Digital Sci-Fi Art: A Step-By-Step Guide to Creating Stunning, Futuristic Images

I recently took courses in 3DMax, Photoshop, Illustrator, and After Effects. Ok, so now what? This is where Mike's books come in. His books are not step by step technical instructions on how to create computer graphics art but more about stimulating the artistic side of your brain and imagination as to the kinds of art that can be created using computer graphics tools. This book is not about CG technology, it's about CG art. If your background is purely technical I would recommend this book in conjunction with a couple of art courses. Great computer art is not created by CG technicians but by CG artist. Mike gives you guidelines as to what you can do as a skilled CG artist. He does not show you in detail how to create the art shown in the book. I guess he assumes that if you know the CG tool well enough then you should be able to figure out the details. Again this is a book about computer art, it is not about technology.

I'm going to add this to my Student's "Must Read" list. A very up to date and comprehensive book covering the basics of digital illustration. I was pleased to see a lot of guys in the field i know in here. Shows that they're talking to guys who really know the business of illustration. A lot of nice step by step documentation in here - lot of color photos - a quality book. If you're not sure about this book - nab it anyway - its worth it.

First of all let me qualify myself. I'm not a professional artist. By day I am a computer specialist who programs business applications. I've been following the evolution of digital art for years, and have been toying with it and computer game development as a hobby for almost 20 years. I own about 75% of the software listed in this book, and have stumbled my way through trial and error alot of what is presented in this book. In short, the book is awesome. The book affirms much of what I had to painstakingly discover on my own in terms of production flow between applications. It also fills in the gaps in areas that I kind of gave up on. The artwork is truly inspirational, and wonderful. It is awesome to know that there are artist out there who use the same tools that I have, and have managed to create incredible works. It's also inspiring to note that many of the tools that were chosen for development, aren't the most expensive tools available, but still get the job done. One of the more noted tools is Bryce 5.0, and many of the tutorials are about its use. Poser also is mentioned a lot in this book. Both are awesome tools, but that said, realize that you can't apply much in this book to what you do if you don't at least own those two pieces of software. You can probably get away with open source tools like Gimp (replaces Photoshop) and Blender or Milkshape (stand in for your 3D modeler). All in all, an inspiring read, that has given me a new hope for my weekend and midnight projects. -D-

I have to also admit that I am a contributer to this book, and several pieces of my artwork are featured, as well as a walkthrough of a ship I designed and modeled for an upcoming Star Wars fan film! - aside from some obvious bias in these regards, I can say that I was very pleasantly surprised at the quality, layout and good value of this book! The digital art medium is growing all the time, and there are few books around that offer the reader so much insight into the processes many of us use, as well as containing some great examples, tips and tricks. If you are merely interested in the mediums of sci-fi art/digital art, you'll love this I think - if you also want to get into creating some yourself (either 2D or 3D) then I am sure you will find it an inspiration and a potentially helpful resource to get started. :) PS: You might also consider 'Renderosity - Digital Art for the 21st Century' if you like this medium.

Ok, I have to admit right off the bat that I am a contributor to the content of this book (see pages 128 and 129 plus some other bits in the gallery section - those're mine...) so I'm just a little bit biased towards this book. But having said that, I'm not receiving any more money for this book so I figure I can review the content that isn't mine. For a "How to" book this one is pretty good. It will give you ideas and the basics of doing things in the various programmes that are covered plus some tricks that you may not have thought of before. But for the advanced user this book is something to flip through to see if anything catches your eye. However there is a quite a bit to catch your eye! The images are superb and the artwork is something to simply sit back and appreciate. Images come from all forms of digital art and it is amazing to see what can be done with the various 3D and 2D software applications in the hands of skilled and talented artists. Definitely worth buying, even if it is just for inspiration and ideas.