The DV Rebel's Guide: An All-Digital Approach to Making Killer Action Movies on the Cheap (Peachpit)

Book Description

Written by Stu Maschwitz, co-founder of the Orphanage (the legendary guerrilla visual effects studio responsible for amazing and award-winning effects in such movies as Sin City, The Day After Tomorrow, and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire), this book is a must-have for all those budding filmmakers and students who want to produce action movies with visual effects but don't have Hollywood budgets. The Orphanage was created by three twenty-something visual effects veterans who wanted to make their own feature films and discovered they could do this by utilizing home computers, off the shelf software, and approaching things artistically. This guide details exactly how to do this: from planning and selecting the necessary cameras, software, and equipment, to creating specific special effects (including gunfire, Kung Fu fighting, car chases, dismemberment, and more) to editing and mixing sound and music. Its mantra is that the best, low-budget action moviemakers must visualize the end product first in order to reverse-engineer the least expensive way to get there. Readers will learn how to integrate visual effects into every aspect of filmmaking--before filming, during filming and with "in camera" shots, and with computers in postproduction. Throughout the book, the author makes specific references to and uses popular action movies (both low and big-budget) as detailed examples--including El Mariachi, La Femme Nikita, Die Hard, and Terminator 2.

Customer Reviews:

Essential Reading for Indie Filmmakers.......2007-10-03

The DV Rebel Guide, by Stu Maschwitz, formerly a member of Industrial Light And Magic, explains in easily understandable, yet highly technical language, exactly how to create astounding visual effects using the kinds of cameras, computers, and software available to ordinary people. A Spielbergian budget is NOT required. In addition to his information, he offers many links to other websites of technical expertise and training,

You may be making a little family drama, rather than a shoot-'em-up, but the techniques in this book will increase your palette of possibilities. In other words, every indie movie maker can benefit from this book. It's essential reading, period. No one else has published anything like it.

Maschwitz assumes throughout that you are not an idiot or a dummy. Scores of color photos show exactly how every technique is done. He also runs an on-line forum; he and other digital rebels (some of whom are exceedingly experienced and clearly top pros) will help you through the rough patches.

Get this book, go out and make movies better than anything you thought you could do.

This is got the TRICKS!!!.......2007-09-23

Awesome book. My friends and I make ugly videos as a hobby and we've tried many things... but this book has some balls to the wall tricks. The guy is not a scaredy cat about shooting videos with minimal resources and lets you know how to make the most with what you've got. Also has great instructions on how to build your own stuff and pull crazy stunts. Grease up your baby, this is gonna have you running to your video camera with ideas as soon as you open it up!

love it.......2007-08-27

I've done video production professionally for several years and picked up some of these tricks from simple trial and error. What I love is how well Stu connects the techniques in this referrence and compares them to equivalent effects on film. And its not just informative, its enjoyable to read.

I recommend this book to anyone interested in making their videos stand out or looking to up their production value without spending a lot of money.

Love this book.......2007-08-19

I have read a lot of film making books and this is easily the most useful and informative. Anyone trying to make a film on their own needs to have this book!

Best Book for Independent Digital Video Production Ever!!!.......2007-08-12

This is it!!! If you want to produce an Independeant Film this is THE book to read. Don't be fooled. You still need to know what you're doing go to school. Read the manuals, watch the best movies, by the best directors, then read this book and make your movies!!!!!

The Art and Science of C: A Library Based Introduction to Computer Science

Average customer rating:

Too bad printing...
Teaches "Roberts," not C
Two great books
The Art and Science of C
The Art and Science of C

The Art and Science of C: A Library Based Introduction to Computer Science
Eric S. Roberts
Manufacturer: Addison Wesley
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0201543222

Customer Reviews:

Too bad printing..........2007-06-27

I was frightened when I opened the book... The characters in the book look like a copied-material of a very very old 8-pin dot-printer output...

