Customer Reviews

The Bryce 5 Handbook (Graphics Series)

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

If you are evening considering for a second to buy this book, do one thing first, type Shamms Mortier (the author) into the amazon search engine and arrange the books from their publication date. Scan the titles and note the number of stars his past books have received. He has five 1 star books, twelve 2 star books, and two 3 star books. Surprisely he has no 4 or 5 star books. Shamms has a repuation for writing books of extremely low quality on topics he knows nothing about. He's also infamous for his 'max-the-parameter' style teaching in which he instructs the reader to crank an option to its highest setting to see what it does. He's really a horrible teacher, because he doesn't know the material, doesn't have any artistic ability, doesn't know how to write, and doesn't care about the end product. He also doesn't seem to care about ripping off his fellow man.

So enough about him, how was the book? It [stinks]. If you like to waste your money, there are much better ways.

I have never seen or read anything from this author that is good in any way. He took a simple program and turned it into a nightmare I have been using Bryce for years (3 thru 5). I'm an advanced user and I couldn't make heads or tales of what he was even trying to say. If you want a good book that will start simple and work its way up the ladder get (Real World Bryce 4 by Susan Kitchens ) this is by far the best book out there and it works with 5 also not enough diffrence between 4 & 5 to let it bother you.

With the many good books out there related to Photoshop and other graphic programs it is a shame that this book is the only one available for Bryce 5. Someone ought to take this author aside and help him reduce his arrogant attitude related to teaching. It is not OK to tell someone who needs help that the authors instructions are to be at a level for experts and that he is not going to stoop so low as to explain fundamentals.
I rated this book as a 1 and would have given it a 1/2 star if such a rating existed.
I actually found the Bryce 5 instruction book that came with the software to be more helpful than this book.

IT'S A SHAME THAT THIS BOOK IS THE ONLY ONE ON SALE DEALING WITH BRYCE 5. THIS BOOK IS WORSE THAN THE MANUAL THAT CAME WITH THE SOFTWARE (IF THAT'S POSSIBLE). THE INSTRUCTIONS ARE DIFFICULT TO FOLLOW AND THE WRITER TELLS US RIGHT OFF THE BAT HE WILL NOT BE DEALING WITH BASICS. IF WE DIDN'T NEED HELP WITH THE SOFTWARE WE WOULDN'T BUY THE BOOK IN THE FIRST PLACE. THE BOOK IS NOT WORTH THE MONEY AND THE AUTHOR SHOULD BE REPLACED WITH SOMEONE WHO CAN WRITE.

I purchased this book as a beginner because it was the only version 5 book. I tried to work through the examples and most of them do not work. There are numbered interface diagrams that do not match up the numbers with the text. As a beginner you cannot make sense of this poorly written book without the help of Bryce manual which I would have been better off with. I have since purchased Real World Bryce 4 and have learned more in 100 pages than I did from reading this whole book. Spend your money elsewhere.

While this is the only Bryce 5 reference I am aware of, I would still sooner recommend Susan Kitchens' Real World Bryce 4. Mortier's handbook is technically accurate and covers the essentials, but so do the manual and third-party web tutorials. While Kitchens' book is insightful artisitcally and contains complex, practical, and appealing examples, Mortier's book appears simplistic and sloppy. Read the manual and buy Real World Bryce 4 if you want something more.

Even if you are currently using version 5 of Bryce, there is only one book available that is worth you dollars, and that is Real World Bryce 4 by Kitchens and Gavenda. Real World Bryce 4 is an excellent reference for the software. The only major differences between Bryce 4 and Bryce 5 are tree lab and metaball. Both of these utilities are easy to learn, therefore you are better with the Real World Bryce 4 book and referring to the manual for these 2 utilities.

This book stinks like rotten radishes! Just look at the cover! This image is supposed to inspire us? As many of the other reviews suggest, Mr. Mortier is a Bryce novice. Don't waste your time or money on this book, buy the Version 4.0 by Susan Kitchens! Yes I know, it's an older version, but it all still applies, and the new things that aren't covered can be found by surfing the net. For more on Susans book, read the glowing reviews for her 4.0 book. The difference could not be more evident! I have been a multimedia producer for over 25 years, I know Bryce very well, it is a staple in my toolset, and Susan Kitchens book is my "Bryce Bible". Buy it, not this poor attempt.

This book is a good intro to Bryce 5. It is not an exhaustive volume on the never ending intricacy's of Bryce.
I learned many new techniques by following the clear examples presented. I own a copy of Susan Kitchens Bryce 4 book
which is probably the holy grail of Bryce material but the Bryce 5 handbook is fun and essential.

Because the book has such bad ratings I really didn't want to take a chance on it, but there's precious little out there on Bryce and I take the view that a few good ideas or hours saved will pay for even a marginal book. No. Not this time. The book is almost unreadable so I can't swear that there's nothing good in it somewhere, but I looked for as long as I could bear the poor writing and the outright mistakes. A very disappointing waste of time.