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Digital Lighting And Rendering 2nd Edition
There is a newer edition of this item:
Purchase options and add-ons
- ISBN-109780321316318
- ISBN-13978-0321316318
- Edition2nd
- PublisherNew Riders Pub
- Publication date
2006
January 1
- Language
EN
English
- Dimensions
7.3 x 0.8 x 8.8
inches
- Length
416
Pages
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About the Author
Product details
- ASIN : 0321316312
- Publisher : New Riders Pub; 2nd edition (January 1, 2006)
- Language : English
- Paperback : 416 pages
- ISBN-10 : 9780321316318
- ISBN-13 : 978-0321316318
- Item Weight : 1.9 pounds
- Dimensions : 7.25 x 0.75 x 8.75 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #1,937,123 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #103 in Rendering & Ray Tracing
- #5,982 in Computer Software (Books)
- #9,975 in Professional
- Customer Reviews:
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Top reviews from the United States
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I use Blender, Carrara, Daz3d, Hexagon and Bryce, as they are either free or very inexpensive. I like using different software and even composite scenes together with photoshop. I am not an expert in the field but I have learned a lot about realistic lighting and it helps being a photographer by trade. Photography and 3d graphics work well together as far as I'm concerned. You can apply knowledge learned to both fields.
This book is software non-specific and it really covers a lot of ground in respect to understanding many concepts like lighting design, types of lights, shadows, global illumination, composition, colors, textures, rendering, etc... (and so much more! )I was also impressed that it included some concepts from a photographer's perspective as well. The production pipeline section really helped and I like how this book reads.
Reading this book feels like it was meant for me. If you enjoy photography and also creating 3d scenes, I would say that this should be in your library. I am self taught in photo / video and 3d graphics ( about 5 years )and I understand all the terminology and concepts but this really takes me to a higher level without being too far over my head or too simplistic.
I reserve the 5 star rating for items I find to be of great value. I must inform prospective buyers of this item that I did buy this "used in good condition".
The "new" price is probably worth it but you can save tons by getting it used. I think it was around 18 or so shipped. To me, that is an incredible value.
I hope this review helps you. I really love this book!
The book is a must have for several reasons:
1. Rather than addressing "how-to" scenarios for one specific software suite, the book begins with the fundamental issue of "why", and provides solid principles that can be addressed in a practical manner by users of every major software package.
2. Detailed colored photos fill the book from cover to cover, providing the reader with practical examples for every situation addressed in the book.
3. Every chapter ends with a review and practical exercises for the reader to complete to gain experience in the topic covered. Additionally, by visiting 3drender.com, readers can download additional scenes to light.
4. Cameras and texturing, while not necessarily falling into the lighting category, are covered in detail in the book. Birn provides tips such as texture map baking and other solutions designed to reduce render time while maintaining a scene's complexity.
5. Common errors or difficulties are reproduced and explained in depth.
This book, without a question, is a must-have for anyone serious about entering the world of 3-D design and animation. 6 stars out of 5!!!
This book is a wonderful way to learn and become a better lighting artist,after all lighting is probably the most important part of any and all cg pipelines.Without proper lighting, there is no atmosphere and no mood to capture your audience.
Im happy to say that this book is the best in its class as far as understanding lighting and rendering goes.I was pleasantly surprized to find that Jeremy not only wrote the book intuatively, but also covering all the aspects of lighting setups.
i.e He takes you through the process of understading lighing and how real-life lighting occurrence can be utilized in 3d.Then he guides you through understanding of scene setup to atchieve a particular lighting condition.Most importantly for me was the fact tat he goes through the same scene with different lighting.i.e Day or Night, arch viz or creature lighting to name but just a few. He then explores all the tools you need to attchieve realism. These tools are not only on the 3d aspect of the process, but also real life tools to make the lighting process easier. He then shows you insiders info and personal experience, making this book ideal and a must have for both novice and experts alike. I mean we all want to learn the best tricks and the fastest ways to success right?
Finally he explains the Post Production process and gives you a brief understanding to take your CG scene from 3d into comping.
I hope you all found this review helpful.
cheers.
Cobus
Top reviews from other countries
Jeremy Birn's book is a mine of useful information and professional expertise. It is very easy to read, and indepth, and manages to convey complex technical information without being confusing or overwhelming. It is interesting to read, and easy to digest.
You do get the sense that he knows the 3D industry well and is writing from great experience, not just by the depth of information, but by the scope of topics he addresses that go beyond the creation of art, and covers how you might use these skills in a professional environment. I even found these bits helpful e.g. don't light your scene until most of the modelling is pretty settled - saved me lots of time!
It also manages to do so in a way which applies to different 3D packages, so you are not penalised by not owning 3DS Max or Maya or whatever.
There is a nugget on every page - I read a bit, and then try to use it in a project, and I have learned so much already.
Three criticisms that rob it of the 5th star:
1) It is slightly short on illustrations perhaps, especially for a book which is all about visual art, but this doesn't seem to detract from the book's overall impact.
2) Not quite enough thought has gone into the practical examples and exercises at the end of each chapter - they are quite brief. But then you can always create projects to test things out in your own software package.
3) A CDROM with some examples and projects would have been welcome e.g. load up one of the scenes in the book (provided in 3DS format perhaps, so as to be package independent), texture it, and practice different lighting rigs, or try to reproduce the book's illustrations.
I guess pros could learn a lot from this book, but so will keen amateurs who are not going to make a living from it but want to excel in their art nonetheless.
I've tried to apply some of this in my own art, some of which can be seen on www://craftycurate.blogs.com
There wasn't a chapter in which I did not learn something new. The stellar chapter for me was on architectural lighting - how to get a 3d scene (indoors or outdoors) looking 'real' rather than a lit model. For character modellers there's the basic information about 3 point lighting and theory beyond that.
The book is very well illustrated and the author and production team have been at pains to ensure that the quality of the illustrations is such that subtle colour changes in before and after shots are apparent.
I am not sure about 3d experts, but I would definitely recommend this book for beginner to intermediate level as the 'lighting bible'. Lighting makes or breaks a render and this is the best book I have found which explains the theory in an clear methodical way.
It covers all the main topics in reasonable depth and plenty of examples without getting too bogged down with specific software.
On a practical point the soft back version allows it to be laid flat and to stay open on the page without breaking the spine.
There are lots of colour photographs to illustrate many of the topics and frequent tips on how professionals 'cheat' to get the desired results.
All in all a well organised, detailed and comprehensive reference for anyone who wants to get under the skin of 3D lighting and rendering



