All the advances and capabilities found in Mac OS 8.5+ and the G3 and iMAC are covered in this updated and rewritten third edition of "The Macintosh 3D Handbook". The book provides complete coverage on how to utilize Macintosh software and hardware for creating professional, commercial quality graphics and animations. Many new chapters and techniques are covered including colour, character animation, and web output and formats. Beginners are shown all the techniques and tools needed to get started in the field of 3D design, and advanced, professional users should find relevant ideas and solutions to enhance their work. The text should prove an in-depth resource for 3D design on the Macintosh platform. Coverage spans from basics on what hardware and software to use, to lighting, special effects animation, rendering, modelling, and post-production, a new chapter on Colour Theory, and coverage of many more advanced techniques such as Radiosity, Illumination, and more. There is also coverage of Web output resolution and file formats for the Web including GIF, JPEG, and Animated GIF. The CD-ROM includes project files, demos, and all the files necessary to use the tutorials in the book.
The Mac 3D Handbook contains a valuable set of tutorials for anyone trying to master the 3-D graphics and animation learning curve, whether you're using a Mac or not.
Opening with an overview of how animation and 3-D graphics work, this handbook has lots of fundamental information--not just on the field itself but also on outfitting a computer with the right software and hardware, the beginning stages of the production process from script to storyboard to early modelling, and on through final rendering.
The chapters on materials and texture mapping are noteworthy. Author Craig Lyn builds a spacecraft from scratch, demonstrating the many different layers of textures that must be applied before it starts to look realistic. Rendering the images in Electric Image doesn't hurt either.
Electric Image is used for most of the tutorials and demos, but the information from these--if not the project files or models--can be applied to any 3-D application. The same holds true for the models, which on the CD-ROM are available in DXF, 3DMF, and FormZ formats.
The field of 3-D graphics and animation isn't biased by platform, so it's not clear why this book focuses on the Mac. The information in it will be useful to anyone starting out in the field, and even experienced users will pick up a few tips.
As in any technology-based industry, in the 3-D world the tools change rapidly, so some of the information on hardware and software is a little outdated. For example, there is no reference to Apple's G4 Mac, but there is a copy of Ray Dream designer--which hasn't been produced for years--on the CD-ROM. The information on modelling, mapping, animating, texturing, and so on is all very useful. With some minor translation, you can apply it to any platform. --Mike Caputo, amazon.com