Teaches "Roberts," not C.......2006-06-07

This book is annoying with the way the author asks the user to write programs using his custom library functions, as opposed to the standard C commands. Because of this, I did not learn about scanf until probably the 7th or 8th week of the C programming course I was in. I feel like that alone warrants a 1-star rating. If you buy this book, you will be learning to program in "Roberts," not C.

Two great books.......2004-09-14

I have read and worked through both of Eric Roberts books on C.
Of all the programming books I have read, and there are many, his two are the best.

My only regret is that he has not written books on C++.

The Art and Science of C.......2004-06-01

I thought this was a wonderful beginners book. It gave me the basics and then allowed me to go on and try new things by myself. By the end I really felt like I could write my own programs in C.

I only gave it four stars because I think five would have to be a textbook that really brought the information to life, while this one was rather dry.

The Art and Science of C.......2003-08-17

I borrowed this book from library and believed I had made a right decision.

Quoted from the book, Mr. Roberts have been teaching computer science for over 20 years, I'm not sure how long he has taught C language but I suppose this book is written in a way that he believes is most beneficial to the readers, based on his teaching experience.

C is a cryptic and complex language, so the author teaches in a stepwise manner, he hides the complexity by introducing his private libraries and data abstractions. So the readers implement the functionality of C, which is independent from the complexity of C; once the readers have enough grasp at C, they may move on to explore the complexity of C.

The author have done these with good intention because data types in ANSI C are limited in size, for example, the data type int is different from our perception of integer in daily life. The address operator & may be confusing as well.

How did I use the book? I rewrited all the examples presented in book without his private libaries. I did the exercises in the book without his private libraries as well. Instead of copying all his codes and getting them work, I tried to make errors: for example, in the simple hello world program, omitted the preprocessor operator #, then read the error messages. I also tried to improve the efficiency of my algorithm.

Amazon.com

A remarkable range of examples for the idea of visual thinking, with beautifully printed pages. A real treat for all who reason and learn by means of images. -- Rudolf Arnheim

Customer Reviews:

Amazing book for information design.......2007-07-15

I am the type of person who dabbles in all kinds of design, and I think of the ideal designer as one who knows a little about everything. Designers design ways of output, whether it be lemon juice from a lemon or ways to fit all vital components in a laptop in the most efficient way. This book is about the output of information from our multidimensional world to the flat paper space, and he does it brilliantly.
It's even worth mentioning the book itself as a good piece of design. All the images are vivid, the pages feel crisp and durable, even the color of the pages I bet was an attention of detail (it's slightly offwhite, but in an extremely good way). It's like good ol' fashioned timeless design.
He covers the subject wide and far, dips into everything from visual illusions to hardcore information displays. Sometimes you wonder where the heck he gets all these wonderful images, they span from the stoneage till today and show the vast variety of ways to display information, both simple and complex.
It is a beautiful book and an absolute must for people interested in the design of information. Actually, I'd say it's a must for anyone interested in information at all, be it for powerpoint or for magazine layout. This will be one of the most intelligent books on my shelf.

An Obsolete Glance At A Classic Problem.......2007-06-28

This is a short book, 126 pages. An interesting cursory exploration of the subject. However, it feels like it predates information technology (1990 predates the web by 5 years), and seems to have more in common with how to communicate elements of a hand-drawn map atlas if you were living in the 1700s than it has with using Adobe Illustrator to convey an idea for the web. I bought this book to see if it would help me as a web developer, and instead when it arrived I realized I got a weird coffee table book that feels like it was written in the 1960s, at the latest, to summarize that you can use different icons or pictographs of small size to communicate important ideas without words. (Sorry, I already gave away the story of the book.)

I know this review isn't going to get very popular marks, but, put simply, this book is probably good for professional or student pure designers, but it's useless for me. I honestly don't think the book targets web designers, but somebody here reviewed that it was "great" for web designers, so because of that remark I bought it. Sorry, but I don't see the applicability. But then, I only skimmed over the book before I put it back on Amazon Marketplace.

While one should normally never judge a book by its cover, in this case I think you should.

one of three or four.......2007-01-10

this is part of a series from tufte. he uses examples to describe techniques of visualization. if you do presentations to others or write reports that present complex data, several of his books should be in your library.

