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Essential Effects: Water, Fire, Wind, and More
by Mauro MaressaAnimate the world around you! Follow along with veteran Disney effects artist Mauro Maressa as he teaches you how to create and animate natural phenomena like water, fire, smoke, lightning, lava, mud, and wind. Essential Effects will help you plan, draw, design, and animate traditional 2D effects, taking your ideas all the way from rough sketch to finished product. Using a series of full-color visual breakdowns and diagrams, this book gives you a clear, concise understanding of what it takes to create credible, compelling effects in your own projects. Key Features Build a strong foundation of observation and drawing skills that you can rely on for the rest of your career Tips and tricks for applying classic effects principles to computer-animated and CG projects Over 400 full-color images and diagrams for clear step-by-step learning
Essential Elements of Portrait Photography
by Bill IsraelsonCreating an idealized image of a subject is a portrait photographer's job. However, the approach is not quite formulaic. From one subject to the next and one day to the next, there are different goals and scenarios-on Monday, you may be tasked with photographing your subjects under cloudy skies on a beach; on Tuesday, you may need want to downplay your client's wide hips in the studio; on Wednesday, you may want to create dramatic lighting for an actor's portfolio-on-stage. Every day, there is a unique challenge to meet, often under varying conditions. So, how do you make a magically good portrait during every shoot?In this book, Bill Israelson shows you how to tackle the problem of creating a great portrait of your every client. Beginning with a discussion on equipment essentials, breaking the discussion into two topics-gear for studio work and portable equipment for location work.Next, you'll learn simple posing strategies for making women, men, kids, and groups looks their best in any presentation. You'll learn how to position the body from head to toe to maximize assets and downplay common problem areas.Lighting is the backbone of every image. In the studio, you have complete control over every facet of the lighting-from its hardness or softness to its color temperature and direction. On location, the basic principles of good lighting still apply-but the quality and quantity of light is subject to change. Israelson shows you how to harness the available light and supplement it when needed to create saleable images every time.With straightforward, jargon-free text and a wide range of image examples, this book will help you quickly learn how to improve your portrait results to create client-pleasing portraits every time.
Essential Green Roof Construction: The Complete Step-by-Step Guide (Sustainable Building Essentials)
by Leslie DoyleFor the do it yourself builder, an “essential guide . . . to install and maintain a beautiful and ecological compliment to your home or office” (Kelly Hart, author of Essential Earthbag Construction).Essential Green Roof Construction is a comprehensive, in-depth guide to building simple green roofs for houses and small buildings.Packed with detailed photos, illustrations, case studies, and code compliance advice, it offers clear step-by-step instructions necessary to create your own living roof on a new build or as a retrofit. This book includes:The benefits of a green roofThe basics of planning and designAssessing site conditions such as aspect, slope, and loadsNavigating building codes and working with building officialsMaterial options, including professional grade and economical or local alternativesPlanting suggestions for different roof climates and conditions, including food productionWhen to call on professionals to ensure safety and integrityStep-by-step guidance for safe roof installation and detailingAnnual green roof maintenance.Where common sense meets beauty—a green roof is a system of layers that work together to support plant life, insulate homes, and make the world a greener place.Essential Green Roof Construction will give you the knowledge and confidence to install your own green roof.“Impressive . . . and, importantly, easy for the average person to understand.” —Stephen Hill, associate professor, School of the Environment, Trent University“Well-written, well-researched, and full of clear and informative drawings and photos.” —Lloyd Kahn, editor-in-chief, Shelter Publications, author, Shelter and The Half-Acre Homestead“An excellent resource for both DIY and design professionals.” —Tim Krahn, P. Eng. Building Alternatives Inc., author, Essential Rammed Earth Construction
Essential Guide to Dance, 3rd edition
by Linda AshleyThis third edition of the bestselling text ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO DANCE is thoroughly updated to meet the new AS/A2 specifications and relevant Applied A-levels, BTEC and other Dance qualifications. Now in full colour, highly illustrated, and packed with tasks and activities to cover all aspects of current courses, this text will appeal to both teachers and students.Students are brought right up to date with clear explanations of choreography, performance and appreciation of Dance, as well as recent examples of new set works and choreographers. With further video and photo interactive analysis tasks, the addition of short revision tests and updated professional examples alongside many contemporary photographs, ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO DANCE Third Edition provides students with comprehensive support and guidance.With its emphasis on the practical aspects of Dance and its interactive features that encourage effective learning, ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO DANCE Third Edition will be essential for all students of Dance and their teachers.Linda Ashley has extensive experience as a writer, choreographer, performer and teacher of Dance. Linda is currently Dance Research Leader at AUT University, New Zealand, Linda has written several Dance titles, published in the UK and New Zealand, including the two previous bestselling editions of ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO DANCE, both published by Hodder.
