Good, but not great

I have extensive knowledge in 2-D animation using Adobe After Effects, but I wanted to get a little more info on modeling and using 3-D animation. The book consists of several exercises that you can work along with. Most of the "tutorials" are strictly, "do this, then do that", without much explanation as to "why" you’re doing this. I would have liked more explanation of what certain modifiers, tags, options, etc did so that I could better identify situations in the future when it might be useful. Instead, you really end up just going for the ride. For someone with animation experience you can gain some good insight into 3-D animation and this book is a decent starting off point. I would hardly consider it a one-stop source, but it was good enough to get me started.

excellent support for Cinema 4D

This is probably the best source for self help with Cinema 4D. It is easy to follow, with minimal holes and very little left to the user to figure out on his own. Recommend.

I need to Know Now

This book is clearly for anyone who is in need of a quick read with brilliant illustrations that will motivate you to great motion ghaphics.

An excellent introduction for Artists & Creatives

Firstly, I think this book is getting mixed reviews because of people’s motivation for learning Cinema 4D. If you are a highly technical person, who is interested in super-polished technically correct realism, dense techincal concepts and knowing each and every button in the programme... then don’t buy this book.

If however you are like me - an artist - this book is truly excellent introduction to the software. I am a professional Motion Graphic Designer, expert in After Effects along with the other usual software packages and I needed to add C4D to my skillbase.

This book gets you producing models and animations from the start - the payoff is high, and I found this approach very inspiring and motivating and so I continued through the book.

Core concepts are covered - materials, animation, lighting, cameras etc. So as you progress through the book you pick up all the necessary skills in more and more detail. The book also encourages you to explore alone and build projects with less guidance by using supporting material on the accompanying DVD.

The focus on this book is creativity - something which I could not find in all the other dry C4D books out there. After all, if you complete the book and find your technical knowledge lacking there are plenty of books to supplement *that* aspect of 3D learning. This book is a refreshing approach to a discipline that artists would usually find intimidating.

Not much use for anyone

I am a competent After Effects user, looking to include "proper" 3d graphics via C4D. For anyone in the same position, do NOT purchase this book.

I selected C4D following the recommendation of Trish & Chris Meyer in their book "Creating Motion Graphics". Good choice. Then I bought this book - bad choice.

Although the cartoon like models may be excused as the book is called "The ARTIST’S Project Sourcebook" overall this book tells absolutely nothing about how C4D works.

But what is the point!

Fairly pretty to look at but why would you want to create stuff like this? I guess you’ll learn something if you go through the projects but there is nothing that inspires or excites about the strange cartoonish models and renders. There is no attempt to teach you how to create anything that comes close to looking real.

Waste of time even for beginners

Reasons to my disappointment :

1 - Presentation

The book looks terrible, the color printing does help the poor, confuse and disorganized layout and the unrelated illustrations around.

2 - Method

Exercises does not take you anywhere is not continuous and does not give you a reason or explanation of what and why you are doing something.

3 - Low quality of project files

I do not see I reason to learn what the show as the graphics produced at the book look extreme outdated like rendered 10 years ago.


This book is a waste of time and money. I have returned my one and bought the CINEMA 4D R10 HANDBOOK and CINEMA 4D WORKSHOP which are really good, serious and didactic books.

Waste of Time and Money

Everything about this book is amateurish. You can tell from the models that she uses as examples that she doesn’t really know how to use the program, really what is a "Starlight Receiver"? The example movies on the DVD are in black and white with no sound. Unbelievable. Don’t believe the hype this book is garbage.

Not what i was expecting

I’m really disapointed by this book. Was expecting a lot more after reading all those good reviews... This is only a step by step tutorials book. The author doesnt explain that much anything related to cinema 4D... I don’t understand exactly what I am doing. The book is starting with those tutorials without at least explaining the basic of this software and the interface... I need first to understand the interface before being able to do anything else with this software and this is not the book that will help me out for sure... It’s not by telling me to put a value somewhere in the attributes that I will actually understand WHY to put this value there...

:(

this book is gorgeous

This is the book I wish I had when starting out in 3D. It doesnt barage you with technical descriptions of 3D app features but teaches by going in and making stuff. The quality of the models made and the layout of the book is beautiful, you would not mind having this book on the coffee table for friends to look at. And kudos go to the publisher for printing this book on durable high quality paper, strong binding and with full color photos. So many graphics books nowadays will rip you off with B&W pics on cheap paper. Why is it you can by a $7 magazine (ie National Geographic) with high quality color pics, good paper and strong binding, but not a $30 graphics book?

