1 comments about How to Live Like a King.in America.

1. I like this book because of the way the author uses her cavalier king charles spaniel, along with texts of old popular songs like "Yankee Doodle D'andy" woven thruout the amazing enhanced photographic pages. It instills a sense of patriotism and takes me back in time during world WWI and WWII eras.
   Anthony (Tony) Gingo, WWII Veteran

No comments about Crea y Presenta tu Portafolio Digital / Designing a Digital Portfolio (Diseno Y Creatividad / Design and Creativity).

5 comments about GDI+ Programming in C# and VB .NET.

1. I'm currently writing a comprehensive review of the VB.NET books for the visualbasic.about.com web site (you can see the full review of Nick's book there after November 20) but I wanted to respond to the anonymous reviewer who said that the book was lacking in quality right now in this forum. It most certainly is not lacking in quality. APress consistently publishes quality books and this is no exception.

   I downloaded the source files and ran several at random just to check whether there were any problems. The examples I ran worked perfectly. The content is well formatted with clear examples and great organization. And further, Microsoft really doesn't have that much documentation of GDI+ on MSDN and what they do have isn't really helpful as a tutorial. (Actually, the best alternatives to Nick's book right now are chapters from some of the comprehensive VB.NET books.)

   Full disclosure: Other than a friendly relationship, I don't work for APress and I don't even know Nick. I've just read his book to allow me to review it.




2. Just a rehash of the material on MSDN. Not much to this -- don't waste your money.



3. For anyone interested in VB Graphics, the book provides information, but then immediately jumps to the same information in C#, causing an almost total loss of concentration. I presume the same occurs for anyone interested in C#. If the writer were to remove all reference to C#, it might be a good text on VB Graphics, vice versa would probably do the same for C#. I'll just keep looking for a good graphics text for VB.NET elsewhere. I can produce excellent graphics with VB6, I just hope I can eventually do as well with VB.NET.



4. If you know how to read MSDN documentation, this book is worthless for you. Otherwise is a good beginners introduction.



5. This book is a good introduction to GDI and GDI+ programming. If you are a novice in GDI (as I am) and things like device contexts and selecting objects are unfamiliar to you, then this book should be good for you. (Note: I'm a novice when it comes to GDI. I've more than 30 years programming experience.)
   
   I had purchased this book so that I could do one thing: Copy a window from the screen to the printer. It turns out that this is a surprisingly complicated operation. That, of course, is not the book's fault but Microsoft's.
   
   A sample program (downloadable from Apress's website) allows you to copy a window to the printer ... but!
   
   The "but" is that the image that ends up on the printer is stretched and deformed.
   
   The book does not even mention device independent bitmaps (DIBs). That's a surprise for an introductory text on graphics.
   
   I also had a lot of trouble following his explanation on the various coordinate systems.
   
   OK, enough of the negatives.
   
   The positives are that this book is well written. The author appears to try hard to impart useful information in a breezy and easy to read manner. I really did learn a lot about GDI and GDI+ and graphics. I learned more about this subject in the few hours that I spent reading the book than I learned in several years of fumbling.
   
   Some reviewers complain about having to bounce between VB and C#. I found this not to be a problem.
   
   One reviewer said that this is a rehash of the information in the MSDN. I found this not to be so. More to the point, the author of this book organized this subject in a manner that is comprehensible to the novice. Such is not the case with the MSDN which is "a prerequisite for itself."
   
   In conclusion, the book simultaneously disappoints and delights. I'd give it 3.5 stars if I could.

2 comments about Complete Guide to Anime Techniques: Create Mesmerizing Manga-style Animation with Pencils, Paint, and Pixels.

1. Japanese animation is an influential media style with bright colors and dramatic entertainment value, and any who would draw or create anime characters would do well to begin with The Complete Guide to Anime Techniques, which surveys the basics of artwork, working with 3-D graphics, and more. From creating the script to storyboarding to distributing a finished movie, this moves beyond the usual focus on drawing to embrace the whole of anime, and is a top pick for any library where patrons favor anime discussions.
   