A wonderful book!.......2006-11-04

No designer should be without this book. I especially enjoy the historical accounts of information design. Of course hind sight is 20/20 so his redesigns seem obvious from our perspective.

An outstanding addition to my library.......2006-06-23

An outstanding addition to my library, Edward systematically explores the presentation of data showing the value of data rich content when it is properly displayed. After reading half the book, I couldn't sit through a presentation without coming up with at least 3 ways to improve it. The illustrations in the book are beautifully rendered and cover a diverse set of subject matter each as interesting as the next. The only topic concerning this book that I struggled with is whether or not to mark it up. In the end, as I do with all of my books I intend to refer back to, I did.

Introducing Character Animation with Blender

Average customer rating:

Excellent!
Great Blender Intro and Character Design
Animation Motivated Novices
excellent deal
Exactly what I needed.

Introducing Character Animation with Blender
Tony Mullen
Manufacturer: Sybex
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Stop Staring: Facial Modeling and Animation Done Right

ASIN: 0470102608

Book Description

Let this in-depth professional book be your guide to Blender, the powerful open-source 3D modeling and animation software that will bring your ideas to life. Using clear step-by-step instruction and pages of real-world examples, expert animator Tony Mullen walks you through the complexities of modeling and animating, with a special focus on characters. From Blender basics to creating facial expressions and emotion to rendering, you’ll jump right into the process and learn valuable techniques that will transform your movies.

Note: CD-ROM/DVD and other supplementary materials are not included as part of eBook file.

Customer Reviews:

Excellent!.......2007-08-25

If you are new to Blender and 3d animation, this book will help you to "open your mind to the possibilities". You will learn to build and animate your own character step by step. Easy to follow and very well explained. The included DVD has a lot of animation samples and source files used in the book. Go for it!

Great Blender Intro and Character Design.......2007-08-17

Of all the books I've read on 3D, this is the first that actually has been useful and direct to me. I have been using Blender 3D for a year now, but I found that there was alot of cool features that I missed that I then learned from this book.

Besides a great introduction, this book flows smoothly with the creation of a face from only a reference photo (with all the intermediate steps to get there), and then the rest of the book is showing how to build a a fully rigged (ready for animation) character from scratch. I am so amazed with this book.

This is a definitely a worthwhile book. I teach Blender 3D for a organization at Texas A&M University, and I suggest this to them all.

Animation Motivated Novices .......2007-08-13

Great book for the Blender Project. The intro says it all, for Blender Pros and highly motivated novices. Great tutorial and all the pieces included on CD.

excellent deal.......2007-06-13

This product arrived around a month from the day the purchase was made. the product arrived in excellent conditions, And I also found it{s cheaper than in other websites.

Exactly what I needed........2007-06-01

I've been learning Blender for a while now, piecing it together from stray tutorials and such, but with this very affordable book, I've found exactly what I needed. I already knew a lot of what the book covers, but it helped fill in some gaps that most online tutorials take for granted, and gave me a whole, more complete view of how to go about my business with Blender. I would definately buy another book from this author.

Programming 16-Bit PIC Microcontrollers in C: Learning to Fly the PIC 24 (Embedded Technology) (Embedded Technology)

Average customer rating:

A Great Resource
We need more books like this!
A thorough workbook
Not Fly by Night!!
Other Technical Authors should take a page out of this book!

Programming 16-Bit PIC Microcontrollers in C: Learning to Fly the PIC 24 (Embedded Technology) (Embedded Technology)
Lucio Di Jasio
Manufacturer: Newnes
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Designing Embedded Systems with PIC Microcontrollers: Principles and Applications

ASIN: 0750682922

Book Description

A Microchip insider tells all on the newest, most powerful PICs ever!