Essential Guide to Handguns: Firearm Instruction for Personal Defense and Protection
by Stephen R. Rementer Bruce N. EimerExplanation of who should and shouldn't consider handguns or other firearms for personal protection, family defense, legal, physical and ethical ramifications of ownership and use. How to select equipment with explanation of guns, methods of carrying, safety and ease-of-use. Explanations of legalities of ownership and usage. Those who find this book interesting may also want to read "Armed Response: A Comprehensive Guide to Using Firearms for Self-Defense," which is also available from Bookshare.
Essential Guide to RenderMan® Shading Plugin Development: Understanding Bxdfs
by Brad E. HollisterUnderstand the fundamentals of Bxdf plugins for RenderMan® 21+, both the technical details and API architecture. The main goal of the book is to enable technical artists, hobbyists, and students in using the noncommercial (NCR), free RenderMan® edition. RenderMan® is an industry standard for rendering software. It has been used for every Pixar film to date and numerous other projects. RenderMan® 21, and all subsequent versions, use Monte Carlo path tracing. This change has necessitated the use of C++ plugins in place of the RenderMan Shader Language (RSL). Because of this, writing Bxdfs now requires knowledge of Monte Carlo integration, probability density functions, and the RenderMan® C++ API. Essential Guide to RenderMan® Shading Plugin Development specifically addresses writing RenderMan® C++ materials. It explores the mathematical models of representative Bxdfs while drawing parallels, when helpful, to earlier RSL implementations. It also includes an overview of Integrators, providing further context for modern RenderMan® programmable shading. What You Will LearnC++ development for BxdfsFundamentals of the rendering equationMonte Carlo integration Who Is This Book ForBeginner plugin writers for RenderMan®, such as technical artists, students, or hobbyists who may already have experience with RSL or another shader language. More experienced C++ developers without knowledge of RenderMan® or Monte Carlo path tracing will benefit from the content as well. While some prior experience in computer graphics is helpful, the book provides background and references for further study.
Essential Hempcrete Construction: The Complete Step-by-Step Guide
by Chris MagwoodHempcrete is a versatile, energy-efficient natural insulation material, useful for walls, roofs, and floors. Made from the inner stem of the hemp plant mixed with a lime-based binder, it is a very strong, lightweight and breathable alternative to manufactured insulations. Essential Hempcrete Construction is a fully-illustrated practical guide to this affordable, renewable method, from procurement to finishing.This indispensable manual is packed with all the information you need to determine whether hempcrete is the right choice for your project. It covers: Material specifications, testing and building code references and climate data Detail drawings for design reference Tool lists, and complete step-by-step instructions for mixing and placing hempcrete Finishing and maintenance techniques Budgeting and labor estimates Additional resourcesEssential Hempcrete Construction is part of New Society's Sustainable Building Essentials Series. Written by the world's leading sustainable builders, designers and engineers, these succinct, user-friendly handbooks are indispensable tools for any project where accurate and reliable information are key to success. Get the Essentials!Chris Magwood is a sustainable builder and designer specializing in green and natural building techniques, the co-founder and co-director of the Endeavour Centre, and the author of several books on sustainable building including Making Better Buildings, More Straw Bale Building, and Straw Bale Details.
