Customer Reviews

Into 3D With form.Z

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

The cover doesn't, nor do the example in the book, suggest the potential for the modeling that is possible with formZ. I have read the previous reviews and read the book and understand the admiration for the attempt to write and easy example based tutorial manual, but the fact of the matter is that this book falls amazingly flat in opening a new users eyes to what, after a few months of using the program, they might be able to create. The admiration for this cover being the most blatent proof of this contention. For god's sake the potential for almost photo-realistic portrayls of space and objects is phenomenal and nothing in this book even approaches that kind of detail or even attempts it. FormZ is a powerful tool, one should try and convey this.

The latest demo version (3.5) of formZ can be downloaded directly from the formZ website. The changes from version 3.0 are very minor and do not affect the content of the book. The expired demo software was an unfortunate error. An updated CD-ROM can be obtained free of cost by calling the McGraw-Hill customer support number listed in the Preface of the book. The Preface also gives the address of a Website which has updates and other information about the book.

I found the exercises in the book especially well-done -- described and illustrated in detailed. They really helped me to understand the modeling process in form.Z. I was initially a little sceptical about buying this book, reading some of the negative reviews that have been posted on this site, but I'm glad I finally did. I suppose a single book cannot cater to everyone's requirements, but this book met at least mine -- which was to learn the basics of form.Z as painlessly as possible.

I thought this would be the one. The author's description seemed very thorough and the initial reviews were good. The book looks great. What I found frustrating was that for some reason, several of the command and menu names were different than what the version of the software I use says. It's the newest version too (3.0.3 I think). That is kind of frustrating and makes some of the things hard to follow. I was also very disappointed in the animation stuff. That is really what version 3 is all about and the book only briefly touches on it. I've been modeling with earlier versions of Form Z for a while and I also found that some of the example exercises didn't teach very good modeling techniques and some of my simple scenes had so many polygons they would barely render on some of the slower computers at school. Also, when are we going to get a color section in a Form Z book? I think every other computer program book has a color section and it would be really nice if we Form Z users could get one too.

I work for a professional Design firm in Pittsburgh and we were asked to take on the challenge of 3D modeling with FormZ. My Illustration Team needed to learn it fast and thanks to this book, we all did just that... even though none of us had 3D modeling experience!

I felt a bit overwhelmed when I saw the FORMZ interface but this book tamed every step of the learning curve. Exceptionally easy to read and an excellent resource. We're ordering another one today so we all don't have to fight over just one!

Get it. Read it. Know it. Done. :)

I actually haven't finished reading this book. But I've gotten into it enough to be surprized at some of the negative reviews. I am an intermediate FormZ user that hasn't had access to the program for a couple of years. So I had some catching up to do and needed some walkthrough with some of the basic structure again. Also, I have always been a little confused with the architecture of the program - especially the different kinds of entities and object personalities. Well, I'm very happy with the book so far. Khemlani has been very clear and systematic. She understands the confusion newcomers experience with this unique program, most likely because she has taught it for so many years. It's true that the examples provided do not illustrate the power of this program applied to complex projects. But other authors who are showcasing their most complex work often don't have the patience to tell us how it really works. This book goes into the deep structure of the program without overwhelming you with missing links and assumptions. My hat off to Ms. Khemlani. This is a real gift.

Now that I have a fair understanding of FormZ (after many weeks )I feel I can deliver a fair review of this book: The author never had a chance. I have used several other 3D applications and many 2D graphics programs. They all have some things in common, but FormZ appears as if developed on the Moon. The interface is devoid of elegance and requires more mouse clicks to do simple operations than any other program. It is inconsitant and has no sense of a being a unified package. It is more like hundreds of independent programs tossed into a basket -- none of them having anything to do with each other. Lachmi Khemlani tries to bring order to this unruly rat's nest, but really has no chance. Perhaps knowing FormZ has the unintended consequence of forgetting how the rest of the world does 3D. How else to explain why she often leaves out very basic information. She tells you, for instance, "draw a square at 45 degrees on the center of the previous shape." Unlike every other program on the planet, however, FormZ has no align tool, making centering objects an ordeal at any angle. Ms. Khemlani does not explain this, nor any other, basic FormZ deviation. It is a train wreak of a program which can be mastered, but in doing so one must unlearn every other computer graphics program -- a difficult positon for an author writing a how -to book. FormZ may be powerful, but all the power in the world cannot overcome this utterly confused interface without one-on-one instruction. My advice: buy the book, but only as a supplement to a class.

Unfortunately, the author (who writes terrific reviews for software on CADence by the way) is not too good at writing an instructional book for FormZ. Granted, if you have a question, you can probably find an answer to it within this book, but good luck finding it. The organization is mediocre at best. The flow is haphazard and the author never gets the perfect mix of going from a)"This is what this feature does" to b)"Try this as an example." My advice to all computer book authors is to read George Omura's books and emulate what he does. THAT is the perfect way to both teach complete functionality while "learning as you go."

When I encoutered this book I thought it would be the key to unlock the simple task of rendering architectural spaces for school. I was wrong. Coming from a background Photoshop, I thought this application that runs on Mac would be more user friendly, but it isn't and this book definitely has not helped me unlock some of the elementary skills. I have tried many nights to figure it out but sadly I am going to have to wait until some lab course at school opens the doors for me. Very hard to follow "workshops." No wonder it's on sale!

A friend of mine recommended this book to me. As a beginner to formZ, I found this an excellent resource to learning the program. The sequence in which all the tools and commands were described, as well as the exercises, made the interface very easy to grasp and use. It was great not to be overwhelmed by a CAD program for a change!