novel. The cyborg "Battle Angel" is in love. However, the person she's in love with lives a dangerous life. The ending may or may not suprise you. It's basically a sad love story. Tears Of An Angel is a great and I hope you enjoy it.

the love story in this book is beautiful, it's wonderful, and i luv it because of this. it's sad, rythmatic, and stays this way through the entire book. it DOES end a little suddenly, tho, but don't they all?

In this second poignant volume of Battle Angel Alita, Alita falls in love with a young street urchin named Hugo. Hugo's dream is to make enough money to move to Tiphares, the mid-air city where all your dreams can come true. Unknown to Alita, Hugo is making his money by assaulting and stealing body parts from cyborgs, a crime punishable by death. A character from the first volume, Zapan, who was humiliated by Alita, finds out about Alita's feelings for Hugo and begins to conspire a plot that will destroy Alita's heart. Will Alita's next bounty be Hugo?

This manga was fantastic. While I compared Battle Angel Alita to Ghost in the Shell in my review of the first volume, there really isn't a comparison. Alita operates in a more savage world, where laws don't function unless bounty hunters enforce them. It is a place where your fellow man will let you die on the street without lifting a finger. It's such a horrible world that Alita's love stands out in even starker contrast to the evil that surrounds her. Yes, there are scenes of "ultra-violence" but what makes that different from our world? The thing I like about Alita is that there are horrible scenes of graphic violence but there are also scenes of philosophic thought and tenderness. Just like real life. Horrible beauty.

If "Battle Angel Alita" merely introduced us to the amazing cyber world of Yukito Kishiro, then "Battle Angel Alita: Tears of an Angel" builds upon that world and, more than likely, sets in motion the plot.

After her victory over the all-powerful "King of the Maggots" in the first manga volume, Alita now faces her toughest challenge yet: love. Yes, love. While that phrase usually sounds cliched, it applies perfectly in this second manga volume. Alita has it tough to begin with, but when things start to spiral down even further, she must make a choice that could end up destroying her.

Like before, the artwork is beautiful and very detailed. And, like before, "Tears of an Angel" is riddled with violence and blood and gore that sticks it in the section of mature readers who have very strong stomahchs. The story is a superb, miniature masterpiece, and it undoubtedly adds to the internal conflict of Alita trying to find her identity.

This second volume is also featured in the "Gunnm" two episode OVA anime series ("Gunnm" is the original name of the "Battle Angel Alita" series.) Like before, I advise you to read the manga before watching the series, as comparisons will most likely decrease the enjoyment of the manga. But with that said, enjoy "Tears of an Angel". Along with the first volume, the second volume is a superb triumph.

As is true of almost any tale of cyborgs the question of the difference between mechanical consciousness and mechanized humanity is one of the driving forces behind the Battle Angel Alita series. At what point does a combination or brain, spinal column and hardware gain or lose its human nature. In this second stanza in the series, Alita, who was brought back to life in the first volume, re-finds her capacity for love when she meets Hugo, a human boy. Hugo's goal is to make his way from the traps of the Scrapheap to the upper city of Tiphares.

Hugo and Alita seem made for each other, despite the gulf of artificiality that separates them. But Hugo, despite being a complete human is willing to steal the spines out of their original possessors if it brings him closer to the day he can go to Tiphares. This gruesome sideline, and the ghouls he works for gradually eat away at his own humanity until it is clear that he and Alita are really going in opposite directions. Alita will discover her spirit as Hugo gradually loses his soul.

In the meantime, we get a close introduction to the grim nature of life below the city in the sky. Hunter Killers take heads for bounty, people feed on scraps while anything good is sent to Tiphares, and black market ops farm the neighbors for profit. For such as Hugo and Alita there is really no escape, only a dark struggle that can only lead to insanity and death if the dreamer refuses to waken.

Balancing what is almost a post-apocalyptic vision, is Yukito Kishiro's wonderful artwork. He has the same eye for detail that made 'Ghost in the Shell' such a compelling spectacle. The cover art made me wish, for the second time that this series had made it as a feature film or OAV series. If you have been feeling drawn deeper into the world of manga, Alita is a great introduction to Japanese science fiction.

