The world of 3D modeling and animation is a complex one. Lucky for you, with Inside 3ds max 7, you get not just one instructor but a team of expert developers and trainers who cover the newly revised program from every angle. Using case studies to uncover real-word solutions as well as hands-on tutorials to help you arrive at practical answers to everyday issues, this all-in-one reference is the answer to your 3ds max prayers. You'll find out how to use 3ds max's production tools (plus the whys behind their use) and be exposed to informative, inspirational examples of varying artistic styles. And when you're ready, you'll also find complete coverage of advanced topics: camera matching, character rigging, rendering, compositing, and more. To complete the learning package, a companion CD includes all of the book's lesson files. Whether you're a game designer, Hollywood effects wizard, or industrial designer you'll soon be creating out-of-this-word worlds with 3ds max 7 and this guide.

If anything, this volume's premise--that the business of Web design is one of constant change-has only proven truer over time. So much so, in fact, that the 12-month design cycles cited in the last edition have shrunk to 6 or even 3 months today. Which is why, more than ever, you need a smart, practical guide that demonstrates how to plan, budget, organize, and manage your Web redesign - or even you initial design - projects from conceptualization to launch. This volume delivers! In these pages Web designer extraordinaire Kelly Goto and coauthor Emily Cotler have distilled their real-world experience into a sound approach to Web redesign workflow that is as much about business priorities as it is about good design. By focusing on where these priorities intersect, Kelly and Emily get straight to the heart of the matter. Each chapter includes a case study that illustrates a key step in the process, and you'll find a plethora of forms, checklists, and worksheets that help you put knowledge into action.

Scott Kelby, the best-selling Photoshop author in the world today, once again takes this book to a whole new level as he uncovers the latest, most important and most exciting new Adobe Photoshop CS2 techniques for digital photographers.

This major update to this award-winning, record-breaking book does something for digital photographers that's never been done before–it  cuts through the bull and shows you exactly "how to do it." It's not a bunch of theory; it doesn't challenge you to come up with your own  settings or figure it out on your own. Instead, Scott shows you step-by-step the exact techniques used by today's cutting-edge digital  photographers and, best of all, he shows you, flat-out, exactly which settings to use, when to use them, and why. That's why the previous  version of this book took the digital photography world by storm.

But now, his new CS2, version is even bigger, even better, and exposes even more of the pros most closely guarded secrets, including a special chapter which shows, for the first time ever, step-by-step how to how to set-up Photoshop's color management. He does it by throwing out all the theory, all the techno-babble, and all the confusing charts and graphs and instead just shows you exactly what you need to do (and 

nothing more).

LEARN HOW THE PROS DO IT

Each year Scott trains thousands of professional photographers how to use Photoshop, and almost without exception they have the same 

questions, the same problems, and the same challenges–and that's exactly what he covers in this book. You'll learn:

• The sharpening techniques the pros really use (there's an entire chapter on, just this!)

• The pros tricks for fixing the most common digital photo problems fast!

• The step-by-step set-up for getting what comes out of your printer to match exactly what you saw on screen

• The retouching secrets of how the pros retouch portraits

• How to process raw digital camera images (plus how to take advantage of all the new Camera Raw features of CS2!)

• How to color correct any photo without breaking a sweat (you'll be amazed at how easy it is–once you know the secret)

• A whole chapter on the latest, most requested Photoshop special effects • How to reduce noise, deal with lens problems, avoid halos, and more

• How to show your work like a pro!

• Plus a host of shortcuts, workarounds, and slick "insider" tricks to send your productivity through the roof!

If you're a digital photographer and you're ready to learn the "tricks of the trade"–the same ones that today's leading pros use to correct,  edit, sharpen, retouch, and present their wor; then this is the book for you.

In just over a decade, the Web has evolved from an experimental tool for a limited community of technically inclined people into a day-to-day necessity for millions upon millions of users. Today’s  Web designers must consider not only the content needs of the sites they create, but also the wide range of additional needs their users may have: for example, those with physical or cognitive disabilities, those with slow modems or small screens, and those with limited education or familiarity with the Web. Bestselling author Sarah Horton argues that simply meeting the official standards and guidelines for Web accessibility is not enough. Her goal is universal usability, and in Access by Design: A Guide to Universal Usability for Web Designers, Sarah describes a design methodology  that addresses accessibility requirements but then goes beyond. As a result, designers learn how to optimize page designs to work more effectively for more users, disabled or not. Working through each of the main functional features of Web sites, she provides clear principles for using HTML and CSS to deal with elements such as text, forms, images, and tables, illustrating each with an example drawn from the real world. Through these guidelines, Sarah makes a convincing case that good design principles benefit all users of the Web.

 In this book you will find:
 • Clear principles for using HTML and CSS to design functional and accessible Web sites
 • Best practices for each of the main elements of Web pages—text, forms, images, tables, frames, , links, interactivity, and page layout
 • Seasoned advice for using style sheets that provide flexibility to both designer and user without compromising usability
 • illustrations of actual Web sites, from which designers can model their own pages
 • Instructions for providing keyboard accessibility, flexible layouts, and user-controlled environments
 • Practical tips on markup, and resources

Animation Presets, an advanced Clone tool, scripting support, and a powerful new color correction system are just a few of the reasons you're chomping at the bit to get down to work with After Effects 6.5. In these pages, a master of the medium allows you to do just that, presenting a series of projects that explore every aspect of Adobe's animation and effects powerhouse. By focusing on the areas that can be troublesome for professional users--whether because they present thorny issues or because they draw on completely new features--this volume provides the focused, practical instruction you need to maximize your After Effects productivity. Each lesson provides need-to-know tips, proven techniques, and best practices for a variety of After Effects 6.5 functions: from importing and managing footage to viewing and editing layers, animating type, and more. The companion CD includes QuickTime instructional movies, source code, and files for all of the book's projects.

