Product Description

3d Graphics & Animations is the book to help readers break into the 3D marketplace. Learn from the experiences of working professionals as shared through insightful interviews. As a second edition, this book builds on the well-received segments of the first edition to cover the basics of 3D in general terms starting with "What is 3D?" and progressing step-by-step through modeling, texturing, lighting and animation. The book also offers coverage of such related topics as developing a story concept, storyboarding, and putting together a demo real and portfolio. It even provides interview tips! New elements in this second edition include interviews from industry leaders as well as application specific tutorials for 3ds max 4, Maya 4, and LightWave 7 that are included on the CD.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #933101 in Books
• Published on: 2002-06-20
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 640 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
If your 3-D graphics portfolio consists of little more than sketches of alien craft, futuristic architecture and women with unfeasable anatomy clad in scant other-worldly garb, then 3-D Graphics & Animation is the book you need to kick-start your career.

Mark Giambruno does an excellent job of explaining, in general terms, everything you need to know about the world of 3-D CG before embarking on a detailed, but non-application specific, demonstration of 3-D techniques.

The introduction covers everything from how and where 3-D graphics are used--including the less obvious fields like engineering and medical research--to what it's like to work as a 3-D artist and how much you can expect to get paid. This careers guidance, accompanied by interviews with 3-D production artists provide the best insight into the job you're likely to get, short of landing a job as junior tea maker at a 3-D studio. The fact that the approach is non-application specific doesn't mean there's no hands-on element. In fact each chapter demonstrates a particular technique through the completion of a project-based tutorial which builds through the course of the book to produce a Blade Runner-style airborne advertising blimp by the final chapter.

Step-by-step instructions are provided, but whereas other books spell it out for you, here it's up to you to interpret the instructions within the UI and toolset of your chosen application, be it Maya, 3DS or Lightwave. 3-D Graphics & Animation will not only help you decide if a career in 3-D CG is for you, if the answer is yes, it will get you off to a flying start. --Ken McMahon

From the Back Cover

3d Graphics & Animations is the book to help readers break into the 3D marketplace. Learn from the experiences of working professionals as shared through insightful interviews. As a second edition, this book builds on the well-received segments of the first edition to cover the basics of 3D in general terms starting with "What is 3D?" and progressing step-by-step through modeling, texturing, lighting and animation. The book also offers coverage of such related topics as developing a story concept, storyboarding, and putting together a demo real and portfolio. It even provides interview tips! New elements in this second edition include interviews from industry leaders as well as application specific tutorials for 3ds max 4, Maya 4, and LightWave 7 that are included on the CD.

About the Author

Mark Giambruno was born in 1957 in the small California foothills town of Placerville. He grew up in Sacramento, where he enjoyed annoying his teachers with epic space battles drawn¿during class¿in the margins of his schoolwork. In high school and college he pursued classes in art and electronics, but found the display-less computers of the time utterly boring.

In 1982, he used his younger brother¿s need for computer access at home as an excuse to buy his first microcomputer¿an Atari 800¿and has been heavily involved with computing ever since. He started his own computer graphics firm in 1990 and took on San Francisco-based Mondo Media as one of his main clients. When he was free to relocate, Mondo offered him a full-time position, and he become one of their lead artists and project directors. He conceptualized, managed, and created graphics for many of the company¿s projects, including those for such clients as Microsoft, Sierra Semiconductor, and Compaq.

After a few years of doing business-oriented multimedia, he went on to head up Mechadeus¿s first two CD-ROM games, Critical Path and The Daedalus Encounter (featuring Tia Carerre of Wayne¿s World fame). His responsibilities on Daedalus included design, co-writing the script, art direction, and editing. He also wrote The Official Guide to The Daedalus Encounter for BradyGAMES, which chronicles the project and provides hints and tips for completing the game.

Later projects for Mondo Media included art direction of game cinematics for Mechwarrior 3, Under Cover, and Alpha Centauri: Alien Crossfire, as well as creating and art directing in-game assets for both Star Fleet Command releases. He also art directed Spiral, a Flash-based Mondo Mini Show with character designs by Toshihiro Kawamoto (Cowboy Bebop, Gundam, Golden Boy).

Currently, he is an independent contractor providing writing, 3D modeling, design, and animation services through his Binary Arts company. His most recent projects include co-writing the English adaptations of two Japanese detective novels, Under Cover and Angel¿s Fang, both by #1 bestselling author Arimasa Osawa.

His favorite diversions include watching subtitled anime and playing FPS games like Unreal Tournament and Return to Castle Wolfenstein.