Rendering with mental ray and 3ds Max
Realize your vision with stunning renders of your 3ds Max projects that can only be achieved with a powerful engine like mental ray. Beginning with a concise review of the essential concepts, you proceed to step-by-step tutorials that teach you how to render scenes with indirect light or with specific effects, such as depth of field and motion blur. Contour line shading and various other mental ray features are presented in detail, then you learn how to use the different light types of 3ds Max inside mental ray and how to use mental rays own specific area lights and its new daylight system. Finally, the book reviews mental rayspecific materials and what effects can be obtained by using most of the specific mental ray shaders.
Key Features:
* Color reproductions illustrate a wide array of subtle techniques.
* Contains never-before-published information about how shaders work
* Companion CD-ROM includes tutorial project files
Simulating physics helps cutting-edge games distinguish themselves by making virtual objects behave as we expect them to in the real world. Physics engines are the software programs that run these simulations. Building an engine is difficult, however. There are a large number of new developers (and hobbyists) coming into this market who need help through this complex process. Current introductory books are inadequate; they don't bring enough real-world programming experience to the task. There is a need for an introductory book on game physics with solid coding guidance but which limits the math content. Ian Millington brings his extensive professional programming experience to this problem. He has developed games since 1987, has studied AI and mathematics at the PhD level, and founded Mindlathe Ltd., a company that designed and built commercial physics engines. Physics Engine Development carefully describes each step in the creation of a robust, usable physics engine. It introduces the mathematical concepts in a clear and simple manner, keeping to high school level topics and building a physics code library as it goes. Each new concept is explained in diagrams and code to make sure that even the most novice of game programmers understands. The companion CD-ROM includes the source code for a complete physics engine of commercial quality.
Build your house in 3D, do some remodeling, and share it in Google Earth. Developed with architects and other design gurus in mind, Google SketchUp is the fast, easy way to build 3D models of anything you want — buildings, furniture, or your own unique creations. Best of all, it's free! You don't have to know anything about 3D to use this handy guide — just download SketchUp, fire it up, and you'll be modeling in no time. - Create models from photos
In the early days of the Web a need was recognized for a language to display 3D objects through a browser. An HTML-like language, VRML, was proposed in 1994 and became the standard for describing interactive 3D objects and worlds on the Web. 3D Web courses were started, several best-selling books were published, and VRML continues to be used today. However VRML, because it was based on HTML, is a stodgy language that is not easy to incorporate with other applications and has been difficult to add features to. Meanwhile, applications for interactive 3D graphics have been exploding in areas such as medicine, science, industry, and entertainment. There is a strong need for a set of modern Web-based technologies, applied within a standard extensible framework, to enable a new generation of modeling and simulation applications to emerge, develop, and interoperate. X3D is the next generation open standard for 3D on the web. It is the result of several years of development by the Web 3D Consortium's X3D Task Group. Instead of a large monolithic specification (like VRML), which requires full adoption for compliance, X3D is a component-based architecture that can support applications ranging from a simple non-interactive animation to the latest streaming or rendering applications. X3D replaces VRML, but also provides compatibility with existing VRML content and browsers. Don Brutzman organized the first symposium on VRML and is playing a similar role with X3D; he is a founding member of the consortium. Len Daly is a professional member of the consortium and both Len and Don have been involved with the development of the standard from the start. This is the first book on the new way to present interactive 3D content over the Web, written by two of the designers of the standard. It features plentiful illustrations and screen shots in the full color text. It is supported by a companion website with extensive content, including the X3D specification, sample code and applications, content creation tools, and demos of compatible Web browsers.
In a world where everything from how we take pictures to how we get our food is designed to happen as quickly and easily as possible, it can take a lot longer to learn how to make it all work behind the scenes. Theories and concepts can weigh you down when all you really want to know is how to create, design and go. That's where OpenGL SuperBible comes in. Complete with supporting figures and a CD packed with free tools, demos and libraries, OpenGL SuperBible simplifies 3D programming concepts without wasting your time with programming theory. Mac and Windows users will both find this comprehensive hands-on guide helpful as you learn to program for games, visualization applications and multi-platforms. This is the ultimate resource for any new programmer.
Two AutoCAD experts distill years of combined experience into hundreds of the most useful AutoCAD tips and techniques you'll ever find. Fun, easy to read, and packed with information, this beautiful guide equips you with inside tricks on critical AutoCAD features and functions—all in fast, easy-to-digest nuggets. Discover keyboard shortcuts and little-known system variables or punch up your style with expert tips on visualizing, publishing, and 3D modeling. No matter what your experience level, you're sure to increase productivity and master professional-level techniques with this lively, practical book.
