Description:
trueSpace F/X Creations focuses on creating effects animations by using trueSpace v4. It is not a book for users new to 3D graphics, or new users of trueSpace, because it assumes that you're already familiar with the interface and usage of the program. The first three sections of the book provide some technical information on the nature of building effects: the fundamentals of effects, including the basic trueSpace interface and how plug-ins are incorporated into it; the plug-in interface and a description of the standard relevant plug-ins, such as Primal Particles; and using trueSpace's own scripting language, Python. The next three sections waste no time in exploring the creation of different groups of effects: water, space and combustion, and environmental. Each section features a set of tutorials that explore these topics, often with very good results. The "footsteps" tutorial, which shows a way to create appearing and fading footsteps as if an invisible person were walking across the room, was particularly good. One grievance: color would have made the illustrations more effective. Although the book specifically covers trueSpace v4, many of the techniques described can be translated so they work in other 3D animation programs, assuming those programs have similar feature sets. Of course, current trueSpace users will benefit most from the tutorials. The plug-ins on the CD-ROM and the lessons in each chapter make the book worthwhile for any trueSpace user who is beyond the novice level, finished exploring the program on his or her own, and ready to move up to the next level. --Mike Caputo
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