   Diane C. Donovan
   California Bookwatch



2. Pros:
   This is a beautifully illustrated guide to the terminology with examples of the production and techniques of Anime in the Japanese/Asian style. It is 'complete' in the sense it covers the vast majority of terms, forms of style and applications. It even includes a section on various softwares available (2006) and what to expect to pay for them by the 'free - $$$$$' rating. That is it in a nutshell. If you are expecting the essentials (ONLY) of how-to this is it.
   Cons:
   IF you are however looking for a guide to help you produce on desktop computer and are a beginner, and looking to do a barebones small studio production... There are better places for the fleshing out of 'How-To' in detail.
   Overall:
   The book is a tease, a pleasing tease, but just a tease. Keep it for referencing terms. And face facts, to do really professional Anime, you are going to have to PAY PAY PAY! SO save your dollars for the software for editing compositing and production... and sound recording and editing needs you will have. And if you have the money for that, you can then consider writing your own 'how-to'.
   P.S. Really didn't like the comment on page 41, "where a western artist may have a darker, grungier look for the clothes and expressions." I really felt that was uncalled for! Their main audience is future 'western artists'... just a thought.

5 comments about Essential 3ds max 8 (Wordware Applications Library).

1. If you are just starting out and want to learn Max with no previous 3D experience then this is a great book to start with. It covers all the basics you will need to get up and running before moving onto more application specific excercises.



2. I had max for a while and was moving forward but had alot of little questions that needed to be answered. This book helped me understand the UI layout more as well as how to customize it. There are a couple neat character models in there as well that he breaks down step by step in the later chapters.



3. I approached this book with no preconceived expectations, expecially after reading the one negative review below. When searching for books on design or development, I find there are typically two types:
   
   1. Books written like textbooks that can be used in a structured classroom setting that cover almost everything from A-Z in an order that builds from the foundation of the subject matter to advanced topics that are comprised of all of the preceding content.
   
   2. Books written for those who are comfortable learning in a non-traditional way and who are interested in diving into specific topics that cover just enough to accomplish a certain goal.
   
   I'm by no means stating one type is better than the other. It usually depends on what the reader is wishing to accomplish near term and weighing that against longer-term goals. I've found this book to be the latter of the two types and great for accomplishing what I need to know for now to get me started in 3DS Max (while having a lot of fun doing it); allowing me to then decide if I want to take things further and apply my time reading more detailed books on specific techniques.
   
   Keep in mind that the author's experience is primarily in the game industry, so the content is definitely written from that angle.
   
   The only complaint I have is that I believe the author's one lesson in adding a 3D element to a photo indicates that the source of light in the photo is coming from one direction when in fact it is coming from the opposite direction. The techniques still apply, just with lighting in reverse.



4. Well as some beginning animators I started a while back creating models and doing some animation more or less on the fly as i figured it out. I finally decided to get serious and stop wasting time. This book does excactly that. It gets to the nuts and bolts on how to start with effeciency in mind. The results is producing quality work in at least half the time it would have taken me to do the same work without the knowledge. The author also kept it interesting and fun. That is what stood out. Some may take the "whitty" comments too seriously. I thought it was just fun and it allowed me to keep reading and trying. It kept me interested. Too many books out there are simply to boring resulting in a book that has never seen past chap 3.
   
   If your just starting and want solid, effective information on how to use 3DMAX 8 this is a great start.



5. A couple of things I want to mention right off: 1) this book is not in color, the b&w pics are very hard to make out in places. 2) this book has nothing to say about animating, its mostly all about sub-d modeling with very brief descriptions of materials, uv mapping and rendering. I will say though that Josh does have a very good writing style and make difficult subjects about the user interface effortlessly easy. My idea of "essential" 3Dsmax is being able to follow through with the entire process of modeling, texturing, rigging, animating and rendering which you really wont be able to do with this book. This book could have been so much better if it was a more complete overview of Max. If you got a project you have to do in Max, and you need a quick primer to get you up to speed with the UI, you cant beat this book. No other book on Max will teach you the basics as quickly and easily.

No comments about Basics Animation: Drawing for Animation (Basics Animation).

No comments about China: Opposing Viewpoints.

1 comments about Macromedia Flash MX 2004-Design Professional.

1. I used this book while taking Web Design classes. I really enjoyed learning Macromedia Dreamweaver. The thrill being that you enter your coding and then preview what you have entered to see the results.

