Overview
There’s a powerful fascination in creating fantasy characters and their bewitching environs on the computer screen. Written for anyone who works—or plays—in 3D graphics, Digital Fantasy Painting supplies a treasury of tested techniques that can be applied to any illustration software package.This extraordinary resource is packed with dozens of step-by-step exercises for designing photo-realistic 3D creatures and their strange worlds. Readers will see how to produce simple human skin and bone textures, as well as an entire host of ethereal creatures such as ghosts, spirits, robots, and cyborgs. They’ll discover how to design realistic atmospheric effects as well as capture the surreal world of nightmares, futurescapes, and planetscapes. Computer artists will also find tested techniques for modeling, surfacing, staging, and lighting as well as creating water, glass, and other true-to-life motion effects.
Digital Fantasy Painting features a dazzling showcase of the very best fantasy artwork, complete with dozens of tips, examples, and shortcuts that help put the creative process on the fast track. Plus, a special section outlines the myriad software illustration packages available on the market today.
Synopsis
There’s a powerful fascination in creating fantasy characters and their bewitching environs on the computer screen. Written for anyone who works—or plays—in 3D graphics, Digital Fantasy Painting supplies a treasury of tested techniques that can be applied to any illustration software package.
This extraordinary resource is packed with dozens of step-by-step exercises for designing photo-realistic 3D creatures and their strange worlds. Readers will see how to produce simple human skin and bone textures, as well as an entire host of ethereal creatures such as ghosts, spirits, robots, and cyborgs. They’ll discover how to design realistic atmospheric effects as well as capture the surreal world of nightmares, futurescapes, and planetscapes. Computer artists will also find tested techniques for modeling, surfacing, staging, and lighting as well as creating water, glass, and other true-to-life motion effects.
Digital Fantasy Painting features a dazzling showcase of the very best fantasy artwork, complete with dozens of tips, examples, and shortcuts that help put the creative process on the fast track. Plus, a special section outlines the myriad software illustration packages available on the market today.
Arlene Garcia - VOYA
Eye-catching and breathtaking, the cover of this work on creating computer fantasy art will lure teens (especially boys) immediately. That it is a comprehensive, methodical guide to creating original art is icing on an already attractive cake. The author, the one-time editor of CGI magazine and editor-in chief of Compucreative, willingly imparts his extensive knowledge of the creative process, from choosing the proper computer hardware to evaluating the different types of programs best for specific styles of art. Burns also teaches artistic technique and how to apply it to fantastical landscapes and creatures of the imagination. Scattered throughout are interesting tidbits relating to popular culture. Many hit movies have used the techniques that Burns presents, including cult classics such as The Matrix, Star Wars(tm), and Final Fantasy. Unbeknownst to many, science fiction and fantasy book covers are increasingly the products of computers. Some of these covers are broken down and presented stage by stage in their production. A gallery of paintings, listing the artist, technique, and product used, closes out this remarkable volume and adds to its value. Although hardware and software are rapidly outdated, these paintings are timeless in their beauty. If the two teenage boys who discovered the book on this reviewer's desk and quickly got caught up in it are any indication of the attraction of this book, it will definitely never be a shelf-sitter. Glossary. Index. Illus. Photos. VOYA CODES: 5Q 4P J S (Hard to imagine it being any better written; Broad general YA appeal; Junior High, defined as grades 7 to 9; Senior High, defined as grades 10 to 12). 2002, Watson-Guptil, 160p,
Editorials
VOYA
Eye-catching and breathtaking, the cover of this work on creating computer fantasy art will lure teens (especially boys) immediately. That it is a comprehensive, methodical guide to creating original art is icing on an already attractive cake. The author, the one-time editor of CGI magazine and editor-in chief of Compucreative, willingly imparts his extensive knowledge of the creative process, from choosing the proper computer hardware to evaluating the different types of programs best for specific styles of art. Burns also teaches artistic technique and how to apply it to fantastical landscapes and creatures of the imagination. Scattered throughout are interesting tidbits relating to popular culture. Many hit movies have used the techniques that Burns presents, including cult classics such as The Matrix, Star Wars(tm), and Final Fantasy. Unbeknownst to many, science fiction and fantasy book covers are increasingly the products of computers. Some of these covers are broken down and presented stage by stage in their production. A gallery of paintings, listing the artist, technique, and product used, closes out this remarkable volume and adds to its value. Although hardware and software are rapidly outdated, these paintings are timeless in their beauty. If the two teenage boys who discovered the book on this reviewer's desk and quickly got caught up in it are any indication of the attraction of this book, it will definitely never be a shelf-sitter. Glossary. Index. Illus. Photos. VOYA CODES: 5Q 4P J S (Hard to imagine it being any better written; Broad general YA appeal; Junior High, defined as grades 7 to 9; Senior High, defined as grades 10 to 12). 2002, Watson-Guptil, 160p,—Arlene Garcia