Essential CG Lighting Techniques with 3ds Max, Second Edition (Focal Press Visual Effects and Animation) [Paperback]

Darren Brooker CG artist Cosgrove Hall Digital. (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 024052022X | ISBN-13: 978-0240520223 | Publication Date: May 2, 2006 | Edition: 2

Lighting is the one thing that makes or breaks any CG environment. This inspirational book and DVD give you everything you need to create convincing CG lightin; from the concepts and theoretical aspects to the techniques and tricks that are essential in a production environment. The stunning color illustrations throughout the book illustrate just what can be done, while the tutorials show you exactly how to do it.

Every ounce of theory is backed up with practical tutorials, using the free trial versions of 3ds Max and Combustion supplied on the companion DVD. The tutorials take you from the fundamentals of lighting, right through to advanced techniques with many new sections, including ones that cover radiosity techniques, rendering with mental ray, and compositing.

Certified by Autodesk, Darren Brooker's new edition teaches the real methods behind real-world work. If you want a one-stop master class in CG lighting, or if you just want to brush up on your existing skills - then this book contains everything you need.

* Everything you need to learn the art of CG lighting in one easy-to-use volume
* Free trial software and detailed tutorials take you through every step of the CG lighting process
* Learn the art and science of lighting CG environments the Autodesk-certified way

Editorial Reviews

Review

Published reviews of previous editions:

"In terms of visual impact, lighting can either make or break an animation. In this book, Darren Brooker gives this subject the respect it deserves. Thoroughly recommended reading."
Brant Drewery, Editor, CGI Magazine

"Darren Brooker has gifted us with a fine addition to our 3D library, to be referenced and considered over and over. Students and seasoned artists will benefit from the broad concepts and specific examples delivered."
Robert Taylor, CG Supervisor & Consultant

"If you work in game art, film or architectural visualisation, you'll need this lighting handbook."
3D World Magazine - October 2006

Book Description

Expert guidance on creating cg lighting techniques with 3ds Max in an inspirational book and DVD package!

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: Focal Press; 2 edition (May 2, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 024052022X
• ISBN-13: 978-0240520223
• Product Dimensions: 9.8 x 7.4 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #289,840 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very Nice Book, May 15, 2006

By 

Juan Ponce Casasola (Guatemala) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Essential CG Lighting Techniques with 3ds Max, Second Edition (Focal Press Visual Effects and Animation) (Paperback)

I'm an architect and i needed some book that actually focused on several types of ilumination for architectural visualization, and this book has it, it's divided in 4 parts, theory, techniques, tips and tricks and taking it further. I like that it has the light theory, an essential part to understand how light actually works in nature.

I've only read the theory, and i've browsed some other chapters and the explanations are very clear, very easy to follow and understand, any new or veteran user of 3ds Max will feel comfortable reading this book; lots of pictures to see in full color.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Just as the title says: great overview of essencial lighting techniques, September 26, 2006

By 

Jose Barroca - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Essential CG Lighting Techniques with 3ds Max, Second Edition (Focal Press Visual Effects and Animation) (Paperback)

I'm not a professional lighting artist, I've been learning 3ds max for a few years, part-time. I've read several books and tutorials about changing a GI photon value from 1 to 10 or ajusting the spotlight faloff to 150, but I needed a book which gave me an integrated and comparative look on the various lighting techniques and methodologies 3ds max has to offer. This book does just that. It doesn't set out to explain every single button or value, it gives you the essencials about the way the various techniques work,not just by explaining sequentially scanline render, advanced lighting or mental ray, but also by transmitting good insight on production methods and light theory..The book explains the main parameters you have to adjust in order to make each technique work, and the pros and cons of every one of those. Obviously, apart from the tutorials in this book, you'll have to play with the values and learn the finer details for yourself. For me it was a great sistematization of all 3ds max lighting techniques, and I'm no longer baffled by the variety of ways I can use to light a scene, because I understood which techique works better in which situation.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A little weak..., November 17, 2006

By 

Tina Haggarad "Tina Haggarad" (Agoura Hills, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Essential CG Lighting Techniques with 3ds Max, Second Edition (Focal Press Visual Effects and Animation) (Paperback)

I've been reviewing several books on lighting and rendering, in both Max and Maya, and from the reviews here I was expecting something a little better in this book.

The content about Max was slim pickings. It said almost nothing about most of the optional renderers like Vray and Brazil, just about a page each on those. Apart from that, there was general info from the manual.

The sections about how to actually light a scene were weak. It goes over basics of approaches like three point lighting, but I didn't find much in this book that deepened my understanding of how to actually light, it just looked like generalizations that could have been copied from older books.