Bill Pete started out as a daydreaming, doodling boy, and made it all the way to Walt Disney! Bill was born in Grandview and was raised in Indianapolis. He lived happily with his Mother, two brothers, and grandmother. His father was a traveling salesman, and didn't really come into his life until later. Ever since Bill was young, he loved to draw. During class, he would doodle in between the margins, and his books were a big favorite amongst the other kids when he sold them as second-hand. His childhood was fun filled, and he had some big hopes and dreams. First of all, he wanted to go on a safari and sketch the animals, but most of all, he wanted to be an artist. One day, in the summer of 1928, Bill's father returned "home" broke, travel weary, and demanding money. After arguing for many days, Bills mother gave in and paid his father. With that, his father drove away. Not long after that, Bill's grandmother tragically died, which put the family in complete shambles. They had to move, and everything changed. The Great Depression started, and Bills father kept taking money, so he kept them poor. Bill went through school well as a student, graduated, and went to college. That was when the work became harder. Bill was facing flunking some of his classes. One night, he ran into an old friend from school, and was persuaded to start taking some arts classes. Bill began painting, and it is there that he met his beautiful wife Margaret Brunst with which he eventually had two sons. He graduated with flying colors, and took a job as a painter. Finally, he realized he didn't have a steady income, and applied for Walt Disney Productions. He became a good friend of Walt Disney himself! Bill helped create many classics starting with Snow White, and going all the way to Jungle book. As time went by, Bill decided that after 27 years, it was time to leave. Bill had become attached to the company and his job, but mostly Walt. It was hard to say "good bye." About one year later, Walt Disney died. Bill went on to writing stories and illustrating them for children of all ages. They all relate to him in one way or another, but the one that felt the most connected to him was "Chester the Worldly Pig". Chester was who he was, and he had always been so. And like Chester, Pete "had grown beyond his expectations."

I can see myself in Pete sometimes. He never gave up and kept dreaming and kept his spirit alive. He has an easy flow to his writing that makes you feel relaxed and know that you're in for one heck of a good story. I loved his book for the truth that it told, and for the wonder that makes up Bill Pete. Keep dreaming, if you strive, you can reach the stars and soar beyond.

The book that introduced me to Bill Peet as a child and helped in inspiring me to push my art and chase my dreams. A must have for any lover of original Disney art or aspiring artist.

Wonderful book. A must for any Bill Peet fan. He captures himself in Bill Peet style - with words and illustrations - just as I would expect. The book is simple and direct, with life lessons woven between the pages.

This Book is about my favorite author Bill Peet. This book tells about his life starting his career at Walt Disney, then going to wright his own books.
Bill Peet was born in Indianapolis, Indiana, he started drawing when he was around 6 or 7. He dreamed of being a author one day. When he got into college he was in different art classes, during going to college he entered painting compititions and one most of them for extra money.
When he was asked work at Disney Annex he gladly accepted, this was around the mid 30s. After working there for a few years he was asked to work on Pinnochio. During his time at Disney he had many arguments with walt himself. He drew Dumbo, and drew the rats and the cat in Cinderella.
After he quit working for disney, Bill realized that he was a good writer too.His first book was Huberts Hair Raising Adventure, which I own along with acouple more of his books, my favorite is The Wingdingdile.
Bill Peet a tall thin man that had a dream, and made it come true wrote about 30 to 50 books, retired win 1989 after he wrote this book.This book is excellent and it will make you want to keep on reading.

I nevertheless found it quite fascinating and engrossing.

Peet is a self-professed reluctant student, especially of English classes, but he is nonetheless quite the good writer. Peet's illustrations add a lot to the pace and feel of the book and are a joy in their own right. His stories of life in Indianapolis before World War II will be interesting to any native Hoosier (as am I).

However, the most interesting part details his jobs at Walt Disney studios. His descriptions of how they made movies in the old days as well as the insider's look at Walt Disney himself are fascinating. Peet worked on several Disney movies, including Pinnochio, Fantasia, Cinderella (he created the lovable mice) and the original 101 Dalmations.

Peet brushes over his life after he left Disney a little too quickly. I would have liked to have read his descriptions of life in the publishing world as well. Also lacking is much history of his family life.

That being said, it was still fascinating, entertaining and totally worth the reader's time.

