Hello All,

I've just found two books that come highly recommended. Digital Texturing & Painting, by Owen Demers, and Digital Lighting & Rendering, by Jeremy Birn. From the reviews on Amazon they both look like they will be very useful. I'm just wondering if anyone here has read them and what they thought of them, or if anyone has any other books they'd recommend for newbies.

"Digital Lighting & Rendering" was reffered in this forum I think about several thousand times. This is truely a GREAT resource, if you want to learn lighting.

Probably by me :) I always recommend it and the website that comes with it. Go for it, it is a classic.

Thanks for the opinions. I ordered both.

DIGITAL FANTASY PAINTING A step-by-step guide to creating visionary art on your computer By Michael Burns $24.95 Watson Guptill Publishions ISBN-0-8230-1574-2 Shows techniques with Poser, ZBrush, Bryce, Vue d Esprit, Lightwave 3D, Cinema4, 3ds Max, Maya, and plug-ins & Filters. deconstructed examples of specially created pieces that reveal insights into how the experts go about constructing their art. Each example features step-by-step illustrations. A fantastic book, I highly reccomend it.

I highly recommend "Digital Texturing & Painting, by Owen Demers, and Digital Lighting & Rendering, by Jeremy Birn." They will change the way you look at objects in real life and in 3d space and make you look at textures and lighting in a totally different way. If you enjoy 3d modelling and want to take it 1 step further just get these 2 books you won't regret it.

Digital Lighting and Rendering is by far the best book availble on Lighting for 3D applications. That is the only lighting book you will need for any 3D program, and the principles apply everwhere. The texturing book is really good too. I was actually a little let down by the Digital Fantasy Painting book. It is not nearly as 'step by step' as I would have hoped. It's a good book, but I found it to be less technical and more art gallery. Also, some of the work in there wasn't anything to really study. A book along the same lines that I found far more valuable to me was "The Encyclopedia of Fantasy and Science Fiction Art Techniques" by John Grant and Ron Tiner. While being a much older text, it deals directly with real artistic principles such as Juxtaposition, distoration of form, body language, false perspective, etc. There are a few pages on each with many examples. All in all, a great set of tools for visual storytellers. You can pick up a used copy for about 5 bucks on Amazon. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1561385344/qid=1063817815/sr=1-3/ref=sr_1_3/002-2232774-0232061?v=glance&s=books

Hi Quoll I have "The Encyclopedia of Fantasy and Science Fiction Art Techniques" , and I agree it is an excellent book, and it contains very useful information, but only about 5% or less deals with computer techniques. As a more general reference, I too recommend it. "Digital Fantasy painting" stresses the "digital", using Vue, photoshop, etc (also recommended). There are a number of excellent books out now for Digital Art Techniques. All different approachs, so you can pick and choose the approach/subject you like. Everybody looks at things a different way. :O)

information, but only about 5% or less deals with computer techniques. >As a more general reference, I too recommend it. ; ) Ah, but therein lies the crux! "Digital" art is still 'art" and uses the same visual techniques. As you surely well know, learning photoshop is not learning to paint, or to draw, or accurately represent emotions, volumes, time, stories, etc. "Digital Techniqes" are to art what a brush or canvas is to art.

Quoll-True,( I agree with you ) but grunther and others recomended DIGITAL Texturing and Painting, and "DIGITAL Lighting and Rendering, (and they are great texts). In keeping with their lead/theme, I followed suit with recommending "DIGITAL Fantasy Painting, because it involved Vue, (this forum), and other related "DIGITAL", applications. :O) grunther, sorry for the interruption, I'll be quiet. :O(

Sure, sorry to get you all wet Phily. It's obviously important to you to be right, so I'm going away. Enjoy yourself.

I am sorry if I offended anyone.