FREE CD-ROM includes source code in C, the Microchip C30 compiler, and MPLAB SIM software

Includes handy checklists to help readers perform the most common programming and debugging tasks

The new 16-bit PIC24 chip provides embedded programmers with more speed, more memory, and more peripherals than ever before, creating the potential for more powerful cutting-edge PIC designs. This book teaches readers everything they need to know about these chips: how to program them, how to test them, and how to debug them, in order to take full advantage of the capabilities of the new PIC24 microcontroller architecture.

Author Lucio Di Jasio, a PIC expert at Microchip, offers unique insight into this revolutionary technology, guiding the reader step-by-step from 16-bit architecture basics, through even the most sophisticated programming scenarios. This books common-sense, practical, hands-on approach begins simply and builds up to more challenging exercises, using proven C programming techniques. Experienced PIC users and newcomers to the field alike will benefit from the texts many thorough examples, which demonstrate how to nimbly side-step common obstacles, solve real-world design problems efficiently, and optimize code for all the new PIC24 features.

You will learn about:
basic timing and I/O operations,
multitasking using the PIC24 interrupts,
all the new hardware peripherals
how to control LCD displays,
generating audio and video signals,
accessing mass-storage media,
how to share files on a mass-storage device with a PC,
experimenting with the Explorer 16 demo board, debugging methods with MPLAB-SIM and ICD2 tools, and more!

·A Microchip insider tells all on the newest, most powerful PICs ever!

·Condenses typical introductory "fluff" focusing instead on examples and exercises that show how to solve common, real-world design problems quickly

·Includes handy checklists to help readers perform the most common programming and debugging tasks

·FREE CD-ROM includes source code in C, the Microchip C30 compiler, and MPLAB SIM software, so that readers gain practical, hands-on programming experience

·Check out the author's Web site at http://www.flyingpic24.com for FREE downloads, FAQs, and updates

Customer Reviews:

A Great Resource.......2007-08-01

I have thouroughly enjoyed reading and using this great publication. It is absolutely the best introduction to PIC24 in particular and C30 as well. This book makes a great companion for the Explorer 16 development board from Microchip.
I look forward to a follow up edition with a few more projects and peripheral code segments.

Very Well Done Lucio

We need more books like this! .......2007-05-21

I just bought this book and managed to read through it over a few days. I must say that I'm very impressed by it! The book covers programming the PIC24 in C using MPLAB's C30 C compiler. It covers the PIC24 architecture and peripherals in as much detail as required by a C programmer as well as various non-ANSI C PIC24 specific addons available in the C30 compiler. It also includes a myriad of cool interfacing projects with minimal additional hardware (SPI EEPROM , 3 resistors for the video example flash card, PS2 interfacing e.t.c.) Finally it also introduces all the debugging tools available in MPLAB such as the simulator/logic analyzer and stimulus generator. This book is not for the absolute microcontroller / programming in C beginner however. Its target audience is embedded systems programmers considering to switch to Microchip's PIC24 family and EE students/hobbyists with some background in embedded systems/ microcontrollers / C programming.

A thorough workbook.......2007-05-13

The analogy with piloting aircraft aside...

This book takes a very practical approach, using the tools on the CD and doing exercises with C code. The explanations are clear. Be aware that though introductory, this is a technical book.

Not Fly by Night!!.......2007-05-12

This is an interresting and organized compilation of projects which walks you through the daunting experience of microcontroller use. I am an RF hardware engineer with little programming experience, but have worked on several projects which included microcontroller or DSP control. I've never touched an 8 bit device, but jumped directly into the 16 bit family. In my past experience, someone else has always done the controler functions. Lucio presents a methodology for someone without too much experience and a lot of desire to learn a very complex subject with the starting point in the 16 bit arena.

His use of C programming takes you through an easier learning curve than if you were to approach this with machine language. The Explorer 16 gives you plenty of practial applications to play around with the technology and monkey around with things yourself. The chekclists are invaluable. especially in the early stages of using the tools.

Perhaps the most refreshing thing I found was that Lucio personally answers emails and gives you educational insights if you ask him questions. I have taken on learning the PIC controller on my own and Lucio has helped me over a hurdle or two in this adventure.