5 comments about OpenGL Programming for the X Window System (OpenGL).

1. This book gets you up and running fast with OpenGL and X but it fails to point out how to do specific tasks. I didn't know how to use Xlib until I got this book. The examples are kinda flakey as they don't translate well to realworld programming. A ball bouncing in a box would have been a great example. Would somone please write a cross platform OpenGL manual insted of these platform specific books!!!



2. I think that it was a good book. This was my first OpenGL book, and I'm now purchasing more. It's good to see that there are some X Window System specific books out there. The book explains in detail GLUT, but not some other complex areas of OpenGL (Why I'm buying more OpenGL books...). I'd recommend the book for beginners of OpenGL that are frusterated with Windows-specific texts.



3. Mark has a very good way of describing how things work. I have been using OpenGL for while but not using XWindows extensions that much. This book helped a lot and I used it to make sense of some the convoluted text in other books for the wgl functions.



4. Back when I was learning GL, this book was the best. It covered the basics at a good level of detail. Almost as if Mark could read our product requirements, it also has appendecies on off-topic-to-GL-but-not-to-us topics, such as the X input extension and graphics overlays.

   I believe GLX has gone through a few revisions since this book last had a new edition. Therefore some of its data may end up referencing deprecated old glx functions instead of the slick new method. In particular I'm thinking I saw something about visual selection changing. That's the only reason I'm holding back on star number 5.




5. This was the first book I purchased on openGL. This book is a very good introduction to openGL. If I might add one peice of advice to the up and coming linux Graphics programmers. DO NOT shy away from windows openGL programming books. Once you understand the concepts you will easily apply them to your linux or unix work. I think that every unix/linux openGL programmer should have this book, as well as the RED and BLUE openGL programming guide books on their book shelf. One last word. All of these books will primarily focus on understanding the concepts and to do this they spend alot of time working with the GLUT libraries. It will be up to you to figure out how to integrate this with QT or Motif. However....this book does have a section on openGL programming with Motif....if you use QT however you will be learning on your own. It isn't impossible or even that hard. It does however require a good hacker like approach. One last word while on the subject. You might also want to purchase a good book on linear algebra or mathematics for computer graphics if you plan on rendering more than a few simple programs.

   Good luck to you.

5 comments about Flash MX Bible.

1. ... There's also lots of useless filler material about non-flash related programs and topics. The examples are geared towards drawing and animation rather than creating an actual web document.

   I bought the "After Effects Bible" and loved it but this book is a roundabout, unfocused exercise in frustration. If you are very familiar with Flash already, maybe you can get something out of this. If you want to learn from the ground up, buy something else...




2. I consider myself an extreme newbie when it comes to Flash, so after reading most of the reviews for "The Flash MX Bible" I decided to shell out the cash. God what a mistake that was.
   The only pro the book has, is it's size. Yes is does contain a lot of information, but the manner it presents it, is the biggest problem. It's boring, dry, unimaginative stuff. Not something you'd expect when dealing with a program that has a firm foundation in art, and creativity.
   The thing reads similar to my Lightwave 6.5/7.0 college text book only with a worse format.
   So if you're an intermediate, or professional flash user this is might be what you're looking for, but if you're an amatuer or total beginner don't touch this book unless you want bore yourself away from Flash MX before you even get your feet wet.



3. I would recommend this book for current Flash Developers and anyone new to the field. This however is not a good 'quickstart' book. Being a veteran Flash Developer/Programmer myself, I still managed to find enough fresh information in this book to make it worth the purchase. This book leaves no stone unturned in explaining all the nuances of Flash that other books avoid. After you are already programming in Flash, I would recommend this to take the last step to becoming a complete master of the program. Although some parts seem to ramble on theory for awhile, all concepts are things that should be taken into consideration.



4. Book is full of good information, deep analysis of problems.
   But the VERY BAD INDEXING and organization of "how to get the information" is making it a chore to use it. It's ok the fact that much of the material is on the CD, but giving a clean way of reaching it would be a NECESSARY help. Too many words, too little code and examples and too basic FLA files obliged me to seek more advanced help in other books.
   Still good as a reference though (if you can find what you need ...)



5. these are always good reference materials to have on hand, have used this many times to recall something i rarely use or never tried.