Shaders for Game Programmers and Artists

Rating:
Summary: It's about time!
Review: As an artists I am amazed that nobody had yet considered writing a book on real-time shaders that could appeal to artists. Although somewhat technical (hard not to get technical when dealing with per-pixel lighting), this book does a great job at going through a multitude of techniques in an easy to understand way. Plus, the use of RenderMonkey as an edit tool makes the task so much easier!

A must for all technical artists!

Rating:
Summary: Highly focused review of shader programming
Review: Breaking into the world of shader technologies can be a daunting task and a constructing a library of accurate knowledge is essential. "Shaders for Game Progammers and Artist" is one of the most focused books I have ever purchased. It only covers 'shaders' and does not attempt to present the surrounding technologies of DirectX or OpenGL programming. At fist this tight focus disturbed me, as I did not have a secondary support book like "Programming Vertex and Pixel Shaders". Put these two books together and constantly cross-reference the code and you have the solution to understanding the core of building good shaders. (One other note:) You might want to add "3d Math Primer for Graphics and Game Development".