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Summary: For anyone wanting to know almost anything about Bryce 4
Review: ...this is the book. It covers all topics well, and in depth, but is also a superb how-to book for beginners. It is a 'must-have' before any other on the same topic.
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Summary: Definitive Bryce manual
Review: Bryce exists in the duality as one of the most loved/hated pieces of software available. Bryce die hards will go to incredible lengths to create gorgeous vistas, while others condemn its non-standard working paradigm. This discrepancy is illustrated most clearly in the user interface, which is as eccentric as its creators. Clumsy as it is elegant. Beautiful raytrace rendering engine is unsuitable for most kinds of realistic production deadlines (this is why powerful albeit free-for-download raytracers such as POV-Ray and Gritz' BMRT have been free for download for a long time). It is as easy to make something look cool as it is difficult to make something preconceived. What else would one expect from the person(s) who gave us a 4-dimensional fractal plug in for Photoshop? Why, for the love of God, it hasn't adopted a multipane interface after five generations is beyond me. The fact that it has survived over the years is testament to the accessible power of this software, and the fact that those early years was originally available on Mac only, a platform known for putting all but the strongest 3d programs in the graphics graveyard (swivel 3D, Infini-d, etc.) makes Bryce more than worthy of any 3d professionals attention.Kitchens and Gavenda explain the program well. Susan Kitchens was actually part of the team that produced "Planetary Traveler", a movie made with beta versions of (an animatable) Bryce, back when the only way for the typical user to do the same was to plot out a camera's trajectory along an enormous number of scene files and hope that your graphing skills were up to par. Bryce has roots founded in a fusion of science and art, and the book begins with an excellent insight to the genesis of the program, which includes such contributors as Benoit Mandelbrot (founder of the fractal Mandelbrot set) and Ken Musgrave. The size of the book alone nearly justifies its price tag, weighing in at over nine hundred pages and containing a beautiful full-color section of tutorial examples and feature work by seasoned Bryce veterans. This along with a CD that, although seems hastily assembled at the last minute as per several duplicate scenes with minute differences and a few missing files, is chock full of QT shorts and helpful presets, etc. The literature is invaluable. It corrects an unbelievable amount of erroneous information from the manual that ships with Bryce 4, and covers absolutely every corner of the software. Kitchens' in-depth knowledge of Bryce is so thorough, that the chapter in the manual that comes with Bryce regarding the Deep Texture Editor is based on the explanation she gives of it in her previous book, Bryce 2, back when it was a powerful undocumented feature. Those who want a thorough accounting of the documented and undocumented hotkeys and easter eggs will be pleased with this purchase. Although the information is premiere, the way it is conveyed sometimes becomes deterrent. This is suspect from the opening chapter when in trying to convey the potential of Bryce, the information deteriorates into Quasimodo philosophical ramblings of ethereal brycean worlds (river chaos). Another problem is the tendency to refer to simple geometry constructions to far reaching real world counterparts, such as assembling small cubes on top of a wide larger cube and referring to it as a turret for a castle wall. Peppered with cute tongue in cheek puns and banter that is usually the feature of Kai Krause's instructional product literature (see "Ticks and Trips" sidebar to KPT 3 manual), but sometimes gets tedious. Sometimes overblown; instead of "this topic contains information beyond the scope of this book", you get quote "limitations of time and space prevent us from giving more than general outlines here" (p406). Words like "willy-nilly" and "nitty-gritty" are used somewhat liberally to create a homespun narrative you would expect to find in a basket-weaving manual, alongside sentences that end in punctuation other than periods ("Congratulations!"..."Cool, eh?" etc.) much in the tradition of "For Dummies" books. People who usually find this type of instruction irritating might not feel much better when reading it, despite the wealth of information. Why I gave this book 5 instead of 4 is that the writing actually delivers exactly what you'd expect from the majority of the Bryce community; a kind of laid-back hobby para-professional don't it look cool tone. And for those who believe that this isn't the case, consider that while comparable midrange 3d programs have added true polygonal modeling, dynamics and global illumination, (new) Bryce developers thought it necessary to add a tree generator. If your typical experience with Bryce consists of a semi-annual visit into the program to render out a picture of a default mountain on a default ground with preset textures, this book is probably not for you. Know that the beauty of software like Bryce is that adapts to the skill level of the user. That is why to create a rock you press the button that looks like a rock, and to move it around you use the tool with all the arrows sticking out of it, and if you wanted to, you can change the phase amplitude of a texture materials' procedural noise component within 4 mouse clicks. That kind of skill is developed by a dedicated study of the program with a guide like "Real World Bryce 4".
