Whether you're designing houses, landscapes, or machines, there are AutoCAD tricks-of-the-trade that even seasoned users don't know—tips that can improve your skills, understanding, and productivity. This practical, in-depth book reveals those secrets. You'll find smart ideas on customization, applying graphics standards, managing symbol libraries, leveraging 3D, and more. It even includes an insider's look at features that are used in the field but often ignored in other books, such as DOS functions, scripts, and AutoLISP® programming. The final chapter, AutoCAD Puzzlers, challenges readers to solve real problems from real AutoCAD users.

• Explore real-world solutions and best practices. Is it faster to produce an accurate drawing or an inaccurate one? Find out why you should take technical graphics standards seriously and how to make AutoCAD apply them
• Harness information rarely found in other books, such as how to rapidly change thousands of drawings using scripts and batch files, how to use the Visual LISP® editor to produce and debug AutoLISP programs, and more
• Take full advantage of AutoCAD's interface to improve your productivity

• Enjoy bonus extras, including the AutoLISP programs, other code used in the book, and a review of key features by release 

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. * Tweak Windows(r) and AutoCAD to get the UI you want
* Handle layers and select objects like a pro
* Create dimensions, hatch patterns, and text correctly the first time
* Comprehend the complexities of Sheet Sets and Paperspace
* Unleash the power of dynamic blocks
* Get visualization tips from the experts
* Plot or publish in the background while you keep drawing
* Take control of AutoCAD with customization techniques
* Master the friendly new world of 3D in AutoCAD 2007

The Academy Award® winning Maya® 3D animation and effects software is the first choice of film and video artists, game developers, and 3D design professionals. Discover how to build, render, and animate your own digital models and scenes, and begin to develop professional-level Maya skills with the latest edition of this popular bestseller.

Starting with the basics, the book builds from the ground up, combining straightforward text with practical examples that make it fun and easy to learn Maya's core features while introducing new Maya 8 elements such as improved polygon tools and enhanced rendering with mental ray. Clear-cut, engaging lessons let you experiment using the wealth of files provided on the CD-ROM. You'll also find an abundance of instructional and inspirational Maya creations in the full-color insert.

Authorized by @Last Software, this guide will familiarize SketchUp users with all aspects of this highly-acclaimed modeling application. Clearly illustrated, detailed exercises walk you through SketchUp’s modeling tools, including components, groups, textures, sectioning, presentation, exact dimensions, sandbox, and much more. Combined with numerous tips and tricks, this book will help you get the most out of your software investment!

Take your 3D game programming skills to the next level! "Advanced 3D Game Programming All in One" uses the Torque Game Engine to teach experienced 3D game programmers advanced concepts. You'll use the Torque Game Engine to learn each new skill, maximizing your game engine experience. Quickly conquer TorqueScript, simulation techniques, the ins and outs of the game engine, player control, and using applied artificial intelligence. Then take it up a notch and discover how to spice up your game with enhanced game modeling using character and shape modeling and dynamic skins. "Advanced 3D Game Programming All in One" reveals the techniques and mechanisms that will give you an insider's look into the realm of game development so you can create your own amazing games just like the pros.

Pro OGRE 3D Programming is your detailed guide to utilizing the OGRE 3D engine, one of the best-in-breed 3D rendering libraries available. You'll learn what OGRE is, and more importantly, what it is not. OGRE gives you an object-oriented interface to render 3D scenes independent of the implementation, such as Direct3D or OpenGL. OGRE is available on Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux. It can be utilized to create a variety of 3D-based applications and is commonly used in game creation.

One look and you'll see that this Maya book is different from all the others. It presents the core Maya features visually, using pages packed with striking graphics and loaded with concise explanations of the Maya interface. This expanded edition includes more tutorials; updated material on modeling, animation, rendering and dynamics; and new coverage of Toon Shaders, along with other exciting Maya tools. Engaging step-by-step lessons provide hands-on reinforcement as you learn. Start your adventures in Maya with this full-colour, visual guide—the perfect introduction to Maya 8.

Time-tested lighting strategies that will improve the quality of a portrait are detailed in this book for beginning photographers. Terminology used by industry pros is explained, the equipment needed to create professional results is outlined, and the unique role that each element of the lighting setup plays in the studio is explored. Photographers learn how color, direction, form, and contrast affect the final portrait. The concise text, photo examples, and lighting diagrams enable photographers to easily achieve traditional lighting styles that have been the basis of good portraiture since the advent of the art.

Updating what has been called one of the best books onanimation by top Disney animators, this new book includes even more pre-rigged models, discussion of the new animation tools found in LightWave 3D 8, and the fastest way to do dialogue and facial performance.

The Maya Embedded Language, or MEL, is the very foundation of the Maya application: it’s what makes it so powerful. And, if you know MEL, you can make Maya work more efficiently for your own projects. Whether customizing the workspace, modifying the tools that already exist, or creating new tools, an artist versed in MEL is ready to exploit the true power of Maya. The problem is that MEL can be very intimidating to artists and other non-programmers. To an artist, MEL represents a whole other world filled with words like variable, conditional statements, and vector cross-product. Like any other programming language, MEL has its own vocabulary and rules of grammar. To master it, you simply need to learn the rules: you don’t have to become a programmer. The MEL Companion helps artists do this. In the first part of the book, you’ll learn about the syntax, vocabulary, and structure of MEL - its grammar. You’ll learn some basic math concepts, such as types of numbers and simple math equations, and at the end of part one you’ll explore concepts for building and constructing programs. The second part covers the construction of scripts that detail some of the ways you can use MEL. You’ll learn about expressions, primitive objects, lighting and rendering, tool creation, interface customization, and reading and writing files in and out of Maya. The MEL Companion was written by an artist for artists. To get the most out of this book, you should have a fundamental knowledge of working in 3D and the Maya program. In addition, although you might not have an extensive knowledge and understanding of mathematics, you should have some willingness to learn the basics of working with numbers. Other than that, everything else is explained in language that is hopefully as clear as it is entertaining