One other note: The microchip applications team is ecellent. I have had a few issues with a real project using the PIC device and the local FAE stopped by on a number of ocassions to help troubleshoot both the HW/SW issues I couldn't overcome on my own. What better way to learn than with the guys who work with it every day.

Well Done!!

Paul

Other Technical Authors should take a page out of this book!.......2007-04-14

Lucio has taken what is often presented in a very complex way, and made it understandable. Each chapter ( lesson ) builds on teh previous, and by the end of the book, I was left with a much better understanding of 16bit micros, and I feel much more confident to attack some projects.

If you are going to get into 16bit PIC's, this is a must have book. I look forward to its sequel.

Advertising by Design: Creating Visual Communications with Graphic Impact

Average customer rating:

Great starter for aspiring art directors.
So helpful!
Great info on designing ads

Advertising by Design: Creating Visual Communications with Graphic Impact
Robin Landa
Manufacturer: Wiley
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Creative Advertising: Ideas and Techniques from the World's Best Campaigns
Designing Brand Identity: A Complete Guide to Creating, Building, and Maintaining Strong Brands

ASIN: 0471428973

Book Description

A complete guide to the process behind effective advertising design
Advertising by Design is a brilliantly accessible approach to the creative process behind effective, memorable advertising. This full-color text provides a highly illustrative, behind-the-scenes look at developing successful ads for a variety of media-including print, television, online, and guerrilla advertisements-empowering students to find creative solutions.
Advertising by Design encourages students to push past the obvious design choices to find the big idea! Dozens of celebrated ad campaigns demonstrate such concepts as the visual and verbal relationship, visual metaphors, creating unified campaigns, and many others. Fully supplemented with interviews from esteemed creative directors and chapters on developing imaginative ideas, copywriting, and advertising history, Advertising by Design is a perfect text for beginning and intermediate advertising design courses and core courses in all visual communications programs that incorporate advertising concepts and design strategies.

Customer Reviews:

Great starter for aspiring art directors........2007-06-10

I'm an advertising professor, and I've used Landa's "Advertising by Design" for three different classes when teaching an Introduction to Advertising Design course.

The book is clearly written, organized well and rich in contemporary examples. Landa does a good job of discussing the problem-solving aspects of the art director's daily grind. And she very quickly establishes that there is a significant difference between graphic design and advertising design.

In her next edition, I'd like to see a section dedicated to ideation, perhaps talking about SCAMPER, non-linear brainstorming and other tools to help the student develop a good conceptual foundation. But, overall, I would recommend this book without reservation.

So helpful!.......2006-03-20

Finally a book about advertising that helps the reader understand how to develop relevant concepts as well as design! There are so many great examples of concept categories and so much excellent info on how-to create a cohesive campaign. The info on guerilla advertising and TV is very helpful.

Great info on designing ads.......2004-06-04

Fantastic guide for idea generation, designing unified ad campaigns and creative approaches. Very valuable information and great examples of award-winning ads and ad campaigns. Really interesting info about ad history that I didn't learn in college!

3ds Max 6 Animation and Visual Effects Techniques (Graphics Series) (Graphics Series)

Average customer rating:

Find Something - ANYTHING - else to study from!
Very good overview
Poor Animation Quality
Worst looking renders I've seen in a published tome
Terrible Book

3ds Max 6 Animation and Visual Effects Techniques (Graphics Series) (Graphics Series)
Sanford Kennedy
Manufacturer: Charles River Media
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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3ds max 6 Bible

ASIN: 1584503343

Book Description

3ds max? 6 Animation and Visual Effects Techniques is a completely updated version of this best-selling book. It covers 3ds max 6 and provides an organized and thorough process for integrating all of the features of max to create, animate, render, and finish an animation project. Beginning with a review of the essentials, users learn about all of the key features used in animation and visual effects, including the fundamentals of animated filmmaking, and then work through detailed tutorials covering modeling of buildings, environments, humans, and aliens. Once they have created the models, the animation techniques are explored, including character setup with bones, lip sync, facial expression, and walk cycles. From there the process moves to scene animation, visual effects, materials and textures, event-based particles, and lighting and rendering. The book ends with detailed chapters on character studio® 4, combustion® 3.0, reactor® 2, Mental Ray® 3.2, and the Shag Hair and Dynamic Effects plug-ins. Anyone interested in learning an efficient and practical process for creating animated environments and films will find what they need here.