He's back! Adobe's already-powerful imaging editing software has just grown a whole lot more powerful, and best-selling author Scott Kelby (editor of Photoshop User magazine) has returned to unlock even more of its secrets. Using step-by-step instructions and nearly 700 full-color images, Scott reveals precisely how to achieve some of Photoshop Element 3's most closely guarded special effects. By the end of the volume you'll have learned more than 300 new techniques for using Adobe's affordable consumer-level software. Packed with creative ideas, layouts, and design techniques, the volume does more than just rehash masking, pixels, and file formats and resolution: It provides you with the Elements chops you need to unleash your own creativity.

If you've wondered how the InDesign pros get twice the work done in half the time, here's the answer: They know every inside tip, every hidden keyboard shortcut, and every little trick that gives them the edge. They know the fastest, smartest, and most efficient way to do just about everything. In short, they know all the "tricks of the trade." And now, you can too.

This book is packed cover-to-cover, wall-to-wall with nothing but those cool little inside tips that can make you faster, better, and have more fun using Adobe InDesign CS2. There are no detailed descriptions on working with hyphenation dictionaries, or long boring discussions on color workflow, it's just tips--short, sweet, and to the point.

So why just tips? When we (you, me, etc.) look at books, if we see the word "Tip" we're all immediately drawn to it. That's because we know we're about to learn something really cool. Maybe it's an undocumented keyboard shortcut, a hidden inside secret, or just a faster, better way to do something we do every day. The only problem with the tips in these books is there's never enough of 'em. That is, until now.

We wanted to create a book that is nothing but these tips, hundreds of tips, but with the added bonus that each tip would have a full color graphic along with it, showing you exactly how it's done. Most importantly, to get in this book they've got to be "Killer Tips." The kind of tip that makes you smile, nod, and then call all your friends and "tune them up" with your new status as InDesign guru.

This book is your ticket to working faster and smarter in Adobe InDesign CS2 than you ever thought you could, and best of all, you'll have a blast doing it.

3ds max 7 provides unparalleled character animation functionality, and in this book you will learn how to take advantage of all of these tools. Simple step-by-step tutorials, glorious full-color examples, and an easy-to-understand approach to tricky concepts will have you creating and animating your own characters within hours! Author and award-winning animator Michele Bousquet answers all your questions about character modeling, rigging, and animating in 3ds max -- in the process illuminating the techniques used by game developers, broadcast and film companies, industrial designers, and more. As you complete the book’s projects and exercises -- using the files contained on the companion CD -- you’ll learn the fundamentals of character modeling, character rigging, creating rigs with custom controls, skinning, character animation, and more.

Offering character animation functionality previously only available in programs costing two to three times as much, 3ds max 7 is everything you've dreamed of in a 3D modeling program-and more! Here to get you hands-on fast is a project-based guide from one of Discreet's own carefully chosen authorized training specialists, Ted Boardman. Completely updated with brand new tutorials, real-world projects, easy to understand explanations and a CD that includes all the files you need to complete the books many projects, Ted shows you how to maximize the program's potential in virtually any application or industry. You'll quickly learn the basics of modeling, applying materials and maps, applying lighting, and integrating animation before moving on to more advanced topics. You'll also find plenty of coverage of the bells and whistles new to 3ds max 7: Normal Mapping, the Parameter Editor, Paint Selections, as well as the award-winning character animation system, character studio(r).

Legendary Web designer and author Hillman Curtis has always been fascinated by motion and movement. In 2001, inspired in part by the affordability and accessibility of digital video, he began to experiment with short digital films in an effort to reinvigorate his creative spirit and express himself both personally and professionally.

The nine projects Hillman describes in this book, each between 60 seconds and 10 minutes long, draw from a wide variety of creative sources and take various forms—documentaries, music videos, a fictional short film, and a series of video portraits. Each one is unique, yet the goal is always the same: to capture in video the essence of his subject.

Equal parts inspiration, instruction, and personal essay, Hillman Curtis on Creating Short Films for the Web offers an intimate look into the author’s personal filmmaking process: from the ideas and influences that drive the concept and theme of the piece, through the setup, shoot, and assembly of a rough cut, to the final edit. Hillman explains how his flexible, often spontaneous filmmaking style is guided by certain principles—the value of leaving room for serendipity, the freedom found within self-imposed limitations, the importance of collaborating with others, and the possibilities for discovery and revision when reacting to unforeseen accidents.

Throughout the book, Hillman offers advice on filmmaking’s numerous elements, such as direction, sound, editing, and interviewing. Also included is a primer to help you get up and running with your own digital video projects—explaining the equipment you’ll need and providing an overview of the filmmaking process—and an appendix that guides you through building your own Flash video player.


Hillman Curtis is the founder of hillmancurtis.com, a design studio specializing in Web site design, motion graphics, and digital video. Hillman’s clients include Yahoo!, Adobe, RollingStone.com, British Airways, MTV, and Intel. His expert and innovative design solutions have garnered him and his company numerous awards, including the Communication Arts Award of Excellence and the South by Southwest Conference “Best Use of Design” and “Best of Show.” Author of the bestselling Flash Web Design: The Art of Motion Graphics and MTIV: Process, Inspiration and Practice for the New Media Designer, Hillman lives in New York City with his family.