***

3ds Max is a uniquely powerful modelling program, yet one that can catch out both new comers and even advanced users out with its intricacies and workflows. Many tutorial style books are fundamentally flawed by assuming the reader is already familiar with various aspects of the software. Indeed, we remember well a book that stated ‘now complete this easy step’ only to leave us both frustrated and annoyed as we failed to grasp the instructions.

What therefore is needed is a book that illustrates the process of creating a 3D visualization project step by step – and we are pleased to say there finally is a book worthy of its title ‘3ds Max 2011, One Project from Start to Finish’.

The movie below details the model produced over 9 chapters and the good news is we have three copies to give away, full details at the end of the post:

The book has been designed to be useful for readers at all skill levels. The material is presented in a way that will engage advanced users while still being explicatory enough for beginners – which is great to see.

Covering 2D-3D Modelling, Terrain Creation, Tree Creation, Water Elements, Animation, Lighting, Rending, Particles Systems and more the book provides a fully structured guide.

If your only going to buy one 3D modelling book this year then 3ds Max 2011 – One Project from Start to Finish is simply the best option.

The publishers 3DATS have kindly provided us with 3 copies to give away to readers – simply retweet this post and we will pick 3 winners at random from the Twitter feed. Competition ends 28th February, so you have a week to enter.

The retweet button is at the top of the post, good luck, books will be shipped Tuesday 29th, each valued at $99.95.

The post 3ds Max 2011 One Project from Start to Finish – Retweet to Win a Copy appeared first on Digital Urban.

Normally we are slightly skeptical about tutorial books, after all most tutorials can now be found online but Robin provides a unique step by step guide that provides an essential skill set. For example, Chapter 4 details how to model ridge tiles, that is not something your easily come across online and that alone makes the book a must buy.


Here is a brief summary of what each chapter covers:


Chapter 1: Quickstart Tutorial – Photo Real Gallery Scene – This chapter is an immediate fix for those who are impatient to get photo-realistic rendered SketchUp scenes. Straight away you will learn how to model the gallery scene, fix up lighting, add materials, add a photo background, and finally render in Kerkythea.


Chapter 2: Plug in and Gear Up – Did you know that by downloading a few free plugins and other software you can turn SketchUp into a free fully functional 3D visualization and animation suite similar to high end commercial software? Follow this chapter to obtain all the goodies.

Chapter 3: Composing the Scene – In this chapter you will learn how to take the hard work out of modeling by setting up your scenes prior to starting work. You will learn how to start from CAD plans, site images, or Google Earth and build the scene optimized for quick rendering or animation later.

Chapter 4: Modeling for Visualization – SketchUp is so easy to use that we’re tempted to jump right in and model everything. But this can lead to ineffective presentation later and large polygon counts, which slow the computer. This chapter leads through some of the professional modeling methods you need to learn to save you time and hassle, and to make photo-real rendering a cinch.

Chapter 5: Doing It Up (How to Apply Materials and Photo-textures) – Most visualizers are crazy enough to use the materials bundled with rendering software. But this methodology was developed during the ice age! Now that we all have digital cameras and access to unlimited free online image resources, we have a far more effective way of “dressing” the model. The tutorials in this chapter show you how to use SketchUp’s unique photo and material handling tools to create ultra-real textured models mega easily.

Chapter 6: People, Trees, Furniture, and Things – Now that you’ve created the scene, modeled the buildings, and applied materials, you can add life to the scene with Entourage. Learn how to find the best free people, foliage, vehicles, and furniture online, and better still learn how to easily create your own with the foolproof methods in this chapter. In no time you’ll be able to build up a comprehensive library to use or give/sell to others.

Chapter 7: Artistic Techniques – Exporting images from SketchUp is not the end of the process. Combining several image layers in GIMP, a powerful free photo editing suite, you will learn how to simulate sketchy pencil and watercolor styles. Fans of these methods will be pleased to know the famous Dennis Technique is presented in this chapter along with Dennis’s own creations.

Chapter 8: Photo-realistic Rendering – Here the amazing Kerkythea introduced in Chapter 1 and 2 is explored in more depth, giving you the skills and confidence to tackle any rendering project. A hassle-free method of working is introduced along with proven best settings for test renders and final outdoor and indoor scenes. This chapter covers everything you need to get professional photo-realistic renders from your SketchUp model that you’ll be personally amazed with.

Chapter 9: Image Compositing and After-effects – The rendering process isn’t the end of the line, because there are lots of subtle but important after-effects you can apply to make the image even more effective. This chapter covers how to add reflections without rendering, creating depth of field effects from a depth render, adjusting levels for realistic daylight scenes, and compositing real and rendered images.