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Summary: A book to learn from
Review: Finally a book written in layman's terms and very understandable. Other author's should take heed because this is how to write a book on learning software, FUN AND EASY. There are a few MINOR quirks but nothing I couldn't figure out on my own and with a little work. Well worth your money.
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Summary: Can't go wrong.
Review: I bought another book on Bryce4 by "Mortier", that tought me nothing, infact discouraged me. THEN, I finally bought Real World Bryce4. There aren't too many books on this application, but of all the one's Ive seen, this one makes sense and actually TEACHES you stuff. The truth is if you want to learn Bryce4 do so from someone who has already helped create a video with Bryce animation and actually makes it easy to understand. Susan Kitchens and Gavenda seem to do the job right.
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Summary: Delayed over and over to the point of obsolescence
Review: I had this book preordered for about two years before it finally came out AFTER Bryce 5 shipped. You're better off getting a cheap copy of Real World Bryce 3 and waiting for Susan to put out RW Bryce 5... after Bryce 6 ships. A big thumbs down for being out of date due to extreme author lag.
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Summary: Worth Every Penny!
Review: I ordered this book on the recommendation of several artist friends and was admittedly a little worried about the price. Within five minutes of receiving it, however, I felt like I had received the best bargain this year! Nearly 1000 pages on every little thing Bryce is capable of. The best review I saw on the book is stamped on its cover ... "Wheeeeeeeeeee!" Seriously. It's excellent. I am a beginner in Bryce and I have learned enough from this book to create some really nice things. I would recommend this to anyone with an interest in the program. Without it, you are sure to miss a lot.
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Summary: Most Anticipated Bryce book -- Incredible
Review: I read Susan Kitchens' first Bryce Book, and was very, very impressed. I learned a lot about the program from that book. This book is the Bible for Bryce users. Although it takes some intense study at times, the concepts are intricate, it's worth it and the explanations are concise and understandable. I would recommend this book for any Bryce user from beginner to master, there is always something new to learn from this amazing program. Susan ... you came through for us.
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Summary: This book is a lot more than the manual
Review: I'm an occasional Brycer. It's among my favourite software. It has one of the nicest computer user interface, both intertaining and efficient (I think that software interface must be pleasant. And Bryce's is). With Bryce, you produce wonderful landscape in no time. But when you want better control on the software, you need more. This book takes you a lot further than the basic manual. Not just by its comparison of Mac/Win behavior, but by its numerous advises, tests, things to look at, and its simple, entertaining language. I had Real World Bryce 2 and I did not hesitate a second to buy this new Edition. I wouldn't say that it adds a lot compare to the previous release. But if you haven't any Bryce book, look no further. That's the book you want.
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Summary: Excellent book
Review: I've been a Bryce user for about a year, and have loved the program from day one. However, I always felt that the Bryce documentation glossed over certain areas, and another book I've read on Bryce was not very good. I received Real World Bryce three days ago, and haven't put it down since. It's very well organized, has a lot of really good examples and TONS of useful information. I've been reading it non-stop, (it's 900 pages!) sitting at my computer with the book on my lap, and I have a whole new appreciation for what Bryce can do. The accompanying cd-rom and website are great. You can view a ton of QT movies that let you see changes take place in front of you. And the animation examples are mind-blowers. This is a great book. Len Kaltman
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Summary: If you have Bryce4 or 5, get this book
Review: I've been using Bryce for a couple of years now, starting with Bryce 4 and recently upgrading to 5. This book is the essential reference for both, far superior to the Bryce 4 manual included with the program, and an important addition to the Bryce 5 manual. It's readable, exhaustively complete, and goes from easy tutorials to the mathematical theory underlying some of the texturing. You'll use it again and again, and not just for pressing leaves (it's a couple of inches thick). This is a lot of book for your buck; and you'll be able to get Bryce to do the work of much more expensive applications using the information presented in the book. And it's a fun read, too.
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