Customer Reviews

Softimage|3D Fundamentals

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

 

 

well this book is great ... but be careful this is the new release of inside softimage 3d . So i love this book the author work on the information not on beautiful color photo like in softimage 3d design guide . i love the présentation in black and white it's look like a scientifik book or a classroom book ... everithing has good information and the guy that write this book is a boss of softimage :Rossano work for mesmer one of the leader of the education of high end 3d software ... So if you want to learn softimage this book is the bible ... BUT , BUT there is a very big probleme (nothing is perfect ...) there is no CD rom, and this book would have been perfect ( i am french sorry for the ortograf ...)if there was a CD rom inside . If i take the best book for maya : "Maya 4 Fundamentals" there is great video that show you all . You learn to use the soft quick as light ... so this is a very dark point of this book no tutorial and no video explication ... but this book is a five Star manual without any hesitation !!! if you had to buy one buy this ...

Tons of typos. Omission of an index and a CD-ROM with example files. Grainy photos where you sometimes cannot see the curves the photo is supposed to explain. Examples are based on v3.7 even though it states 4.0 on the cover -> some examples cannot be completed if following the instructions in this book, and new features such as vertex color authoring are not mentioned. Chaotic structure (requires textures and materials to be set as early as chapter two but doesn't explain their proper use until chapter twelve). Unclear and rudimentary explanations and outright mistakes (i.e. wrong axis given to revolve objects around) etc. etc....

Worst of all: instead of a proper printed manual you get this cheaply bound p.o.s. when you spend $$$ on the actual package. Softimage actually endorsing such a terrible pulp has just cost them any business with me for the forseeable future. Shame because 3D itself is a decent piece of software despite its age and awkward interface.

DO NOT GET THIS BOOK. ...

Emmanuel's review below is glowing, but states that this book's flaw is that it has no CD. That is one of it's strengths! It *does* have supplementary files for the tutorials, but they are available online for free download (look on the back cover for the URL). One of the biggest complaints about Inside Softimage (and computer books in general) was that parts of the CD didn't function. Well, if anything on the file download doesn't work, just email Mesmer and they can fix it!

Totally agree with the prvious reader. Don't buy the book of this
book!!.