Modeling Digital Dinosaurs [With CDROM]

I am a designer who is attempting to delve into the world of 3D. In comes Brilliant's book on Dinosaurs, but the kicker is that what you learn in this detailed and simple to follow book can be applied to much more than dinos. Very well written and illustrated (great image files included on the CD). With a minimal knowledge of most 3D apps, you can start creating some neat stuff. I also like the fact that texturing is greatly discussed in later chapters. This book fills a definit publication niche specifically dealing with organic or creature modeling, dinosaurs in this case. I wish this book would have been included in most 3D application packages as part of their documentation...one can only wish!

Mr. Brilliant really breaks it down for you. From the "how's" in great detail to the "why's" and even some "why not's", he shows many techniques, advantages and (if any) disadvantages to each with care and patience. The fact that he's choosing dinosaurs as the subject matter grabbed my attention, his thorough teaching kept me interested. My modeling skills have improved dramatically, and that's only after chapter four! It's also interesting that he has managed to write tutorials that span over MANY different modeling packages with seemingly no effort. My hat is off to you Mr. Brilliant! Thank you for making learning modeling fun!!

If modeling dinosaurs is your passion then I highly recommend this book. It is packed full of information on modeling and texturing. Authough the book is not software specific the Author does admitt that many of the models were created using Newtek's Lightwave software. No problem, I'm a dedicated LW fan. The CD doesn't have any models on it and it only has one animation that's lame (no secondary motions in its walk and its a pixalated low res). The textures on the CD are fine for use but they are not of a super high resoulution. That's ok because the book tells you how to make your own using Photoshop. This book also will not cover bone structures, IK setups or animation. That's really another subject so I'm not dissapointed. I bought the book for modeling and texturing and that just what I tought me. OH ya! It's easy to read but you need to know how your software works first because he is not going to tell you each step and every icon in a software. This is just technique that applies to many softwares on the market today. I'm very pleased and I would like to see Ken write more books. Good job Charles River Media.