5 comments about Flash CS3: The Missing Manual.

1. Let's face it - no single book is going to tell you everything you might ever need to know about Flash but I'd say this is pretty much a perfect first book for anybody trying to get to grips with this software package.
   
   It's written in a very clear, accessible style - not at all the dry-as-dust style that blights so many of these technical books - but it's surprisingly comprehensive.
   
   I only started using Flash within the last month but this book got me off to a flying start.
   
   If you want to get into the inner workings of ActionScript 3.0 then you'll need a separate book for that. For everything else, this is the place to start.
   
   Highly recommended.



2. Generally you can count on "The Missing Manual" to provide what you need to learn a software package quickly. In this case, however, I didn't get anything I needed, and a lot I didn't need.
   
   I already own FlashCS3 Professional Advanced, the Visual Quickpro Guide, and am very happy with it. As a reference book, it's well-organized and thorough, aimed as much at the Interactive Designer as the Animator. But what it lacks are tutorials that can get me up to speed quickly on new features and shifting paradigms, in an application that has changed radically since moving from Macromedia to Adobe.
   
   Having been very happy with the great tutorials in the Dreamweaver CS3 Missing Manual, I went ahead and purchased the Flash volume.
   
   I should have looked more closely before I bought, instead of relying on my experience of The Missing Manual series. There is not a single tutorial in this book! It is far less thorough and sophisticated than the Dreamweaver volume, with most of the pages being devoted to very basic step-by-steps, mostly on drawing and animating tools. Less than 100 pages on adding interactivity, and not even a single chapter devoted to learning and using Action Script. Finally, there are 60-some pages on testing, debugging and publishing, which might be of limited value to me.
   
   If you're looking for a book that will quickly get you up to pro speed on a pro application, I'd say that -- unlike the Dreamweaver CS3 Missing Manual -- this ain't it.



3. The biggest upgrade in CS3 is the incorporation of Actionscript 3. It is beyond me why this book focus so heavily on Actionscript 2.
   
   This is a good guide for beginning to learn Flash, but beginners should also learn to use the latest most flexible tools available. There's basic material on the timeline, drawing, creating symbols etc. These are all things Flash developers need to know.
   
   There's not a lot of advanced stuff here. A tiny bit on video and audio and nothing on using XML with flash. Again, a good beginner's book as long as that beginner isn't going to be doing too much Actionscript programming.



4. This book is geared towards those who have never used Flash. If you are familiar with any other version of Flash, this manual will just tell you what you already know. This manual doesn't go into AS3 or anything complicated. As a 5-year Flash veteran. this manual wasn't really what I needed, but great for an intro-level designer!!!



5. I bought this book because I liked Dreamweaver CS3 the Missing Manual and thought this would be similar in terms of the way the topic was thoughtfully covered.
   
   The first section on learning the application with regards to drawing and animation were fine. Organizing the storyboard, utilizing the various tools etc. were good and I was able to essentially create what I needed.
   
   Now comes the real problem with this book. CS3 incorporates actionscript 3 as well as 1 and 2. Actionscript 1.0 and 2.0 are going to be around for awhile but as the world turns and so do they days of our lives - actionscript 3.0 is going to gain traction since there are things you can't do in the earlier versions and 3 is going to be more compatible with newer apps like Flex. We'll be moving toward version 3 more and more.
   Chapter 9 deals with interactivity and scripting. Unfortunately they don't remind you that you should have openned your document as a actionscript 1.0-2.0 document and all of the scripting that's being done after chapter 9 is in 2.0 only.
   The very beginning of the book does have you open a new doc as actionscript 2, but they don't mention that they'll be scripting ONLY in that version later on. If you skip around, you'll miss that point entirely and waste a lot of time following directions that won't function.
   
   If you're going to use Flash CS3 and take advantage of all of its features, you'll have to script in 3.0 anyways. At least it makes more sense to head in that direction. This book seems to have had a good start, but almost seemed rushed to complete based on the authors choice to omit the basics of actionscript 3.
   
