Customer Reviews

3D Graphics and Animation: From Starting Up to Standing Out

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

While I am a 3D Studio user and own several 3D Studio books, this general-approach book is what I return to time and again to regain my perspective and sense of purpose. While it does not cater to any specific 3D package, it does a better job of guiding one through the creation of a complex model (a blimp) and scene, including lighting and animation. Do not be fooled by the rash of newer 3D books on the market that, though addressing your specific 3D package, are hastily assembled, rampant with typos and erroneous steps, and composed of meaningless discrete examples that take you nowhere. This well-written and carefully-edited book remains one of the best resources on how to tackle a 3D project beginning to end.

This book definitely helped me get started in the world of 3D. It provided me with valuable skills and information. It is also interesting to read.

I don't usually rave about generic books like this but I'll make an exception. No matter what programme you are using to generate your little 3D gems, this book will give you a focussed step-by-step intro to doing almost anything that you need to provide professional results. Complete this book, pick up a few more on photorealistic techniques and change your name to George Lucas!

This book was an excellent starting point for me. The examples used are software neutral enough to be used on any plaform. This book is a wonderful resource and reference, I find myself always referring back to it for definitions and examples. A must have for the beginner as well as the professional.

I liked the book as a whole. While definitely slanted to 3D Studio Max, it can apply to other programs. The blimp was an excellent tutorial, which I enjoyed working, but was a little vague in the implementation of certain stages. Only real complaint was the lack of usable stuff (textures, etc.) on the CD. I recommend the book to everyone but the advanced who might find some of the beginner information "old hat".

This is a great book for "starting up" a career in 3d animation. The book is, what it says it is

This is the book I had been looking for a long time. Most 3d Software Manuals or tutorials tell you how to do something. But, this book explains why. It also explains the differences in software concepts: Ray tracing vs. scan rendering, surfaces vs. meshes, the different types of textures, and the different ways to apply them. Lighting & camera utilization. A must for every 3d artist.

As of February 2009 this book is dated in terms of discussion of hardware and software platforms. As it was published in 1997 this is no surprise. Where the book does have some value, however, is in its discussion of animation techniques and method. The chapters covering these still are very relevant and, more importantly, they provide very good coverage of the topics. They do this, though, at only a beginners level. If you are interested in more than an introduction these chapters will not be for you. This is quite ironic as the subtitle of the book is "from starting up to standing out".

The book is very superficial and ranked in wrong category (new-accomplished). It also lacks technical aspects to make it somehow serious. The softwares included in the CD is rather poor comparatively to the size of the book. My advice is browse the book before buying.

I had to choose between this book and the one by Michael O'Rourke. I chose this one because of the CD. But the CD is useless except for some sample files because it contains demos of some old applications and it's not working well in my computer.