tylerzambori

JColdrick
Books for CG applications are dead to me(this doesn't include classics and basic non-GUI oriented books like the renderman books, Art of Digital Compositing, theory texts, etc. which are always useful). Not only are they out of date by the time they get to print, they're more landfill. I get really depressed standing in a bookstore and the stacks and stacks of Maya, Max, etc books just stare back at me, most of which are past their due date. I would recommend trying some of the online courses that are available, and of course the docs and tutorials posted here. There's a lot of material there. If there's a topic you think is seriously missing or lacking, feel free to pipe up and add your suggestions.

This isn't to suggest there's no room for more of those, just that I happen to think the format sucks.

Cheers,

J.C.

No, books are not dead. To me, they are far more convenient than
the training video, at least for just starting out. With a video
you have to constantly pause and back up. With a book it's faster
to go back over something you just read. And if the speaker in
a video has an accent, that makes it harder.

It's too bad the market won't support the book, but I'm really glad
the books are there, because they make a big difference for me,
if they are well written, and don't skip steps!

I'm starting with “The Magic of Houdini,” and am hoping that book is as
good as the reviews say. Looking forward to it!