   A better book is "Flash CS3 Professional Visual Quickstart Guide". All scripting is done in Actionscript 3.0 and they tell you so much as I mentioned that, that version is going to become standard and 1 and 2 will eventually be out.
   
   If you need more information on actionscript you'll need another book. If you want to create buttons in Flash you'll have to use actionscript so you'll need another book which there are a lot of.
   
   The best one that bridges the gap for a beginner is "Learning Actionscript 3.0" Blue cover - Shupe, Rosser.
   Great book and I use it exclusively along with the Visual Quickstart Flash CS3 book to clear the confussion.

5 comments about Beginning XNA 2.0 Game Programming: From Novice to Professional (Expert's Voice in Game Programming).

1. well,this book is not for just anyone, i guess it will only help those that are half way there. i was lost in the first step. coz all they want you to do is copy the codes and run then and then make you think that you did it.i recomend this book for anyone who alread knows what they are doing.



2. First off, I will say that of the 4 XNA books I own, this one is easily of the best quality. It covers a substantial amount of material but manages to maintain only a small code-base, which is excellent for learning purposes and maintenance.
   
   If you are looking to not only understand 2D and 3D games, but also Live integration, networking, scene management, audio processing and overall project management, it's in here. Really. Some of it is slipped in so subtly that you won't notice you learned it until after the fact. Kudos to the authors.
   
   If you don't know C#, I would highly recommend you go learn a bit about it (particularly in ASP .NET 2.0 or higher, due to the use of generics.) If you don't know the language this uses, you will indeed be lost. Otherwise this is an excellent introduction to the topic, and building your own network-enabled 2D game or your own 3rd-person, Gears of War-style shooter is quite empowering.
   
   Face it, game development is a difficult task that encompasses many areas of required expertise. You can't get a book to help you much more than this one does.



3. You should understand C# code before diving into this book. I tried online tutorials and nothing comes close to just reading and using this book! Although there were a few places where I had to use an online resource to figure out exactly what the author was talking about, it still supasses any other online XNA intro.



4. This is a great book to help you get started with XNA. I like the fact that it's straight and to the point with no fluff. Covers 2D and 3D game programming including skeletal animation. All sample code compiles and runs as advertised and is explained in detail. I had a bad experience with another XNA book so I'm glad I found this one.



5. This book doesn't beat around the bush, which can be a good thing for an already experienced developer. However if you aren't experienced it could easily leave you lost. If you are a "novice" like the book claims to cater too you'll probably never get to them without further reading from other materials.
   
   The QC for this book was very poorly done. There are tons of errors in the spelling and in the code. They completely forgot to explain certain things and then expect you to have figured them out on your own later.
   
   The book covers a decent amount of useful information, but it seems like they just pushed it out a bit too soon. If they had gone through the tutorials and tried them out and made sure all the steps were covered, it would have been a lot nicer to learn with. Instead the tutorials left me lost most of the time. I spent hours trying to figure out what steps they forgot to include.
   
   I think this book could be quite a useful tool if you are already well versed in the .net C# environment. However I would recommend a different approach if you have little C# experience.

3 comments about Learning Autodesk Maya 2008, (Official Autodesk Training Guide, includes DVD): The Modeling & Animation Handbook.

1. it is a great reference book!! I'm a student at animation major.. this is helping me all the time.. Also you can use this book for learning the software by yourself.. it is explaning and then give you assignments so you can understand the lesson well..
   
   good luck!!



2. This is the ideal guide for those who want to perfectionate his or her modelling skills. Extremelly usefull step by step tutorials. Highly recommened. Another score for Autodesk!



3. This is a really cool learning guide. It is geared a little more towards people who have a basic understanding of the Maya universe. If you have never used maya at all, it may be a little confusing. I suggest playing with the interface and going through the "Getting Started" lessons included with the Maya software before getting into this book.. The dvd contains support files for the lessons in the book. It would have been nice if it had some video reference. The pictures in the book aren't the best guides, so unless you understand the text, you may find yourself using more creative freedom to complete the models than actual tutoring. Still, it is a great reference and gives you all you need to create some complete models to practice building and animating. Hope this helps.