Essential Knowledge for the Aspiring Media Professional
by John Stephen ZaffutoEssential Knowledge for the Aspiring Media Professional provides readers with the skillset needed to produce professional, high-quality video content in today’s competitive media landscape. The author draws on over two decades of industry experience to offer strategies for how to develop a sense of design, adopt a holistic approach to the media production process, and craft a distinct idea for a project’s intent and form. In five in-depth chapters, the book delves into topics ranging from pre-production and planning processes to technical considerations and post-production methods. It concludes with an overview of career opportunities for aspiring media-makers. This book is an invaluable resource for students and professionals alike looking to hone creative production techniques within a broad range of formats and environments, particularly those requiring effective marketing and advertising-oriented content.
Essential Perennials: The Complete Reference to 2700 Perennials for the Home Garden
by Alan L. Detrick Thomas Christopher Ruth Rogers ClausenEssential Perennials focuses on what every gardener needs to know to choose from the thousands of perennials available, and care for the ones you already have. This A-to-Z guide is packed with more than 2,700 plants, with each entry listing flower color, bloom time, foliage characteristics, size, and light and temperature requirements. Each profile is supported by stunning color photography that showcases the flower and foliage that make each plant unique.
Essential Programming for the Technical Artist
by Chris RodaThis book is based on a successful curriculum designed to elevate technical artists with no programming experience up to essential programming competency as quickly as possible. Instead of abstract, theoretical problems, the curriculum employs familiar applications encountered in real production environments to demonstrate each lesson.Written with artists in mind, this book introduces novice programmers to the advantageous world of Python programming with relevant and familiar examples. Any digital artists (not just technical artists) will find this book helpful in assisting with day-to-day production activities.Concentrating upon subjects relevant to the creation of computer graphic assets, this book introduces Python basics, functions, data types, object-oriented programming, exception handling, file processing, graphical user interface creation, PEP 8 standards, and regular expressions. Programming within the SideFX Houdini 3D animation software provides a familiar environment for artists to create and experiment with the covered Python topics.
Essential Python for the Physicist
by Giovanni MoruzziThis book introduces the reader with little or no previous computer-programming experience to the Python programming language of interest for a physicist or a natural-sciences student. The book starts with basic interactive Python in order to acquire an introductory familiarity with the language, than tackle Python scripts (programs) of increasing complexity, that the reader is invited to run on her/his computer. All program listings are discussed in detail, and the reader is invited to experiment on what happens if some code lines are modified. The reader is introduced to Matplotlib graphics for the generation of figures representing data and function plots and, for instance, field lines. Animated function plots are also considered. A chapter is dedicated to the numerical solution of algebraic and transcendental equations, the basic mathematical principles are discussed and the available Python tools for the solution are presented. A further chapter is dedicated to the numerical solution of ordinary differential equations. This is of vital importance for the physicist, since differential equations are at the base of both classical physics (Newton’s equations) and quantum mechanics (Schroedinger’s equation). The shooting method for the numerical solution of ordinary differential equations with boundary conditions at two boundaries is also presented. Python programs for the solution of two quantum-mechanics problems are discussed as examples. Two chapters are dedicated to Tkinter graphics, which gives the user more freedom than Matplotlib, and to Tkinter animation. Programs displaying the animation of physical problems involving the solution of ordinary differential equations (for which in most cases there is no algebraic solution) in real time are presented and discussed. Finally, 3D animation is presented with Vpython.
