Customer Reviews

Animation: Master Handbook

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The only reason I bought this book was to learn how to use Animation Master. I have the Book that came with the software which is about a "2 ½ star" book. After much research and review of other animation programs, I have concluded that Animation Master is a "5 star" program with "2 ½ star support".

Here is a simple analogy. A person needs to get to a street called "E street" and in order to get there they must know that there is an A,B,C,D, street. In comparison the author of this book constantly gives directions like take A,B,D, or A,C,D leaving out essential details thus leaving the student of this excellent animation program frustrated and confused. Basically the author of this book is probably an excellent animator and story teller. As a writer myself I remind the author that if the details of a story are left out a percentage of the audience will bail thus creating inappropriate and negative views about the potential of becoming animators and I believe that the author is trying to help people to become animation enthusiast not discourage them.

If you want to be as good in writing your tutorials as you are hopfully an animator then please take the time to avoid assumptions about your readers. If on the other hand you have written the book to get quick cash because of very little competition. Then I will ask that someone who has more tolerance of beginners and understands the essential nature of including all of the steps A,B,C,D,E please take the challenge.

In conclusion I believe that this is a program well worth the price of admission . I only ask for a larger group of us who are newer and can learn well with a more detailed tutorial book that someone please take on this needed to be done task.

P.S. to Jeff Paries I an not trying to insult you. I'm simply asking for a more complete and linear set of tutorials from you or anyone else. There is a business need at this graphic revolutionary time even if you write two books. Beginning to Intermediate book one followed by Intermediate to Advance. Then we are happier to give the writer more money that they deserve and word of mouth advertising is expanded to a higher level.

Thank you for your time. renzai@pdai.com

I have two takes on this book. First, if your a beginner with no other reference other than the manual, this book will walk you through some of the basic features of A:M. It will introduce you to some of A:M's abilities plus it will provide some reference to support applications and plug-ins. My second take on this book is that if you've been using A:M for some time and are comfortable with many of the features of A:M I would strongly suggest that you re-think the purchase of this book. It lacks detailed instruction of many of the new features of A:M 2000 (springs and masses are the first thing that come to mind). Much of this book makes use of the same examples as seen in previous editions. Though totaly relevant to the subject to be discussed it seems a bit tacky and unaccetable when paying good money for a NEW handbook edition. The manual included with the software itself provides as much instruction as does the Handbook. The use of the mailing list plus accessing the tutorial sites will answer many of your questions and to superior levels of detail. To sum it up, having purchased both editions one and two, The A:M 2000 Handbook will be the last edition I'll be buying from this author.

Its not a question whether I can recommend this book or not. Why do I say this? Its because the original manual that comes with Animation Master is so awful that you have to buy this book to make sense of it all.

Now in the case of reviewing the book, there is some good things to say and some bad things to say:

First of all, Jeff Paries is extremely knowledgable on the subject matter. The book is packed with so much information (600 pages worth) so that makes it a valuable tool.

The biggest complaint is that some of the tutorials need clarification. I went through a lot of them and I find bits of essential information missing. Somethings I have to improvise and experiment (which is not necessarily a bad thing but it can be frustrating). I think the author (and the editors too) should take some test subjects and let them go through the tutorials and point out any inconstancies in the text.

If you own the program Animation:Master, you need this book in order to excel at some of its advanced features.

Many of the figures, are sloppy and it's hard to tell exactly where the control points are. Also, the text is lacking in its descriptions of exactly what to do. Nevertheless, you may be able to learn a great deal despite this book's shortcomings.

I have been using Animation Master going on 3 years now and have experienced all of the problems and sucess that any software goes through.. When the first edition of The Animation Handbook came out it was just what the user needed. With a completely new interface and tools to learn it was a must buy to help to learn the product. Now with the release of the new software there are so many new features that without this 2nd edition the user would get bogged down just trying to learn them... Jeff has really worked hard on this book its very apparent. The minute you start to thumb through chapters you soon see how the new examples, tutorials, and advice make this book a must.. This 2nd edtion jeff really brought the level of each user into every chapter. Step-by-step he gets you involved in the entire process of learning animation with this superior software. With all of the information in this 2nd edtion,the help he offers for the user,and the great examples, If you are a user of Animation Master and want to increase your knowledge buy this book you won't be dissapointed.. Mike Lium Cactusbud Studio

I had some of the same problems using this aftermarket manual as I did trying to use the original, worthless A:M manual-and then it created some new problems of its own. Example: neither book includes anything resembling a "quick-start" guide, that is, a straightforward no-options approach to get a quick, trouble-free 3D result right off the bat. Oh no. Too simple. The official manual doesn't even reveal how to draw a line onscreen until page 199. The Paries book starts its modeling tutorial earlier, on page 47, but does it by handing the reader a prebuilt model off the included CD-ROM. How does that teach anyone how to design a 3D model?
If I ever learn how to use this software, I'm going to write my own doggone handbook.

I just wanted to make everyone aware that reviews done before mine are NOT for the book listed here, and I have not bought this book. I bought the Animation:Master Handbook, Second Edition which covers through Animation:Master 98, and THAT is the book that reviewers up to my review are commenting on.

I had problems early on with the Animation:Master Handbook, Second Edition as some steps in completing projects were either missing or unclear. I'd still have to work through later projects to see if the book improves. Hopefully this new book is more complete than the last one. With books like these I feel you really have to be spoonfed every key stroke or something gets lost in the translation. I don't care if that looks like the author is talking down to us...he knows a lot more than we do!

If you own Animation Master or even thinking about purchasing Animation Master then this is the book for you. Great tutorials that take you through the software which (a demo) is included on the CD along with all the Chapter data needed. It has helped me a lot as a relative "newbie" to the program a lot easier then reading the Manual ...also a good source. And later you can talk to the Author on line.

I have just recieverd my copy of the second edition, I wish I'd had this when I first got AM! AM has so many features it can be difficult to know where to start, but I have been following the exellent very detailed tutorials on features I hadn't dared to touch before the handbook. If you need every step documented like I do, you will appreciate this book. There are plenty of pictures and diagrams "showing" you what you should be seeing as you follow along. The tone of the instructional prose is written in a light, personable manner, so as not to leave the reader snoozing nose-down in a sea of bland technicality, and the fabulous demo CD has some really nice utilities as well as wonderful models to dissect and play with.

Animation:Master handbook is well written and provides a great place to start for beginners. For those who are experienced Modeler and animators, the book will be a valuable reference and introduction to the unique features in Animation:Master. There is enough general information for beginners and experienced artists. The only reason I didn't give it a five is because it could be even better. Jeff Paries works at Hash and has a website with sample models. I would like to see Jeff incorporate some of the more advanced modeling techniques and cover the new features in A:M 6.1 in the next revision.