5 comments about LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT-G Programming Guide (Technology in Action).

1. The book consists of 26 chapters plus 1 appendix.
   
   The first 2 chapters cover the questions of "What is a robot" and "What is a program" and introduce the topic of pseudo code. There are many different methods when it comes to pseudo code, but this method will hopefully help teachers, parents, and students to understand how to take an idea for a program and turn it into actual NXT-G block code.
   
   All 36 blocks are covered (the book is useful for both the retail version software and the educational version), and each block has its own chapter with the exception of a couple of blocks that share a chapter (such as the Random block and Number-To-Text block that share chapter 14).
   
   There is a chapter dedicated to the concept of data plugs and wires (Chapter 7). This can be one of the more confusing elements of NXT-G, so this chapter uses a simplified method of showing how data types (number, text, logic) are passed between blocks.
   
   Another chapter provides a walkthrough on creating a My Block. My Blocks are powerful methods for simplifying NXT-G programs, and this chapter shows how the ability to re-use My Blocks can be helpful.
   
   Finally, the appendix covers some basic math such as converting back and forth between degrees and rotations. It also explains the LCD screen's resolution and how the X/Y coordinates work.
   
   Teachers, parents, coaches, and kids should find this book useful. It's written in a very friendly and easy-to-read style and provides plenty of sample programs in each chapter to demonstrate how to use the blocks. Also, coverage of each block's configuration panel is also provided. Overall, the book can be used as an additional source of information on the NXT-G programming language to supplement the Help files included with the software.



2. There's no other book out there that covers the NXT-G programming language. Jim Kelly covers the subject thoroughly, in a clear, friendly and encouraging style.
   
   The book not only covers NXT-G, it's also a primer on what programming is and how it works. With this book, teachers, students and beginners will have everything they need to understand how NXT-G works and how to use it. Advanced users will learn a thing or two as well, particularly with respect to some of the lesser known blocks within the NXT-G program.



3. When it comes to wanting to do Lego Mindstorm NXT-G, this is the first book you should get. The book shows the reader what different blocks are and how they work. The book also reads in terms that middle school students can understand and follow. Programming is the most difficult item that you have to do with a roboit. This book shows is a great resource for people that are in to lego roboits.



4. We bought this book for our nine year old son who had recently received the Mindstorms NXT for Christmas. He could not put the book down - read it from cover to cover and thinks it is a great book. Highly recommend.



5. This book covers a lot of ground on NXT-G programming and is a must have resource for anyone serious about programming in NXT-G as the on line help included with the NXT set is not adequate.
   As a professional programmer and a robotics hobbyist, I would recommend that anyone wanting to bring out the full potential of their NXT creations move to a text based language like Robot-C instead. While NXT-G is good for simple programs, it is just to difficult to create anything of any complexity as the graphical elements and all those connecting lines distract you from what you are trying to accomplish.
   I am giving this book 5 stars because it does well at what it is, a reference / guide to the NXT-G programming language. It is NXT-G itself that I would only give 2 stars.

No comments about Microsoft Office Visio 2007 Step by Step (Step By Step (Microsoft)).

5 comments about Introducing ZBrush.

1. This book really helped to open me up to all that ZBrush has to offer. Iv'e been working in motion graphics, and now gaming for the last few years, and really only came into contact with ZBrush as a sort of
   appendage to Maya. Not really realizing how much it stood on it's own two feet. I really didn't bother to learn much past what it could do for my Maya models, so I'm really glad I picked up this book. Because I only knew a very narrow vision of Zbrush, it was interesting and informative right from the get go. The first tutorial alone touching on aspects I hadn't ever dealt with. I must asume it would be great for beginners as well, as the tutorial are very detailed, and progressively build on each other. Anyhow, it's a great investment for someone who wants to learn ZBrush, and has never used it. Or for someone who uses it as a "plug in", but has never really gotten to know it. It's also worth the price just to get your hands on the great harryhausen Medusa head that's on the DVD. Oh, that's another thing, the DVD is more then a bunch of Zbrush scenes saved at various stages. There are movie files that actually show the sculpting process, macros that play back within ZBrush, as well as a trial version of Zbrush.