I give this one a grade of A-

The book was better than I expected, and arrived before I expected it to.
Great buy. Thanks. :D

This book is so much fun. I'm a digital artist and use Illustrator as my tool. I learned so many techniques from this book. The pictures are big and bold and the author teaches without making you feel like a novice.

I bought this book for my husband and he loves it. He is constantly drawing little pictures for me. It will certainly bring out the inner artist in you. This book is easy to follow along with.

A casual glance through this book originally made me think it looked too cutesy and not what I wanted. I'll still say that too many of his characters and examples are cutesy, and rather stilted. But there's a lot of excellent material here. I found several tips that I (so far) haven't seen in several other books. I've had several nagging questions: Exactly how do I get things done? How is a finished cartoon created? On what size and kind of paper, using what tools? Blitz walks you through all of that stuff. The section on drawing backgrounds and perspective was also really handy.

I'd say this is the single best book I've seen to get started on cartooning. Even if you want to draw some other, very different style (like, some kind of dark Batman comic or something), if you have little or no cartooning experience, this book will be helpful.

I don't consider my self to possess any artistic abilities when it comes to drawing. I wanted to enter a contest on YouTube where I had to draw pictures of things. I got this book. Followed the easy to use instructions, drew my pictures, entered the contest and won the $5,000 grand prize. I would definitely say I got my money's worth from this book and much much more. Highly recommended.

I read this book a few years ago but still recall its images vividly. The interwoven stories, foreshadowing, and imagery are quite masterful and overall present a great narrative.

Es un libro un tanto complicado, pero muy interesante. Tiene todos los elementos para vivir un poco de risas, muchos escalofríos, un buen absurdo y mucho del ser humano. Una novela que leí hace varios años y que aún recuerdo como cuando la estaba leyendo. Muy pocos libros logran eso.

Poniéndome en plan exigente, me hubiera gustado un poco mas de claridad en el ritmo de la historia, pero aún con eso, es un libro que cualquier amante de la novela debe leer.

(va sin acentos)
Este libro me parecio interesante pero no lo suficientemente bueno para darle 5 estrellas. Tuve un problema con el "ritmo" de libro en especial al principio (digamos a "grosso modo" la primera mitad), ya que me parecio dificil de leer. El autor no parecia tener la fluidez suficiente para llevar la historia, rica en personajes altos en color. En la segunda mitad, cuando se desencadenan las acciones que guiaran al lector al final del libro, se nota una fluidez en la pluma que le da al libro un impulso definitivo. En suma, me parece un buen libro, un poco desigual para ser sincera, con un cierto abuso de adjetivos y una puntuacion un poco marcada que me irritaron en un cierto momento: los que lean el libro quizas comprenderan lo que digo. No merece un 3 en la clasificacion, mas no merece un 5. Puede ser que el prologo, en el que se habla de la admiracion del autor por Garcia Marquez y su amistad con el escritor colombiano hizo crecer una expectativa que no fue completamente satisfecha y esto es quizas, tambien, un error personal.

Compre este libro hace 4 años y acabo de leerlo, no se como pude esperar tanto. Si de mi dependiera no le daria un premio sino dos. El mejor libro que he leido en este año.

El manejo del absurdo en la novela es un arte bastante delicado pues se puede convertir en ridículo o tonto con solo pequeños errores. Estos están completamente ausentes en esta novela, en la cual la locura se explica a si misma a través de millones de pequeños sub cuentos que el autor logra enlazar una historia coherente, donde un cubano ex-veterano de la guerra de Angola en su desespero por escapar de un tigre alado imaginario ( o tal vez no) que lo persigue secuestra un grupo de muchachos que lo único que querían era un poco de sexo en su noche de graduación del colegio. Sin embargo esta trama es solo incidental para que el autor nos pueda presentar como en un mundo incoherente la "locura" es un medio tal válido para darle sentido como cualquier otro.

La novela es simplemente genial.

Not soemthing I would read cover to cover, but the individual "Hacks" that I have read are pretty good. I have lots of books along this line and this is one of the bet. I put it up there with Stu's "DV Rebels Guide" which is also incredible. If you like the Rebel guide, you will probably like this as well. Lots of good stuff. Enjoy!

