I'm sure there are a lot of people out there like me who don't like PDF tutorials or whatever because they dont like switching back and fortha and for other reasons as well. I like to always have a hard copy of tutorials like books or Print outs. I was just wondering which book taught u the most it doesn't have to be app specific just curious.
I bought inside lightwave 7 and i'am finding it great. It's quite easy to follow but it teaches you alot of things from the basics to the hard stuff.
I heard Gmax bible was excellant as well. Thinkin of gettin a copy.
So just tell us what 3D books have tought u guys the most and which you love and go to sleep with.
How to make a big breasted woman with large boots. lol
Seriously though it has some decent information but its getting pretty dated as far as modelling processes and techniques go, its all edit mesh if I remember rightly, urgh.
Most books out there aren't really geared towards game-dev, the best place to look in my opinion is net based tutorials and just look at how other models are made by other people.
Probably the best way to learn how to model is to download some of the SDK's running around on sites like Polycount and check out the construction and flow that those guys put in.
!!Warning, warning!! don't just replicate there models, its not just nasty and illegal to blatantly copy someones work its also never going to help you get better, use them as a reference only.
Keep in mind areas that are going to need to be flexible during animation, spine, ankles, hips, shoulders, knees, elbows, wrists and neck etc. These areas need to deform correctly so watch how other people go about doing it. [:)]
I used to like buying books as I too enjoyed the ability to just glance down at a book while keeping the app up at all times. That was until I became very tired of spending $100+ on some poorly written joke, where the information can be found on the net for free and is often more useful.
Malus really has said the best way to do it. If you are after processes for making characters (high or low), then look at other people's meshes. It isn't difficult to learn how to extrude a face. Learning how edge loops and good silhouettes work are most important. Unfortunately, you can't really be taught how to make those, it comes from looking, trying and re-trying.
I?ve got a small collection of 3d max and various programming books. In the early days I found the max books (like 3ds max bible, and max fundamentals) to be of great value, but the reference and tutorials in max itself to be of the most help. Now that I know the basics, I haven?t seen any good books out there ? the Internet seems to be the best recourse. Though I really want to get a good book just about animation (anyone know any?).
Programming is a different story to digital art though. The more books that one has, the better. Apart from all the standard learn to program in C++ 101 type of books (which continue to be used for reference years later), I have some great texts in my slowly growing library. I found Lamothe?s Tricks of the Windows Game Programming Gurus to be simply brilliant. It?s a great insight into game development, though it is very in depth and gets pretty hard-core. This is the kind of thing you need if you want to learn how to write your own game engine? Something I?m not quite ready for, but still it's great reading and very helpful for understanding the concepts of games programming.
However, my favourite book at the moment is Rabin?s AI Game Programming Wisdom. This was extremely valuable for me as I attempted to create some AI for a project I?m working on. While I still haven?t got the code in my project to work[:(], this text is great reading, filled with many useful articles from over 45 different industry experts. It?s an insight into the cutting edge technology of game AI.
The only real "technical" book I've used was a copy of Inside 3DS MAX 2.x - it's a help through the basics sort of thing, but past that I'm a strong believer of practical use - experiment with everything, ask people, watch people, learn from using. I've never got much from technical books - I don't place much value in them for artists. I'm more of a believer in the art side than the technical, and to that effect I have to say the best books I've learnt the most from are collections of art - Brom, Sweet, Frazetta, Mullins, etc. All "Art of..." type books. Look at them. Study them. Apply what you see.
I have to agree Steeds book is... Dated. That's a nice way of me holding back and not giving in to the urge to type, "it's an absolute waste of shelf space which could've been used to better effect with a solid anatomy or colour theory book. It's outdated, the author is an egotistical prude with dry technical and design knowledge, and the subject material isn't anything more you could gather from a 15 minute search on the net (minus his many "this is why I'm so fantastic" annecdotes)"... but I won't type that. That wouldn't be nice to the fanboys [:)]
I totally agree with u AVEN. Nearly all the books related to 3D cost above 90 dollars (the extreme minimum). You can't rely on reviews either cos it might be good for one person and not for the other. I guess i was lucky with Inside Lightwave 7, it cost 119 dollars and is quite great but i've read some books for 3Dsmax which i thought were the worst thing since Eiffel 65's second song :).
By far the best book I have got about 3D modelling is, Paul Steeds, Character Modelling in 3DSMax. For Low Res character. I don't have any other book I find the Tut in max and the max manuals work just fine.