2. I've been wanting to get into Zbrush for a very long time. I even downloaded the trial version and surfed the web for tutorials. However, the lack of results were frustrating. Not only this book has helped me with the learning curve but also opened my eyes to zbrush REAL potential... it's very exciting. Now I can enjoy this wonderful piece of software.



3. This is a solid book for anyone using Zbrush. I'm an intermediate user mainly bringing in models from another program and exporting them back out. I've rarely had a chance to play with the 2.5D or a lot of Zbrush's little nuances. Eric has written a book that gets down to the basics is and simple to understand. It's setup in a linear fashion but is still very easy to look up what you are having trouble with and get right to the info you want. I've found that it's a much better source than looking for help or using the Zbrush help. This book is essential for beginners. Straight forward, easy to read and well worth the money no matter what skill level you are with Zbrush, Introducing Zbrush is a worthy choice.



4. First of all this book is so boringly non-visual. Black and White except for the small insert in the middle. The projects need a better step-by-step approach. I found myself having to reread the wordy steps most of the time to find the "key" word I was missing to complete a step. It didn't help that the first tutorial was so incredible boaring and goes on for 139 pages. By the time it was over I lost most interest in continuing. Shorter projects to the point please. YAWN...wake me when this is over. It was nice to have something written down for a change but that was its only benefit for me. I am looking for a book to tell me where things area and what they do period. A Zbrush manual needs to happen.



5. This book is a great reference book even for someone that is familiar to Z brush. There are so many features in the program that his book goes into detail describing. The step by step tutorials will help you get started with Z brush. It also touches on the 2D capabilities of the program, something that is often over looked.

5 comments about Sams Teach Yourself Adobe Flash CS3 Professional in 24 Hours (Sams Teach Yourself).

1. I e-mailed Phillip Kerman after reading his Sam's Flash 8 Professional book, and he wrote back and answered me right away. Afterwards, I went away from Flash to study Maya, and did not read Flash books anymore. After abandoning Maya (Did I say what a sucky business the movie business is? Not to mention the cost of keeping up with the hardware and software requirements as a lowly student before you even get to your first paying job - better have a rich uncle!), I am back at it with a vengeance, this time with a new version of Flash and ActionScript to learn, and with Phillip Kerman's Flash CS3 book planted firmly by my side.
   
   
   It would be great if all computer books were situational. For example, "I'm trying to do this and that, here's what I've done so far, and where I'm getting stuck. Now what?" Well, gee, we've anticipated this exact problem, and the answer is printed right there on page 187 - that exact problem you're having! Would that it be so, but as far as I know, they are not currently printing books on psychic paper as of yet.
   
   
   The next best thing? Really good examples of exercises and code that are useful, and not just learning for the sake of learning pedagogery, but something really practical. I mean, it might be nice to know how to capture an integer in ActionScript, return it to a parameter, and then spit it out in a trace statement, but how's that gonna help me show off my skills to a potential employer? Employers aren't impressed with manipulating integers as a rule.
   
   
   After I'd had enough of the online training, and read enough of the other Flash CS3 books, I decided to create my first major Flash project. I had problems making a link from one of my buttons, and also testing my pages on my hard drive before uploading them. Not only does Phillip's book come to the rescue solving these basic problems, but it is also so easy to look up direct solutions using the book's index.
   
   
   Also, his exercises are small, self-contained, easy ones to complete. As I began working on my Flash project and things started not to work, I went back to the approach of just getting one thing at a time right (as he shows in his book), and then to try integrating it into the larger project. It is much easier and less frustrating to get one thing to work properly, than to have to watch an entire Flash movie each time through just to see if last little part you added works or not. And if it doesn't, then what? Chunkify it, my friends, chunkify it! Put it into small chunks and get them to work right away. Worry about integrating them all later, when you know more about what you're doing.
   
