Customer Reviews

Caligari trueSpace3 For Dummies

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I think truespace 3 for dummies is not a really bad book. Everything is really easy to understand and I am sure that if you are a first timer you wil understand everything. sometimes the humour is a little bit irritating but that's a personal comment. If you're a more advanced designer please do not buy the book, it will not do you any good. But for beginners the book wil be perfect.

I must say that writing a Dummies book was both a blessing and a curse in many ways. It sure wasn't easy trying to describe the complexities of 3D in a way that the bare-bones novice could grasp... but luckily IDG lays down a very good approach for the authors.

The biggest problem with writing the book was its length. I was told to keep the thing under 325 pages or so but before I knew it, I'd written so much I was cutting entire chapters. (Imagine giving birth to a baby only to be told to chop off one of its arms... sob.)

I must apologize for a couple of things:

1) The humor overload... what can I say? I thought I'd put enough in there, but they had me ramp it up even more. Deke McLelland (author of the Photoshop for Dummies series), I certainly am not.

2) The physical simulator (physics) chapter. I wrote it, but because I went on blabbering about all the other stuff in the program, I had to cut it. (See above.)

Now of course the book and the program are both horribly behind the times, and I really don't use Caligari products anymore... but I must say that the Caligari staff were always wonderful to me and trueSpace will always hold a special place in my heart.

Thanks everyone for the reviews, good AND bad.

This book is a must-have for both those interested in getting started in 3D graphics modeling/animation, or those trueSpace addicts who want to sharpen their skills!
E.W.'s great personality and techniques really shine through.. It honestly helps make it quite easy to learn. A great accomplishment for a subject that many people may initially think is beyond their abilities. I believe this is why many schools getting started in 3D modeling & animation classes are grabbing this book as "standard issue"..
If 3D is not new to you, you'll appreciate the in-depth descriptions of the tools and great real-world examples. The examples, the color section, and the additional "goodies" on the CD are very motivational and productive!
Using this book and trueSpace3 will let you get started in 3D today

Caligari trueSpace3 for dummies is an excellent resource guide not just for the beginner. It covers from animation (Inverse and Forward Kimatics), organic modeling (metaballs), texturing, tips, and best of all: how tSx (trueSpace Extenssions) increases the overall usefullness.

While this book could be construed as a "beginners" book, even experienced ts3 users will be saying 'so that's how that works' many times. This book fills in the (very large) gaps that Caligari left out in their user manual with excellent real world examples. New ts3 users will be rewarded with near instant gratification while learning the complexities of 3D modeling. Hopefully this book will be updated in the future to include the physics simulation functions and the new keyframe editor. Well done, Dub!

When you take into account the fact that the book is easy to understand, has great examples, a value packed cd rom and can get you up and running in no time its a defintie must have! mark bank

If you want to do 3D animation with trueSpace, and you find the official trueSpace manual to be difficult reading, as I did, then you NEED this book. Expect to think "I didn't know that!" and "cool!" several times as you read this book.

This is a perfect book for anyone just beginning to learn tS3. It should have included coverage of tS3's powerful physical simulation features, but what the hey. Any problems with the book are more than offset by the spectacular FIGURE 6 in the color section.

Normally I stear well clear of folksy "how to" books as the humour usually becomes very irratating and prevents assimulation of the concepts being presented.
However, E.W.Swan has managed to strike the right balance between fun and information producing a technical manual that is easy to understand and follow.
As a beginner in 3d graphics and in ts3 in particular I have found it of immense help and can't wait until I require that available help in the more esoteric portions of Ts3.

I was happily surprised when I read trueSpace3 for Dummies. I have paid a great deal more for a lot less useful advice. The writing is clear and the humor is fun rather than heavy. A great help to those who are new to the world of 3D modeling and animation as well as for those of us who have been here awhile.