Blender is a free and open source 3D creation suite that is a real alternative to commercially available 3D design software. A cross-platform software package with millions of downloads annually, Blender is now one of the world's most popular 3D design tools. Although Blender is free, it's intended for design professionals and others motivated to become 3D artists. The Essential Blender will provide you with the knowledge you need to help integrate Blender into your work and begin to master its powerful creation tools. If you've never tried 3D design before, an introductory chapter will familiarize you with relevant terminology and concepts. If you're already experienced with commercial 3D software, The Essential Blender will get you up to speed with Blender quickly. After a tour of Blender's 3D modeling, animation, and rendering capabilities, you'll learn how best to use Blender for these tasks:
Object manipulation and animation
Mesh and sculpt modeling and shape animation
Materials and texturing (including UV unwrapping)
Lighting and rendering
Particle animation
Character rigging and animation
Node-based composition The book is modular in its approach, with each topic addressed independently and accompanied by hands-on tutorial sections. The combined expertise of key members of the Blender community, coupled with the experience of editor Roland Hess, bring you The Essential Blender--the definitive guide to Blender. You'll find a wealth of 3D design information inside that will help you to unlock your artistic potential and get the most out of Blender. Includes a complete version of Blender 2.44 on the CD-ROM. Covers Windows, Mac OS X, Linux (x86 and PowerPC), Solaris, FreeBSD, and IRIX. Produced by The Blender Foundation. Printed and distributed By No Starch Press.
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 4.0 / 5.0
A great beginer book:
I started this book not knowing a thing about blender having just downloaded the application. Today i have animations of atoms with orbiting electrons, gingerbread men waling around the screen and some very nice still art work. A great book that walks you through the different parts and explains why and not just how. The book comes with the blender application and many samples to work with. It is a great book.
Excellent Read- Recommended:
I bought this for my brother who has read many of the Blender guides, This one he said was the best. Great for someone new to blender, but also for someone who is familar with Blender to get a few new ideas.
Get this book.:
For several years, I've been trying to learn 3D animation, but the books I read were hard to follow. So I gave up. When I found Blender's software, I decided to give it one more try. In reading reviews for books, I usually give more weight to the 1 and 2 star ratings, so I almost passed on this book. That would have been a huge mistake. This book is extremely well written, and I'm well on my way to finally learning this stuff. The biggest problem some reviewers had was the poor graphics. Do not let that... more info
Great Book, Easy to Learn:
I've only started with the book, but so far everything is incredibly easy
I recommend this book highly. I was a little put off by the problems with the pictures, but the pictures aren't that bad. So to anyone who learns or wants to learn blender this is the book. The other problem with having to read various writing styles is non existant IMHO. Also the problem with, chapters that keep backtracking. It only includes a paragraph about the last chapter you just read, and it makes refrences to it. Thats... more info