   
   Of the other major Flash CS3 books on the market, and there really aren't that many right now (Classroom in a Book, Flash CS3 Professional on Demand, and the two Visual Quickstart Guide titles) I find Phillip Kerman's book the hands-down winner, based purely on his practical approach.
   
   
   Of course, it would be great to have an accomplished Flash teacher sitting there next to you while you work, but Phillip has taken the time to carefully explain how each thing works, and it is obvious that he has tested these exercises to make sure they work before publishing his book, or even sat down newbies (I strongly suspect) at the computer to go through them first to see if a total novice can get it. With other books, you get the feeling the authors are working soley out of their heads, and haven't really taken the time to show their stuff to others first to get the kind of feedback you need to really make your technical writing understandable by the general public.
   
   
   Too many computer books have exercises that don't even work, or have been explained in a way that assumes prior knowledge of the program. Happily, Phillip's book does not suffer from these pitfalls. It's called doing your job as an author. My job as a reader, then, is to say thank you, and support this fine work, and encourage others to check him out.



2. This is a great book for beginnings but it was too easy for me. I am terrible at buying books.
   
   I was looking for a book that could make actionscript comprehensible to designers who have some technical abilities beyond design - especially a book that could explain or deconstruct websites that use scrolling windows, draggable windows transition in one flash section AFTER another sections transitions out, implementing preloaders in the loading process or unloading process, listeners, flare effects(which I love), etc.,
   
   I really wish someone would write a book around a relatively sophisticated website and SLOWLY build up the prerequisite concepts necessary to understand the code behind the website.
   
   All the best,
   G.L.



3. This is a great book, although a couple of the ActionScript codes did not work the way that he wrote them, Flash was able to get me through. It is easy to follow, and an easy study. I am sure that there will be more that I get later to flesh out anything that I can't figure out on my own, but on a whole when you finish this book, you will be very comfortable with Flash CS3.



4. I'm a programmer who was tasked with integrating a flash UI in to our system. Knowing absolutely nothing about flash, I picked this book up based on the reviews here, and I wasn't disappointed. I went from zero to hero, in less than the allotted 24 hours :) Though the author really does start from the basics, the exercises are well though out and the steps were correct (unlike the abysmal tutorials that Flash ships with!) He also goes in to good detail about the theory of what you're doing, which was nice. For example, he has a good treatise on animation, and an excellent description of how the shape tweening mechanics actually work. I definitely recommend this book if you're completely new to flash and need to get up to speed pretty quickly.



5. Starting off with Flash CS3, I watched all the video tutorials available freely from Adobe. These are quite good, but they also tend to assume you already know Flash- either from a previous version or from the help tutorials (which aren't so hot). In most cases, they already have everything set up and ready to go, and you have no idea how they even got to the starting point. Additionally, the coverage of the basic functionality of the stage, objects, and instances is very brief and not too thorough. The biggest problem with these tutorials is that it's very cumbersome to follow along with them without hitting the pause button every 10 seconds, since the folks doing them obviously are experts with the Flash interface and just plow through their examples at breakneck speed.
   
   This Sam's book does a really good job of filling in those important parts, and does it in a step-by-step approach that lets you go at your own pace. It assumes absolutely NO prior knowledge of ActionScript or Flash, so those coming in cold will have no problems. Each chapter (or 'hour') is well-written and can be taken stand-alone if the reader is already familiar with some topics. Each exercise walks you through from the very beginning, and most don't depend on a previous one. The coverage is quite basic- by the end, you'll be able to do such things as import video, make simple interactive movies, do basic scripting and animation, and deploy it to a website. For more advanced things, you'll need other resources (of which there are- quite literally- tons of books available) but after reading this you'll have a very solid foundation to build from. From there you can do simple projects and can decide what (if anything) you would care to learn more about.
   
   In my opinion, the sections on ActionScript are explained quite well, though admittedly I'm a very experienced programmer that had no problems understanding the syntax. Those who have no programming experience might find it a bit tougher; for those that want to learn this and care a great deal about it, there are whole books dedicated just to learning ActionScript (e.g. Learning ActionScript 3.0 by Shupe and Rosser). The only other possible complaint I could foresee about this text is that some of the chapters will take you substantially more than an hour to finish, unless you're either already familiar with Flash or are a really fast reader.

