Rating: 
Summary: Good Art Book + A Masterpiece of Technical Writing
Review: Digital Lighting & Rendering is a terrific art book, the advice on designing lighting schemes and camera work are first rate - even to someone who has already read several of the texts on cinematography. But it is also one of the best-written books I've seen for explaining technical issues and rendering algorithms. Even the beginning chapters, on issues with which I was very familiar, had new things to say and were surprisingly informative (and non-condescending - there's less filler material here than in most of these books.) As an advanced user of Lightwave and (more recently) Maya with Renderman, I felt like I really hit pay-dirt in the last two chapters, with lots of useful advice on multi-pass compositing techniques, including some tricks I hadn't thought of. Shaders and global illumination techniques were defined and illustrated in a way that cleared-up a lot of the ambiguities of what I had seen in the software manuals and web postings on the approaches. All-around, this is the best book-buy I've made all year. I HIGHLY recommend Digital Lighting & Rendering to anyone (at almost any skill-level) who wants to make better renderings - It's helping me already, and I've only owned it for a week! Great Book, Mr.Birn!
Rating:
Summary: Amazing book
Review: I am going to say much, but if you do any kind of 3d graphics work, get this book. It is good for any kind of rendering, or for that matter most kinds of art in general. Takes a lot of natural things in the world, and explains how they can be set up in 3d and redered. Must buy
Rating:
Summary: Very good and very helpful
Review: I found Mr. Birn's book to be almost like an encyclopedia of information about 3d lighting and rendering. Although it does not go into expansive details on every point, I think the book gave me a much better overview of the complete process that lies behind successful 3d artwork. It lists basic approaches for a multitude of rendering situations, and also gives you alternatives which you can apply to overcome obstacles in production. I was very pleased by Mr. Birn's approach. If he had broken down each and every subject he introduced into endless detail, the book would be as thick and wordy as a college dictionary, and nowhere near as concise and helpful as it turned out to be. Anyone who is interested in a particular portion of the book can do a Web search and dig as deep as they please.I got the sense the book touched on ALL that is involved in 3d lighting and rendering. Thank you to Mr. Birn, for a book so well done.
Rating: 
Summary: Lighting from an Artistic instead of technical point of view
Review: I had very high expectations for this book and, for the most part, was not dissapointed. The author covers many areas of lighting, explaining in plain english how the attributes of artistic lighting apply to 3D rendering. Filled with quality examples and written in a very readable format (as opposed to a cookbook type format). I learned several things reading the basics sections, even though I thought I knew all the tricks. I wish there had been a cookbook type section, with more advanced examples, but can't complain, as the author covers lots of area, with a depth 3D artist have been in need of for a long time!
Rating:
Summary: A must read for 3D artists
Review: I have purchased many computer graphics technical books over the years and most are a rehash of the manuals. This book is different. It provides comprehensive, well organized usable knowledge on how to create realistic 3D renderings. As I said in the title, it is a must read if you are at all serious about photorealistic 3D rendering and animation.
Rating:
Summary: A lighting revelation
Review: I have searched far and wide for a book that explains how to properly light digital scenes, I can say that this book is more perfect than any resource like that I could have conjured in my highest hopes for enlightenment. Not only will it teach you how to light CG environments but explains why to light your scenes a certain way. All the latest lighting tools are explained in a way that does not show favor to any one application, but rather gives you powerful solutions that can be used universally. In short this book teaches you how to control your lighting destiny to make beautiful pictures. In my opinion, a must read for any digital artist of any level.
Rating:
Summary: Amazing Book A must read
Review: I just finished reading this book.It is amazing to say the least. Anyone interested in 3D should read this book. It is well written and easy to read.
Rating:
Summary: Amazing Book A must read
Review: I just finished reading this book. It is amazing to say the least. Anyone interested in 3D should read this book. It is well written and easy to read.
Rating:
Summary: By far the best book on this topic: "if you render, buy it."
Review: I recently evaluated several books on this topic for inclusion my spring term reading list, and Jeremy Birn's "Digital Lighting & Rendering" has emerged as the clear winner. I learned a great deal from reading it myself, and am highly recommending it (although not assigning it) to the students in my Advanced Rendering class. The book has "quality" written all over it: color printing throughout every page, Mr. Birn's own professional 3D renderings illustrate every section with an inspiring attention to detail, and every topic from art theory to the latest rendering algorithms is accurately researched and crisply described. The book did not include a large number of tutorials or step-by-step projects, but was generously spiced with tips, tricks, and web links that I found immediately useful to my 3D work. The processes of developing professional lighting schemes, color schemes, and cinematic compositions were covered with a depth and thoroughness that has actually helped my concept sketches and oil paintings almost as much as my 3D work! It was not focused around any specific application software, although I noticed a high-end bias, with examples and screen-shots frequently based in Softimage, Maya, 3D Studio Max, Lightwave 3D, and Renderman, although this book could easily be used by any reasonably experienced artist working in Hash Animation Master, POV-Ray, Truespace, or other affordable programs as well - high quality lighting is equally important in any 3D rendering package, and Mr. Birn has beautifully presented everything that a professional 3D artist needs to achieve it. In a sea of weak and mediocre computer graphics publications, this is a shining example of what can happen when an accomplished pro labors to share all of his knowledge - if you are currently creating any 3D renderings, I recommend buying and reading this extraordinary book as soon as possible.
Rating:
Summary: By far the best book on this topic: "if you render, buy it."
Review: I recently evaluated several books on this topic for inclusion my spring term reading list, and Jeremy Birn's "Digital Lighting & Rendering" has emerged as the clear winner. I learned a great deal from reading it myself, and am highly recommending it (although not assigning it) to the students in my Advanced Rendering class. The book has "quality" written all over it: color printing throughout every page, Mr. Birn's own professional 3D renderings illustrate every section with an inspiring attention to detail, and every topic from art theory to the latest rendering algorithms is accurately researched and crisply described. The book did not include a large number of tutorials or step-by-step projects, but was generously spiced with tips, tricks, and web links that I found immediately useful to my 3D work. The processes of developing professional lighting schemes, color schemes, and cinematic compositions were covered with a depth and thoroughness that has actually helped my concept sketches and oil paintings almost as much as my 3D work! It was not focused around any specific application software, although I noticed a high-end bias, with examples and screen-shots frequently based in Softimage, Maya, 3D Studio Max, Lightwave 3D, and Renderman, although this book could easily be used by any reasonably experienced artist working in Hash Animation Master, POV-Ray, Truespace, or other affordable programs as well - high quality lighting is equally important in any 3D rendering package, and Mr. Birn has beautifully presented everything that a professional 3D artist needs to achieve it. In a sea of weak and mediocre computer graphics publications, this is a shining example of what can happen when an accomplished pro labors to share all of his knowledge - if you are currently creating any 3D renderings, I recommend buying and reading this extraordinary book as soon as possible.
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