Great book with great content I recommend it to anyone who want to take there film making a step forward and is to busy or lazy to download the information from the internet becaue it is all there. Spread around of course but you will find every piece of information even most of the pictures used in this book so. If you have time and dedication you can save yourself the money by looking it up on the internet.

This book covers many aspects of video. Labeling tapes, making excel spreadsheets for saving information, time code on tapes, how to achieve certain effects, lighting, and green screen effects just name a few. The book is general to most all video software and is a very usefull tool I'm glad I purchased. Don't let the term "HACKS' fool you it 's only refering to tips or tricks.

I found the book to be very practical and have the
kind of "nuts-and-bolts" pointers that I like. You
don't have to read it cover to cover (I didn't) but
can pick it up and go to the points that interest you
or where you are currently in need of help. It refers
to various "commerical products" that the author has
used to get the job done. I found this helpful. With so
many competing products to chose from it's nice to
hear, "If you get product X you'll be able to do Z,"
rather than buying and hoping (or not buying and
wondering). Kuddos to the author.

I learned so much from this book. In fact, I've already implemented several of the ideas and have had great results. If you're semi-professional (video has been added to your responsibilities but you have no experience with this medium) BUY THIS BOOK.

Who would have thought of parchment paper and clothes pins to diffuse light and create a softer, more natural light over the subject? That's just one of the great tips I've already started using.

I've bought several digital video books while trying to learn this medium, and this has been by far the most useful.

This product showed up speedily and in very good condition. I am very happy with it.

This epidsode will make you want to continue on to the next issues. Its fun, its sad, and it's entertaining.

I own this series in Japanese, and it is a wonderful read! It has all the important elements of a good shoujo manga: it is romantic, twisted, with a shoujo (in the traditional meaning of the word) involved in finding a new family and love triangles galore. It is just a very fun read, no matter the language!

This volume was definately one of the best so far. It was so good, it surprised me! No part of this volume is boring. I loved the parts with Kureno (he's one of my favorite characters), and the class trip was the best! This volume raises LOTS of questions, those of which you'll have to find out for yourself. But trust me, this volume is so worthy of the $10 you'll have to spend, that I'll read it again after just reading it yesterday! Take my advice, you will love this volume. Fruits Basket really does put all else to shame!

I absolutly love this series. While at first it may seen strange you just can't help falling in love with the characters (<3 kyo) and their whole story. Before you know it you end up rooting along with the characters on their journies. While they are aimed at a teenage audience my mom aunt and 12 year old brother even enjoy them! This series was the first Manga I had ever read and its what actually got me started on reading manga and enjoying it. I Absolutly cannot wait until the 14th book comes out...
I highly recommend this series to everyone of all ages.

All this book is, is a collection of the daily comic from the last book with very little new material. I don't think they've created any new material for this strip sense Liz and John ended up together.

I got this book in a 3-pack and could hardly stop laughing. Jim Davis has really reached his pinnacle of humor! Buy the book!

Garfield is funny when kicking odie off the table,playing with mice,being lazy,and hating mondays all in in this book...... Garfield feeds the kitty

I have two cats. They are both fat and lazy. I think the only difference between my cats and Garfield is they these do not particpate in the weddings of the mice. This is book is funny. Buy it! Read it! Enjoy it! and don't forget to LAUGH!

No matter what kind of a mood I'm in, I'm always entertained by reading Garfield comic strips. I have no problem admitting that, even though I'm in my early twenties. I think it's a very hilarious strip and it gets better with every year. "Garfield: Feeds the Kitty" is yet another very amusing collection of funny Garfield strips.

Laugh along as Garfield takes on dieting, Mondays, his owner Jon, the very not-so-bright Odie, smart-aleck mice who always get the last laugh, and much more. With Garfield, you know it's never a dull day (even if HE finds it dull).

Again, Jim Davis never misses a beat with making Garfield funny and entertaining. While some strips are funnier than others, the overall product is very satisfying. You'll want to re-read the book over and over again. It's a great read, especially when you need some cheering up.

The 35th book in the Garfield series, "Garfield: Feeds the Kitty" is a very hilarious collection of Garfield hijinx that you won't want to miss out on. If you're a Garfield fan, I highly recommend you checking it out. Always nice to have something that is bound to get a laugh or two from you.