Essential Rammed Earth Construction: The Complete Step-by-Step Guide (Sustainable Building Essentials)
by Tim Krahn&“All of the essential knowledge for completing a successful rammed earth project. Written by a geo-technical engineer with experience ramming earth.&” —Kelly Hart, author, Essential Earthbag Construction Everything you need to know to build with rammed earth in warm and cold climates. Rammed earth—sand, gravel, and clay or lime/cement binder packed into forms—is a low-energy, high-performance building method, yielding beautiful, sustainable results. It&’s thermally stable and can be insulated, can actively modulate humidity, provides a healthy indoor environment, and allows site materials to be used for major structural and building envelope elements.Essential Rammed Earth Construction covers design, building science, tools, and step-by-step building methods for any climate, with a special emphasis on building in cold climates of the northern US, Canada, and northern Europe. Coverage includes: Overview of earthen building Appropriate use of rammed earth walls Stabilized versus raw rammed earth Design considerations, including structural, insulation, and building envelope details Special considerations for cold and freeze-thaw climates Construction drawings, with step-by-step building instructions Tools and labor covering industrial methods, low-tech techniques, formwork options, mix design, budgets, and schedules Codes, inspections, and permits. This guide is an essential resource for experienced builders, DIY home owners, designers, engineers, and architects. &“A much-needed and science-based update to a North American audience of designers, engineers and builders.&” —Bruce King. P.E., author, The New Carbon Architecture &“ A great book for anyone who wants to deepen their technical knowledge of rammed earth walls systems. It&’s very helpful to have a book on rammed earth that is more focused on engineered rammed earth walls for cold climates.&” —Clifton Schooley, Clifton Schooley & Associates, Rammed Earth Designers and Builders
Essential Serger Reference Tool: Your Quick and Easy Visual Guide to Tension, Threading, Stitches, Seam Treatments for Different Fabrics & Troubleshooting
by Katrina WalkerSerge confidently with this pocket-sized reference tool This compact guide contains everything you need to resolve your serging questions, regardless of your experience level. Learn how to thread your serger, choose and use serger stitches, and serge different fabric types. Build your skills with information on differential feed, securing seams, and serging challenging shapes. If you encounter any hiccups, the troubleshooting charts are your trusty companions, helping you troubleshoot tension issues and effortlessly choose the perfect serger stitch for your projects. With this convenient reference tool, you'll be armed with all the information you need to achieve stunning, stress-free results. Get ready to become a serger pro!
Essential Sewing Reference Tool: All-in-One Visual Guide
by Carla Hegeman CrimAll you need to get sewing: supplies, stitches, sizing charts, over 300 photos, and much more. This comprehensive reference is an indispensable guide for anyone who sews (or wants to start). Organized for easy readability and usage, it covers everything you need to know whether you&’re making a home decoration, piece of clothing, or an accessory. Contents include: an extensive overview on tools and materialsstep-by-step instructions on various seams and finishesinformation on zipper installationsize conversion chartsover 300 how-to photographs, and more &“Beginners will be able to follow Crim&’s step-by-step lessons, and experienced sewists will appreciate the quick refreshers on less-common techniques.&”—Library Journal
Essential Skills for 3D Modeling, Rendering, and Animation
by Nicholas Bernhardt ZemanThe Key to Fully Understanding the Basics of a 3D WorldProminently used in games, movies, and on television, 3D graphics are tools of creation used to enhance how material and light come together to manipulate objects in 3D space. A game-changer written for the non-technical mind, Essential Skills for 3D Modeling, Rendering, and Animation examines
Essential Skills in Character Rigging
by Nicholas B. ZemanCharacter rigging is the method with which you create a system for animating a character. A rig is represented by two primary mechanics: the skeleton, consisting of hierarchical rotations to drive the motions, and a skin, or method of deforming the geometry that makes up the character model. Essential Skills in Character Rigging is a beginner's gui
Essential Skills in Organic Modeling
by Nicholas B. ZemanThis is a beginner’s guide to learning and implementing the essential aspects of modeling organic objects and using an organic workflow to model anything. This book gives an aspiring modeler all the tools that they need to know in order to begin creating great models that are efficient and laid out properly for rigging and texturing. The reader will be taken through all the primary techniques and methodologies for making “liveable” creatures for video, film, or games. The reader will also learn the basic physical structure that designates something as organic vs artificial, and how these varying structures can be tackled from a modeling perspective.through a practical, hands-on approach. Features Designed to approach organic modeling in a software-independent manner. Builds fundamental knowledge of 3D digital art from the ground up. Each lesson builds on the previous lesson. Has industry standard knowledge, based on simplicity and efficiency that will work for either production rendering or game development. Defines what organic modeling is and how it works, and why each technique was developed and implemented as it currently stands.