Customer Reviews:

Find Something - ANYTHING - else to study from!.......2007-09-24

This book leads me to believe that: a)I will NEVER be able to animate ANYTHING with a bone structure; b)I will NEVER understand the skin modifier; c)I must be a complete dolt.

I know for a fact that I am not a dolt, having worked in the animation industry for some time now, and being an intermediate 3ds Max user. A lot can be said for Max, pro's and con's, but possibly the hardest thing (for me) is animating the human body. We spent about 10 minutes in college learning this, and all the notes I have and Max Bibles and everything else do NOT teach (in layman's terms) HOW TO ANIMATE A HUMAN BODY.

This book was intended as a resource to learn how to animate a completed human model; I am not interested in learning the dreaded techniques of modeling a human just now, as this expansive learning curve is too detailed and time-consuming for me at the moment. Rather I was hoping to modify an existing model (free domain, of course!) and learn to animate it.

The models on the cd which accompanies the book are okay; they're not top of the line, and quite frankly, the nipples on the female body are a bit over the top (its really cold in virtual reality!!), but they are workable. The bone structure is fine. The textures are horrible, and the animation itself is cheeeeeeeesy, but for a learning tool its not that bad. Beware any positive sentiment you may have derived from that last comment, as the book and tutorial in general is horrible.

I have tried and tried and tried to skin this model over and over and over again, only to find the exasperating and frustrating errors of 'envelopes' associated with the model which, I assume, the author purposely created for 'teaching' the correct way to utilize the skin modifier. However, the instructions for troubleshooting this UNFATHOMABLY FRUSTRATING problem leave far too much to be desired; in essence, the instructions do not explain enough. My model is naked, and the skin on his hands is like a rubberband being stretched to its fullest capability. And no matter how many times I try to figure out how to fix this, I am left without a working answer. The book does not cover the troubleshooting of this error more than a line or two aimed for the expressly expert 3d Max user.

For instance, "....this indicates that the skin envelope needs to be adjusted.... Select one of the envelope adjustment handles..." ENVELOPE ADJUSTMENT HANDLES?! WTF ARE THOSE? IS ANYTHING LABLED 'ENVELOPE ADJUSTMENT HANDLE?' NO!! The book continues, "...move it to enlarge it..." MOVE IT? WHERE? HOW? THE ENVELOPE IS UNEFFECTED BY MY ATTEMPTS TO 'MOVE IT.' "... Part of the skin that is sticking up should move down to the hand. Repeat this process for both ends of the skin envelope...." !!!!!!!There are TWO parts of the skin envelope? WHAT?! WHERE?!!

This is what I mean - no explanation. Nothing is labled properly. When I attempted to assign all the bones in the skin modifier, I noticed over HALF of the bones ARE NOT LABLED AS BONES! WTF?!

Believe the criticisms already posted: this book is horrible, it will leave you feeling uninspired to animate humans and frustrated, and is a real waste of time and money.

Very good overview.......2006-08-14

Contrary to some of the other reviews I think this is a great book; it's one of the only books I've found that gives a "complete" overview of the film-making process with 3ds Max. While the content may not be in it's final stage; I think the major problem most would have with it is the fact that it claims to be professional work instead of merely educational examples like most books. I've always found its better to learn with "real" examples, so while I don't know how good the film would do they are excellent learning tools.

Poor Animation Quality.......2005-12-28

Kennedy's book teaches some basics but the quality of his results leaves alot to be desired. It makes you wonder why he would slam the incredible 3D done in Final Fantasy when he isn't even in the same league and probably never will be. The illustrations and textual layout are not as clear as they should be. If you want to learn the basics, you can get something from this book. However, a good book shows you how to get good results. The results he achieves in this book are subpar.