5 comments about Programming WPF.

1. As a software developer I've written tons of production-level code for many companies including Rockwell Automation, Compuware, MS.
   And I found this book to be too shallow for a technical person like me.
   
   [One can save money by simply downloading WPF SDK samples and learning them]
   
   Can one design and implement a better than WPF framework after reading this book? Obviously not!
   
   No wonder, the authors never developed significant portions of any known product/framework!
   
   Also, my e-mail exchange with C. Sells indicates that he himself doesn't really understand WPF in depth.
   (BTW, as a MS employee he has luxury of having access to WPF source code and symbols - he obviously didn't bother to do so)
   
   Just a few examples:
   -- Managed/Unmanaged transition, e.g. the MIL stuff
   -- Lack of understanding the WPF control model
   -- Lack of understanding the WPF text model
   -- Just like in any other *shallow WPF book* [are there deep WPF books out there?] authors make no effort to scrutinize the existing framework (WPF). [Which is definitely far from being clean and nice]
   -- WPF "GDI-free" claims are nonsense since WPF uses User32 and User32 and Gdi32 libs are tightly coupled.



2. The biggest strength of this book is that it focus on using WPF programatically, not just laying out XAML. This is extremely useful if you are writing an application for 3D data visualization or a database driven application. You get to learn to create event handlers, generate meshes... all programmatically. I also believe that this book is great, not just as a learning tool, but as a reference guide. It is the most comprehensive book on the subject and a must for the aspiring WPF developer.
   
   If you just want to focus on XAML, however, I will have to recommend "Windows Presentation Foundation Unleashed" by Adam Nathan.



3. I say to ignore those reviews because they do not refer to this book. This is the second edition published August 28, 2007 with 863 pages. Those reviews are based off of the first edition published nearly two years before (September 12, 2005) and with only 447 pages.
   
   Using Amazon's 'Search inside this book' takes you to the 2005 edition also. That shows only 10 chapters while this edition has 17. Most of the negative comments from the 2 and 3 star reviewers seem to have been resolved.



4. This book is the most in depth resource into WPF i have seen. And not just that, it gets to the good stuff that you'll actually use in your code and not just filler or lists of properties that you can get from intelisense. The examples are extremely useful.
   
   The other benefit of this book is that it doesn't just tell you how to do things, but why. This is incredibly helpful in finding the best solution to your specific problem.
   
   Thanks guys! great book!
   Ralph



5. I bought the first edition of this book called Programming Windows Presentation Foundation (AKA Avalon) at the PDC in 2005 and read it completely on the plane home.
   
   When I heard the second edition was released I didn't think much would have changed, but this is even better than the first edition. It's twice as big and covers all major (and not so major) topics in WPF (inc. an introduction to 3D and Silverlight).
   
   I think this book will proof to be for WPF what Programming Windows, Fifth Edition is for WIN32 programming.

5 comments about Dreamweaver 8: The Missing Manual.

1. This is a very good instruction book for anyone starting out with Dreamweaver. The book is laid out in a very logical manner in seven sections which lead you clearly through the art of creating a web site in Dreamweaver. At nearly a thousand pages it covers a lot of ground but whether you are a novice or have some experience this book will definitely help you create a better web site. For those of you without Dreamweaver or those who want a little more detailed background in web design I recommend [ASIN:0596008422 Creating Web Sites: The Missing Manual]



2. I'll keep this short. Starting as a total novice in Dreamweaver this book has taught me pretty much everything I need to know. When ever I get stuck now I can get the answers that I need. Certainly blows the online help from Adobe out of the water. This is a must have book.



3. For those who find it hard to follow on line help or tutorials, this is the book for you. The Missing Manual series is very instructive and helpful to those who are just beginning and to those who are well on their way to using Dreamweaver. Commands that you may have forgotten are easy to find in this book. I would recommend it.