Essential Sustainable Home Design: A Complete Guide to Goals, Options, and the Planning Process (Sustainable Building Essentials)
by Chris MagwoodDesign your own sustainable home Many people dream of building a beautiful, environmentally friendly home. But until now there has been no systematic guide to help potential builders work through the complete process of imagining, planning, designing, and building their ideal, sustainable home. Essential Sustainable Home Design walks potential homebuilders through the process starting with key concepts, principles, and a project vision that will guide the house to completion.Coverage includes:How to clarify your ideas and create a practical pathway to achieving your dreamA criteria matrix to guide design, material, and systems decisionsCreating a strong, integrated design team and working with professionals and code officials to keep the project on track from start to finish.Key building science concepts that make for a high-performance, durable buildingPrimer on building logistics, material sourcing, and protocols to ensure that the initial vision for the project comes to fruition.One-page summaries and ratings of popular sustainable building materials and system options.Ideal for owner-builders and sustainable building contractors working with clients aiming to design and build a sustainable home. Chris Magwood has designed and built some of the most innovative, sustainable buildings in North America, including the first off-grid, straw bale home in Ontario. He is co-founder and director the Endeavour Centre for Innovative Building and Living and co-editor of the Sustainable Building Essentials series. Chris is the author of Essential Prefab Straw Bale Construction, Essential Hempcrete Construction, Straw Bale Details, More Straw Bale Building , and Making Better Buildings .
Essential Techniques of Landscape Drawing: Master the Concepts and Methods for Observing and Rendering Nature
by Suzanne BrookerThis beginner's guide to drawing in graphite pencil uses step-by-step exercises to teach fundamental methods for rendering all aspects of the natural landscape, with additional lessons on using charcoal, colored pencil, pastel, and other media.Following in the footsteps of author, artist, and art instructor Suzanne Brooker's previous title The Elements of Landscape Oil Painting, this book pairs the most universally-pursued topic for artists (drawing) with the popular subject matter of the natural landscape. Brooker breaks down landscapes into their various elements--including the earth, water, air, and trees--to convey how the fundamentals of drawing are applied to capture each aspect. Using the graphite pencil as her baseline instrument, Brooker provides you with step-by-step lessons that help you improve your rendering skills and re-create the beauty of the world outdoors. Examples from art history and contemporary masters supplement these lessons. The end result is a drawing instruction book that provides artists with everything they need to render landscapes no matter their skill level.
Essential Urban Design: A Handbook for Architects, Designers and Planners
by Rob CowanShaping our cities, streets and public spaces, urban design informs the places we live. It is a complex multi-disciplinary process, requiring the input of a wide variety of stakeholders and design and construction professionals. Each urban project invariably throws up a new set of problems and strategic decisions for the design team. This guide distils the essential information required for the expert direction of the day-to-day work of urban design, from strategic design to masterplanning through to character assessment and collaboration. Compact and accessible with over 250 hand-drawn figures and plans, it's the perfect everyday companion for junior practitioners and experienced heads alike across the built environment.