Chapter 10: Animated Flyovers and Walkthroughs – The crowning glory of your visualization project is likely to be a rendered or artist
ic-style animation. The tutorials in this chapter will take you through this step by step, showing you how to create storyboards, set up cameras and paths in SketchUp with extra plugin functionality, export test animations and final renders. Photo-real animations are then composited to make a simple show reel.

Chapter 11: Combining It All in Layout – Layout is bundled as part of SketchUp Pro and is introduced in this final chapter for those who wish to explore the free trial before committing to Pro. You will learn how to bring together SketchUp models and artistic or rendered output into a screen presentation or printed portfolio, adding borders, text and dimensions.

The good news is that the nice people at Packt Publishing have provided us with 3 copies to give away. All you need to do is retweet this post and we will pick 3 random twitter users by 12 Noon Monday 10th January, each will receive a copy of the book. The competition is open to anyone in the world, yep we will ship it out free of charge next week.

You can buy the book direct from Packt or of course online via Amazon…

The post SketchUp 7.1 for Architectural Visualization: Retweet and Win a Free Copy appeared first on Digital Urban.

Normally we are slightly skeptical about tutorial books, after all most tutorials can now be found online but Robin provides a unique step by step guide that provides an essential skill set. For example, Chapter 4 details how to model ridge tiles, that is not something your easily come across online and that alone makes the book a must buy.


Here is a brief summary of what each chapter covers:


Chapter 1: Quickstart Tutorial – Photo Real Gallery Scene – This chapter is an immediate fix for those who are impatient to get photo-realistic rendered SketchUp scenes. Straight away you will learn how to model the gallery scene, fix up lighting, add materials, add a photo background, and finally render in Kerkythea.


Chapter 2: Plug in and Gear Up – Did you know that by downloading a few free plugins and other software you can turn SketchUp into a free fully functional 3D visualization and animation suite similar to high end commercial software? Follow this chapter to obtain all the goodies.

Chapter 3: Composing the Scene – In this chapter you will learn how to take the hard work out of modeling by setting up your scenes prior to starting work. You will learn how to start from CAD plans, site images, or Google Earth and build the scene optimized for quick rendering or animation later.

Chapter 4: Modeling for Visualization – SketchUp is so easy to use that we’re tempted to jump right in and model everything. But this can lead to ineffective presentation later and large polygon counts, which slow the computer. This chapter leads through some of the professional modeling methods you need to learn to save you time and hassle, and to make photo-real rendering a cinch.

Chapter 5: Doing It Up (How to Apply Materials and Photo-textures) – Most visualizers are crazy enough to use the materials bundled with rendering software. But this methodology was developed during the ice age! Now that we all have digital cameras and access to unlimited free online image resources, we have a far more effective way of “dressing” the model. The tutorials in this chapter show you how to use SketchUp’s unique photo and material handling tools to create ultra-real textured models mega easily.

Chapter 6: People, Trees, Furniture, and Things – Now that you’ve created the scene, modeled the buildings, and applied materials, you can add life to the scene with Entourage. Learn how to find the best free people, foliage, vehicles, and furniture online, and better still learn how to easily create your own with the foolproof methods in this chapter. In no time you’ll be able to build up a comprehensive library to use or give/sell to others.

Chapter 7: Artistic Techniques – Exporting images from SketchUp is not the end of the process. Combining several image layers in GIMP, a powerful free photo editing suite, you will learn how to simulate sketchy pencil and watercolor styles. Fans of these methods will be pleased to know the famous Dennis Technique is presented in this chapter along with Dennis’s own creations.

Chapter 8: Photo-realistic Rendering – Here the amazing Kerkythea introduced in Chapter 1 and 2 is explored in more depth, giving you the skills and confidence to tackle any rendering project. A hassle-free method of working is introduced along with proven best settings for test renders and final outdoor and indoor scenes. This chapter covers everything you need to get professional photo-realistic renders from your SketchUp model that you’ll be personally amazed with.

Chapter 9: Image Compositing and After-effects – The rendering process isn’t the end of the line, because there are lots of subtle but important after-effects you can apply to make the image even more effective. This chapter covers how to add reflections without rendering, creating depth of field effects from a depth render, adjusting levels for realistic daylight scenes, and compositing real and rendered images.

Chapter 10: Animated Flyovers and Walkthroughs – The crowning glory of your visualization project is likely to be a rendered or artist
ic-style animation. The tutorials in this chapter will take you through this step by step, showing you how to create storyboards, set up cameras and paths in SketchUp with extra plugin functionality, export test animations and final renders. Photo-real animations are then composited to make a simple show reel.