4. The title says it all. This is an must-have resource when learning Dreamweaver and the authors give you tips, shortcuts, as well as explanations for many of these tips and shortcuts which help you seriously cut through the clutter and get to the point, which is how to get your site up and running! I bought it along with Dreamweaver Hands On Training and I think it a great compliment.



5. I bought this book hoping it would be all that I would need to build my sites with cleanly and yet some complexity. I've found that I'm often at the library borrowing many other Dreamweaver 8 titles and finding them much more helpful. I've found finding specific help in this book a bit difficult, and the chapter progression doesn't really make sense. My main background is design and the arts - but I don't think this book is too technical for me... just counter-intuitive in its structure. I much prefer the Sitepoint books so far... even the Dreamweaver for Dummies are at least just as good, and much less expensive. Would not recommend to buy - maybe try it at your library first.

5 comments about Introducing Character Animation with Blender.

1. I never did any character modeling before reading this book,and it got me going on. It was a great introduction to the whole world of modeling and animation and to the world of Blender. The text is easy to follow and understand. It is heavily supported by step-by-step screen shots and very well guided through. At the end of the modeling part, the author gives tips and solutions to common modeling "mistakes", like faces facing in the wrong direction etc. That was great, as there was no need to use Google. So what I'm saying here is that the author was expecting a newbie like me to read the book :).
   
   My only regret is that the author decided to model a cartoon character and not a real human; perhaps he could've got a little more realistic and put a bit more emphasis into human muscles and structure. On the other hand, as the title says, this is an "Introduction to character animation", so that's the reason why he picked a cartoon character and focused more on the animation part.
   
   Conclusion: great book !



2. This is an awsome book for the beginning or intermediate Blenderhead. It might even be useful for the advanced user. I think it is the best book for someone who has worked with blender, learned some of the tools but needs to tie the concepts together. Yes you can probably learn the same concepts from online tutorials and the wiki but those tend to be somewhat disjointed. The book is clearly written and easy to follow. How complete it is probably depends on how advanced you are and what you are trying to do. If you are new to modeling it will keep you busy for a while.
   What's wrong with this book? This book is defective. As stated by many others the included DVD is destroyed. The DVD has been incorporated into the binding of the book so not only is the DVD useless but removing the DVD may actually destroy the book binding. This book probably should be recalled by the publisher and rebound. The publisher is very good about sending a new DVD, a simple email and they send you a new one,free no questions. Is the DVD important? Maybe. The software is freely available on the net, however the files for the book are useful. Another problem with this book is the screen captures. Most blender books share this problem. The gray blender background does not reproduce well. There are times when the author indictates that vert placement is important but it is hard to tell from the picture where exactly the verts are. The DVD files may help with that.
   So, this is a must have book for those trying to get their head around blender, one star off for poor production values.



3. Tony Mullen takes the guess work out of long prosaic tutorials that sometimes can confuse a beginner. Anyone who has ever used other expensive animation programs will be amazed at the functional integration that Blender offers the beginner and more advanced user.
   
   This book takes you from step by step toolbox explanations to jumpstarting a project - in an afternoon. All you need is a decent video card, enough hard drive space and this book!!!! For those advanced enough to go beyond the confines of this book, additional podcasts exist on iTunes and websites devoted to this niche.
   
   Unleashing your imagination with Blender is an inexpensive way to explore the world of animation - This book is written for beginner and technical neophyte as long as you have some basic knowledge of Photoshop.



4. I bought this book because it has good reviews. I hope I can learn somethings from this book, but I had spend hours read this book until fall sleep and still don't get it. This book has no step by step instruction. This is the worst book I ever bought.



5. I just received Introducing Character Animation with Blender. The book seems very well written and well illustrated. I have only made it through part of the first chapter, but if I don't learn character animation, it will be my fault, not the book's. Two amazing things: 1. The book had no CD. Nothing. 2. I fired off an email to Tony Mullen complaining about this fact. Within hours, I got a response, and an attachment containing the files I needed. You should definitely buy a book from an author who cares that much for his customers.