Essential Vectorworks Skills for Scenic and Production Designers: Drawing, Rendering, Modeling, Drafting, and Presenting
by Ming ChenEssential Vectorworks Skills for Scenic and Production Designers is an accessible textbook that covers the digital skills of 2D drawing, 3D modeling, rendering, drafting, and design presentation, providing aspiring designers with an invaluable toolkit to quickly and efficiently hone their craft.Modeled after learner-centered teaching practice and based on USITT drafting standards, this book is structured around six carefully selected core projects. It introduces key terms and commands, tools, techniques, and procedures for drawing, modeling, rendering, drafting, and design presentation with Vectorworks. Each chapter begins with key commands and a set of learning objectives that will be explored. The design exercises and projects that follow invite the reader’s active participation in the learning process. Along with step-by-step instructions, 240 illustrations (including student work samples), and three insightful interviews with professional designers, this book also contains open-ended projects that encourage the reader to explore new ways of scenographic expression and creatively apply commands and techniques to solve example design problems.This textbook is for use in scenic design, drafting, model making, and rendering courses in university theatre and media programs, and may be of interest to emerging professional scenic designers or scenographers for theatre, opera, and concert performances, production designers or art directors in film and television industries, themed exhibition designers, and theme park designers.Essential Vectorworks Skills for Scenic and Production Designers includes access to a wealth of online resources, including 15 videos with step-by-step instruction, six files of vwx or PDF formats for additional exercises and projects, and a video of student work samples.
Essential Winetasting: The Complete Practical Winetasting Course
by Michael SchusterAn authoritative and inspirational winetasting course, from one of the world's leading wine educators. 'Explains the mechanics of taste and tasting better than any book I've seen.' - Richard Ehrlich, Independent on Sunday Learn how to taste wine, with one of the world's leading wine educators. This book offers a particularly clear and precise means of teaching yourself how to taste and how to get more out of your wine, whatever your level. All the major grape varieties are explored, and their key characteristics in different regions. Ten practical tastings then cover core tasting techniques. Do you want to explore Dry Whites, for example, looking at 'Old World' versus 'New World' Sauvignon Blancs? Or investigate 'terroir' in a range of Bordeaux wines? Additional information on subjects such as Wines and Age and the impact of climate change complete the picture, making this book a powerful tool for understanding and appreciating wine at all levels.
Essentials Of Visual Communication
by Bo BergströmEssentials of Visual Communication is an inspiring and uniquely accessible guide to visual communication. The book presents the major disciplines in today's media, and puts theory into practice, explaining how to achieve a strong communication chainfrom strategy and messages to design and influencesto reach the target audience. This book will be invaluable for anyone wanting to communicate through the use of images and text, and in particular for students, whether in the fields of graphic design, advertising, editorial design, journalism, new media, information technology, mass communication, photography, film, or televisionin fact, any discipline that seeks to deliver a message through words and pictures. Essentials of Visual Communication is illustrated throughout with up-to-date examples of best practicefrom around the world that help to put visual theory into context. Summary boxes make it ideal for revision and reference.
Essentials of Dance Movement Psychotherapy: International Perspectives on Theory, Research, and Practice
by Helen PayneEssentials of Dance Movement Psychotherapy contributes to the global interest in embodiment approaches to psychotherapy and to the field of dance movement psychotherapy specifically. It includes recent research, innovative theories and case studies of practice providing an inclusive overview of this ever growing field. As well as original UK contributions, offerings from other nations are incorporated, making it more accessible to the dance movement psychotherapy community of practice worldwide. Helen Payne brings together well-known, experienced global experts along with rising stars from the field to offer the reader a valuable insight into the theory, research and practice of dance movement psychotherapy. The contributions reflect the breadth of developing approaches, covering subjects including: • combining dance movement psychotherapy with music therapy; • trauma and dance movement psychotherapy; • the neuroscience of dance movement psychotherapy; • the use of touch in dance movement psychotherapy; • dance movement psychotherapy and autism; • relational dance movement psychotherapy. Essentials of Dance Movement Psychotherapy will be a treasured source for anyone wishing to learn more about the psychotherapeutic use of creative movement and dance. It will be of great value to students and practitioners in the arts therapies, psychotherapy, counselling and other health and social care professions.
Essentials of Interactive Computer Graphics: Concepts and Implementation
by Kelvin Sung Peter Shirley Steven BaerThis undergraduate-level computer graphics text provides the reader with conceptual and practical insights into how to approach building a majority of the interactive graphics applications they encounter daily. As each topic is introduced, students are guided in developing a software library that will support fast prototyping of moderately complex