Chapter 11: Combining It All in Layout – Layout is bundled as part of SketchUp Pro and is introduced in this final chapter for those who wish to explore the free trial before committing to Pro. You will learn how to bring together SketchUp models and artistic or rendered output into a screen presentation or printed portfolio, adding borders, text and dimensions.

The good news is that the nice people at Packt Publishing have provided us with 3 copies to give away. All you need to do is retweet this post and we will pick 3 random twitter users by 12 Noon Monday 10th January, each will receive a copy of the book. The competition is open to anyone in the world, yep we will ship it out free of charge next week.

You can buy the book direct from Packt or of course online via Amazon…

The post SketchUp 7.1 for Architectural Visualization: Retweet and Win a Free Copy appeared first on Digital Urban.

Michael Kwartler and Gianni Longo document principles, techniques, and cases based on their professional experiences in developing sophisticated public involvement processes that are used to apply information technology to planning and design. They suggest ways that digital visualization tools can be integrated in a public process to present participants with clear choices and help them make informed planning decisions.

Evidence from communities throughout the country shows that public involvement supported by visualization leads to better plans and more livable places and communities. From the application of 3D Tools to the development of master planning initiatives the book, through its use of glossy images and well laid out text, illuminates the subject and provides a glimpse of the level of innovation used throughout the workshops.

Chapter 4 on Visual Simulation Tools, takes a more detailed look specific tools and their uses in planning, such as representing existing conditions, visualizing alternatives, and monitoring impacts. Exploring the use of Community Viz and various rendering techniques to communicate a sense of location and place to the local community it provides a guide to best practice. These issues are introduced in the context of the origins of geographical information systems, developments in computer-aided decision-making and a look at the principles of decision making in general.

It is all very well having these tools to hand; the key is in their implementation, as the authors state, a plan created with strong public involvement establishes the context for implementation in three important ways. Firstly, it articulates the values of the community, secondly it translates the values into an agreed-upon and preferred sense of place and finally it stimulates a sense of ownership for the plan, which in turn translates into support for its implementation.

A sense of ownership at any level of community planning is essential to ensure the public not only feel part of the planning process but also to feel as if their views are valued. Trust from communities is there to be earned and by introducing digital means the communication process can be eased with the ability to easily integrate the communities views into planning options in real-time.

The use of 3D GIS within a public environment is still far from the norm, especially in a UK context, indeed it could be argued that techniques to involve the public in the decision making process have declined in recent years. There is therefore a need for the lessons, through the case studies documented in this book, to be learned and built upon to ensure use the latest digital toolsets are used in new and interesting ways.

In a world of Facebook, Flickr, YouTube and others allowing communication and visualization with increasingly greater ease those involved in the planning process are perhaps more than ever in need of techniques to reach out to the public at large in an open way.

In short – we really liked it – see The Lincoln Institute of Land Policy for more info.

The post Book Review – Visioning and Visualization: People, Pixels, and Plans appeared first on Digital Urban.

Michael Kwartler and Gianni Longo document principles, techniques, and cases based on their professional experiences in developing sophisticated public involvement processes that are used to apply information technology to planning and design. They suggest ways that digital visualization tools can be integrated in a public process to present participants with clear choices and help them make informed planning decisions.

Evidence from communities throughout the country shows that public involvement supported by visualization leads to better plans and more livable places and communities. From the application of 3D Tools to the development of master planning initiatives the book, through its use of glossy images and well laid out text, illuminates the subject and provides a glimpse of the level of innovation used throughout the workshops.

Chapter 4 on Visual Simulation Tools, takes a more detailed look specific tools and their uses in planning, such as representing existing conditions, visualizing alternatives, and monitoring impacts. Exploring the use of Community Viz and various rendering techniques to communicate a sense of location and place to the local community it provides a guide to best practice. These issues are introduced in the context of the origins of geographical information systems, developments in computer-aided decision-making and a look at the principles of decision making in general.

It is all very well having these tools to hand; the key is in their implementation, as the authors state, a plan created with strong public involvement establishes the context for implementation in three important ways. Firstly, it articulates the values of the community, secondly it translates the values into an agreed-upon and preferred sense of place and finally it stimulates a sense of ownership for the plan, which in turn translates into support for its implementation.

A sense of ownership at any level of community planning is essential to ensure the public not only feel part of the planning process but also to feel as if their views are valued. Trust from communities is there to be earned and by introducing digital means the communication process can be eased with the ability to easily integrate the communities views into planning options in real-time.