Many other books do far better.

Not recommended.

Worst looking renders I've seen in a published tome.......2005-01-30

I'm stunned that the author claims to have success in this industry given the absolutely horrible work he passes off as being professional in quality. I'm very serious that I have not seen such poor quality in ANY other book. I teach 3D and have seen much better work from novice students. My only conclusion is that the author completely lacks the capacity to be self-critical of his own work given that he obviously believes his film-in-progress merits serious consideration. Do not be misled into thinking that any of the work shown in this book would be acceptable commercially.

Terrible Book.......2004-11-19

This book misses a lot of what it teaches by not including much of what you see in the book (models, etc....), I agree with most of the other reviews here, I have this book that is why I do not recommend it, better get the book by Barrett Fox on 3DSMax6 on how to complete an animation project. That is a great book.

Black Art of Visual Basic Game Programming

Average customer rating:

awsome
Extremely basic primer for new Visual Basic programmers
Excellent book (mainly for VB4.0)
Buy It for yourself and for a beginning Friend!
Awsome!

Black Art of Visual Basic Game Programming
Mark Pruett
Manufacturer: Waite Group Pr
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Windows Game Programming with Visual Basic and DirectX (With CD-ROM)
Build Your Own PC Game in Seven Easy Steps: Using Visual Basic
Visual Basic Game Programming with DirectX (The Premier Press Game Development Series)
Sams Teach Yourself Game Programming with Visual Basic in 21 Days (Teach Yourself Days)
Visual Basic Game Programming For Teens

ASIN: 1571690050

Customer Reviews:

awsome.......1999-06-11

i have not yet read the book but from what i have heard it sounds like it is just what i need to make my first vb project

Extremely basic primer for new Visual Basic programmers.......1999-02-04

I would recommend this book as an excellent introduction to Visual Basic. It covers a lot of fun subjects, including sprites, backgrounds, animation, sound effects, scrolling. But it is not at all advanced enough for seasoned programmers. Newcomers to Visual Basic might appreciate its coverage of a few basic Windows API functions, but there are really no general-purpose wrapper functions that are suitable for building a game library. Indeed, the book covered each subject separately, when it would have been more useful to build upon previous subjects. As a result, I was disappointed to find at the end of the book there was no "game programming library" like I expected. I really wanted a function to generate the "mask" images for animating sprites, instead of having to draw the masks manually. The book discussed this, but I could not find a good working example that I could use. However, building the library in VB from all of the examples on the CD (the book covered 16-bit VB3) I was able to paste together a shoddy game library. All in all, great intro to VB...poor coverage of game programming.

Excellent book (mainly for VB4.0).......1998-12-06

When I first got this book, the latest edition of VB was 4.0. This book was anything and everything you could possibly need. Without this book, I would never know VB like I do today!! If you are planning on buying this book now and you are using a 32-Bit version of Windows, then you will need to change some of the lines of the API code, but otherwise this is an excellent book!!

Buy It for yourself and for a beginning Friend!.......1998-12-05

Well, this is just about as good as they come. It gives code AND examples. One word describes this book: Perfect

Awsome!.......1998-12-05

This book is essential for any beginner to slightly advanced programmer! Everything about it was good. Don't Listen to others who say the code doesn't work, Yeah AFTER you add some gibberish to it it won't but everything works and the book is GREAT

Design Graphics: Drawing Techniques for Design Professionals (2nd Edition)

Average customer rating:

Design Graphics is a must-have

Design Graphics: Drawing Techniques for Design Professionals (2nd Edition)
Peter A. Koenig
Manufacturer: Prentice Hall
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Similar Items:

Sketching and Rendering of Interior Spaces
Interior Design Visual Presentation: A Guide to Graphics, Models & Presentation Techniques, Second Edition
Drawing and Designing with Confidence: A Step-by-Step Guide
Digital Drawing for Designers: A Visual Guide to AutoCAD
Space Planning Basics