A very practical book about C4D

This is a funny book, written with the newcomer to C4D in mind, full of tutorials about practically every aspect of the vast 3D weaponry wich C4D puts at your disposition. All the examples and tutorials are accompanied with files (contained in a DVD) to put the lessons in practice. The artistic soul of the book is very important, it asks to the reader/practitioner to be creative with the program, but it covers the technical aspects of this complex piece of software also.
Anne Powers, the author, is an artist above all, and the book, printed in full color, has tons of examples of her talented work. I have to make a special mention to the chapter dedicated to the complex task of human head modelling, wich Powers accomplish well and with artistic style.
Not a book about photoreal modelling/rendering, nevertheless. But Powers claims that enough 3D literature is about that these days, and I agree. So is the artistic creative proccess the aspect wich prevails in this book.
The book is based upon the C4D 10 release, and has one chapter dedicated to the MoGraph module. It also covers BodyPaint.
Very fun to read/practice and highly recommended!

Logical and Creative

Having recently gone over to 3d graphics, having being 2d based for most of my career, I needed a book that was easy to follow, without treating me as though I were simple. This book did just that! It introduces the reader to the basics as well as going into depth on a few more complex aspects of the programme. I found this book brilliantly laid out, easy to follow and modern looking.The tutorials and extras on the dvd were great too!! 10/10!!

the best resource out there!

I firmly believe this is the best book your money can buy for Cinema 4d. It is visually stunning and informative, not to mention well written. I own both editions now and would not trade them for anything!

Tedious Workbook

I bought this book based on so many of the rave reviews here at Amazon. So far, I’m disappointed.

This book is basically a bunch of exercises written by the author for you to follow step by step. Unfortunately, she doesn’t explain anything about the exercises. As a beginner, I have no idea what I could apply these practices to...or what any of the numeric values mean that i’m entering. If you try entering values different from the ones she tells you to enter, the exercise usually falls apart.

It’s alot of plug and chug. If the author explained the thought process behind each tutorial better, you’d be better equipped to venture off the course and create your own models. As it currently is, you have to enter the exact values she gives you. The end result is something you see in the book (and already available on the DVD). Kind of unrewarding.

This is probably more useful for people already familiar with the tools of Cinema 4D and looking for exercises to put the knowledge to use. The packaged DVD is a nice extra.

Tedious Workbook

I bought this book based on so many of the rave reviews here at Amazon. So far, I’m disappointed.



This book is basically a bunch of exercises written by the author for you to follow step by step. Unfortunately, she doesn’t explain anything about the exercises. As a beginner, I have no idea what I could apply these practices to...or what any of the numeric values mean that i’m entering. If you try entering values different from the ones she tells you to enter, the exercise usually falls apart.



It’s alot of plug and chug. If the author explained the thought process behind each tutorial better, you’d be better equipped to venture off the course and create your own models. As it currently is, you have to enter the exact values she gives you. The end result is something you see in the book (and already available on the DVD). Kind of unrewarding.



This is probably more useful for people already familiar with the tools of Cinema 4D and looking for exercises to put the knowledge to use. The packaged DVD is a nice extra.

Marvelous book by Anne Powers

Not only is this book beautifully crafted (full color on most pages, great design, error/typo free, larger size than most paperbacks of this genre, quality paper), it does what it promises - TEACH the program, and as a plus, its fun! I’m pretty new at 3D and have plowed through a couple of other books about Cinema 4D that have been almost boring and have tons of errors. This book stands out among the rest and I strongly recommend it to anyone interested in learning Cinema4D.

A True 3D for Artists!

Most 3D programs take a far too clinical approach to the software. This is a fun exploration of how to actually put Cinema into practice. It’s an easy albeit comprehensive read... in full color unlike the first edition. It’s worth the purchase price for Anne’s illustrations in the book and the CD... WOW, the CD is packed full of eye candy. I was breathless after seeing the rich, quirky graphics... image Joseph Cornell in Cinema 4D and you have it! Anne was my college professor back in the day and this is an outstanding continuation of her fun learning style.

WONDERFUL INFORMATIVE EASY TO FOLLOW

I received my book on saturday and now monday I must tell everyone just how wonderful this book is. I am a beginner with Cinema 4d and yes I have bought other books and also video tapes on this software but this book is absolutely the best way to learn. I don’t usually write reviews but felt compelled to do so. This book is also beautiful to read the colorful pictures and content format just great, along with the dvd which works and has so much it will take some time to study and review all the content in just that. Thank you so much Anne Powers for helping me to discover this wonderful Cinema 4d software.

Beautiful products

I like this book because the products she shows how to make are so beautiful. Ornaments and characters are just like from the fairy tales. You will have fun in each lesson.I am glad that I purchased this book.

Beautiful products

I like this book because the products she shows how to make are so beautiful. Ornaments and characters are just like from the fairy tales. You will have fun in each lesson.I am glad that I purchased this book.

Bad

Bad writing style, don’t bother with the book, get a better one, waste of money.

Bad

Bad writing style, don’t bother with the book, get a better one, waste of money.