The use of 3D GIS within a public environment is still far from the norm, especially in a UK context, indeed it could be argued that techniques to involve the public in the decision making process have declined in recent years. There is therefore a need for the lessons, through the case studies documented in this book, to be learned and built upon to ensure use the latest digital toolsets are used in new and interesting ways.

In a world of Facebook, Flickr, YouTube and others allowing communication and visualization with increasingly greater ease those involved in the planning process are perhaps more than ever in need of techniques to reach out to the public at large in an open way.

In short – we really liked it – see The Lincoln Institute of Land Policy for more info.

The post Book Review – Visioning and Visualization: People, Pixels, and Plans appeared first on Digital Urban.

The text covers the impact of three-dimensional displays on user interaction along with the potentialities in animation and clearly explains how to create temporally sensitive visualizations. It also explores the potential for handling mobile data and representing uncertainty; as well as the role of participatory visualization systems and exploratory methods.

It’s hallmark features include: an introduction to the diverse forms of geographic visualization which draws upon a number of theoretical perspectives and disciplines to provide an insightful commentary on new methods, techniques and tools; richly illustrated in full colour throughout, including numerous relevant case studies and accessible discussions of important visualization concepts to enable clearer understanding for non-technical audiences; and, chapters that are written by leading scholars and researchers in a range of cognate fields, including, cartography, GIScience, architecture, art, urban planning and computer graphics with case studies drawn from Europe, North America and Australia.

This book is an invaluable resource for all graduate students, researchers and professionals working in the geographic information sector, computer graphics and cartography.

You can buy the book online via our Amazon Essential Reading Store…

The post Geographic Visualization: Concepts, Tools and Applications Book appeared first on Digital Urban.

Starting out in Second Life can be confusing in terms of learning how to claim land, place your first objects and learning how to use textures. Rebecca provides a step by step walk through of the process starting off with a basic house through to full landscaping and a castle.

If you are new to Second Life or looking to start building or buying land then Designing Your Second Life is the perfect accompaniment.

You can buy Designing Your Second Life from our Amazon Store at the discounted price of $19.99.

See also Second Life – The Official Guide.

Note a UK friendly store is coming soon…

The post Book Review – Designing your Second Life appeared first on Digital Urban.

Starting out in Second Life can be confusing in terms of learning how to claim land, place your first objects and learning how to use textures. Rebecca provides a step by step walk through of the process starting off with a basic house through to full landscaping and a castle.

If you are new to Second Life or looking to start building or buying land then Designing Your Second Life is the perfect accompaniment.

You can buy Designing Your Second Life from our Amazon Store at the discounted price of $19.99.

See also Second Life – The Official Guide.

Note a UK friendly store is coming soon…

The post Book Review – Designing your Second Life appeared first on Digital Urban.

Despite SketchUp’s ease of use it does take a while to fully appreciate its range of toolsets and how best to use them. While we normally shy away from the ‘For Dummies’ books, Google SketchUp for Dummies is generally useful.

Written by Aidan Chopra it fully embraces Web 2.0, intergrating 62 ‘how to’ movies on YouTube.

Embedded below is a sample detailing Googe SketchUp’s photo modelling function. Running at over 6 minutes the tutorial is both effective and informative:

Combining the book with the YouTube movies gives you everything you need to master SketchUp and refine your workflow.

You can buy the book from our Amazon Shop for $14.99 (discounted from $24.99) and the full set of movies are available to watch via Aidans YouTube page. We really cannot recommend this enough, how refreshing is it to see 62 tutorials online free of charge?

For more info see http://www.sketchupfordummies.com

The post Book of the Week – Google Sketchup for Dummies appeared first on Digital Urban.

Despite SketchUp’s ease of use it does take a while to fully appreciate its range of toolsets and how best to use them. While we normally shy away from the ‘For Dummies’ books, Google SketchUp for Dummies is generally useful.

Written by Aidan Chopra it fully embraces Web 2.0, intergrating 62 ‘how to’ movies on YouTube.

Embedded below is a sample detailing Googe SketchUp’s photo modelling function. Running at over 6 minutes the tutorial is both effective and informative:

Combining the book with the YouTube movies gives you everything you need to master SketchUp and refine your workflow.

You can buy the book from our Amazon Shop for $14.99 (discounted from $24.99) and the full set of movies are available to watch via Aidans YouTube page. We really cannot recommend this enough, how refreshing is it to see 62 tutorials online free of charge?

For more info see http://www.sketchupfordummies.com

The post Book of the Week – Google Sketchup for Dummies appeared first on Digital Urban.