ASIN: 0131137018

Book Description

This unique book emphasizes hand-drawing as a design skill, demonstrating this drawing as a mental as well as a physical exercise. Utilizing this book will enable the practitioner to make design decision on paper faster and easier, and will let them know how visual communication with clients can provide better, more economical design solutions. Practical, straightforward, and reader-friendly, this book covers such topics as sketching line, light, texture, and materials; design drawing, including the 5-step bubble flow and conceptual doodles/diagrams; and perspective and rendering techniques, including 1pt. and 2pt. âeyeball’ methods, âoverlay method,’ and entourage. An excellent refresher for professional designers and architects, as well as a primer for those employed in any related field.

Customer Reviews:

Design Graphics is a must-have.......2007-01-07

I had Peter Koenig as an instructor at Florida State University where he taught these terrific tools of the trade. I didn't realize how valuable they would be until I, myself, became a designer in the field. I will be teaching an Interior Design course on sketching this term and will be using the knowledge from this textbook to help my own students to perfect their ability to communicate their ideas to their clients. I have the first edition but would like to see the sencond as well. Thanks Professor Koenig!

The Non-Designer's Design Book: Design and Typographic Principles for the Visual Novice

Average customer rating:

Design demystified
Worth the time to read!
Opens a new world
Very informative.
Outstanding Resource

The Non-Designer's Design Book: Design and Typographic Principles for the Visual Novice
Robin Williams
Manufacturer: Pearson Education
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Robin Williams Design Workshop, 2nd Edition
The The Non-Designer's Type Book, 2nd Edition
The Non-Designer's Web Book, 3rd Edition
The Elements of Graphic Design: Space, Unity, Page Architecture, and Type
Don't Make Me Think: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability, 2nd Edition

ASIN: 1566091594

Book Description

So you have a great concept and all the fancy digital tools you could possibly require—what's stopping you from creating beautiful pages? Namely the training to pull all of these elements together into a cohesive design that effectively communicates your message. Not to worry: This book is the one place you can turn to find quick, non-intimidating, excellent design help.

In The Non-Designer's Design Book, 2nd Edition, best-selling author Robin Williams turns her attention to the basic principles of good design and typography. All you have to do is follow her clearly explained concepts, and you'll begin producing more sophisticated, professional, and interesting pages immediately. Humor-infused, jargon-free prose interspersed with design exercises, quizzes, illustrations, and dozens of examples make learning a snap—which is just what audiences have come to expect from this best-selling author.

Customer Reviews:

Design demystified.......2007-09-16

Writers who want to improve the look of whatever they write will find some excellent information here. This book will also suit anyone who wants to understand the basics of graphic design. Williams' engaging writing style makes this both an entertaining and useful read. Make sure you do the exercises and quizzes - they're fun and extremely helpful.

Worth the time to read!.......2007-07-17

This book is a quick and nice read. It really helps me have a better concept of the main ideas of graphic design. It is definitely a good investment to take the time to read it. Whether you are a beginning web-designer, or are involved in other types of graphic design, this book will certainly save you a lot of headaches in the future.

Opens a new world .......2007-07-16

I love this book! I've spent quite some time working on a new business card for myself using Williams' clear and basic instructions, and the process has been exciting and fun. I now have a business card that says much more about me and is light-years away from the standard format available at the do-it-yourself places.

If you can tell that your brochure/card/letterhead/flyer/poster looks terrible but have no idea why, do yourself a favor and buy this book.

Very informative........2007-06-25

My professor actually made us buy this book for our Intro. to Desktop Publishing course. I really like it. It has great design info for graphic designers and non-designers alike and has some humour thrown in there as well. I would highly recommend it.

Outstanding Resource.......2007-06-21

Robin Williams is great at creating books that are fantastic at helping jumpstart the creative processes. Beyond the helpful information found in the text, the samples of the work are inspiring. Whenever I have to come up with new ideas for logos etc. I thumb through Robin's books.

I also recommend them to clients to give them a better understanding of what makes for effective graphics and layout design.Equinomics: The Secrets to Making Money with Your Horse Business

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