This is THE book everyone must have

I think this book is great, Anne Powers explain in an easy way how things work and make you understand how and why things are done in certain ways in Cinema 4D. She has a great knowledge in Cinema 4D and it shows by her way of showing and explaining that even beginners that have never been in touch with the world of 3D do understand and start to model and create 3D models. I really suggest this book for everyone that want to become a 3D artist in Cinema 4D. It’s a must have.

This is THE book everyone must have

I think this book is great, Anne Powers explain in an easy way how things work and make you understand how and why things are done in certain ways in Cinema 4D. She has a great knowledge in Cinema 4D and it shows by her way of showing and explaining that even beginners that have never been in touch with the world of 3D do understand and start to model and create 3D models. I really suggest this book for everyone that want to become a 3D artist in Cinema 4D. It’s a must have.

Excellent intro!

Most of the projects in this book are designed around version 8 of C4D with attention brought to the changes needed if using version 8.5. This book presents a lot of information about the general concepts of modeling in the 3D environment. The author writes in a friendly tone and her instruction is easy to follow. The step-by-step project approach makes it easy to understand the tools and processes used for each project. Each step is well illustrated and the accompanying CD includes project examples and many goodies. However, this book is a bit dated, as are many books that cover a particular software and are published only to be quickly outdated by a newer release of the program (Version 9 of C4D has been released). This book was perfect for me, as I am using C4D 8.5 and it is one of the better books I’ve bought on learning to use a particular program. I’m sure the author’s next release will be of equal quality.

Excellent intro!

Most of the projects in this book are designed around version 8 of C4D with attention brought to the changes needed if using version 8.5. This book presents a lot of information about the general concepts of modeling in the 3D environment. The author writes in a friendly tone and her instruction is easy to follow. The step-by-step project approach makes it easy to understand the tools and processes used for each project. Each step is well illustrated and the accompanying CD includes project examples and many goodies. However, this book is a bit dated, as are many books that cover a particular software and are published only to be quickly outdated by a newer release of the program (Version 9 of C4D has been released). This book was perfect for me, as I am using C4D 8.5 and it is one of the better books I’ve bought on learning to use a particular program. I’m sure the author’s next release will be of equal quality.

The Best Book For Someone Going From Photoshop to 3d!

Cinema 4d is great for any design-oriented individual who is more comfortable with bezier curves than Hypershades and Non Uniform Rational B-Splines. Other 3d programs do more, but Cinema 4d is written with the graphics designer in mind.

So it should come of little wonder that eventually a very good designer would share their experiences with this program. Along comes Anne Powers.

Exceptionally well written. Most books leave you scratching your head after successfully animating a bouncing ball and making a pathetic rocket ship... This is a cookback of different recipes, each giving you a starting point for your own exploration.

The Best Book For Someone Going From Photoshop to 3d!

Cinema 4d is great for any design-oriented individual who is more comfortable with bezier curves than Hypershades and Non Uniform Rational B-Splines. Other 3d programs do more, but Cinema 4d is written with the graphics designer in mind.

So it should come of little wonder that eventually a very good designer would share their experiences with this program. Along comes Anne Powers.

Exceptionally well written. Most books leave you scratching your head after successfully animating a bouncing ball and making a pathetic rocket ship... This is a cookback of different recipes, each giving you a starting point for your own exploration.

Easy to follow and a very valuable resource

Amongst a wide range of Cinema 4D books I chose this one because it covered a wide range of modelling projects and was presented in a unique and interesting way. I thought that if I could do these projects I would would be well equipped to do just about anything. Well I wasn’t disappointed. It wasn’t long before I was powering through the tutorials and achieving the same outcomes as presented in the book. The dialogue is friendly and the lessons are delivered in an easy-to-follow conversational manner. It is a quantum leap away from so may other 3d text books which can be very ’dry’ and make you lose interest within a very short time. I keep this book in my bag all the time and often find myself reaching for it when I reach a roadblock in my modelling. The book was originally written for C4D V8.5 and while there are a few differences between this and V9, they are fairly minor and you can soon get around them. Even better, I received a free pdf update to V9 via email. Perhaps one of the most valuable aspects of buying this book has been the support offered by the author Anne Powers. She has assisted me with a project and I have learned even more through the process. I highly recommend this book not only for the content and presentation but also for the support from the author.

very happy

After struggling with C4d, I finally got my copy and in a few hours I went from a total stranger in C4D to being very confident.
easy reading, and the supporting DVD comes with loads of supporting materials that add that much more to the learning process...thanks

Good for beginners, but made for R8.5

I bought this book thinking I could do many of the tutorials included. I have done some, but am growing more frustrated because the book did not say it was for R8.5 or 8. I have R9, and some of the instructions givin in the book do not corrispond to the current layout in R9. I have never used C4D before so, I was finding myself not being able to complete the tutorial because I could not find the function described in the book.