Visual Effects in A Digital World: A Comprehensive Glossary of over 7000 Visual Effects Terms (The Morgan Kaufmann Series in Computer Graphics) Book

If you call yourself a computer graphics professional but aren't sure of the meaning of "cukaloris", "Lambertian reflection", or "umbra", you might want to pick up a copy of Visual Effects in a Digital World: A Comprehensive Glossary of Over 7000 Visual Effects Terms. Educational, fun and historically fascinating, this is one of those books that every pixel monkey should have on his or her shelf. If you've ever wondered what, exactly, "rotoscope" means (it has three different meanings) or what to eat with a "metaball", this book is for you. Chock full of interesting titbits and a 32-page colour gallery of examples, this is one of the most interesting technical dictionaries in print. Perhaps you know the difference between an array and an Arri, but the producer you're trying to explain it to is clueless. The clear, concise definitions listed here can help explain these terms and others so that even the most dense suit will, if not understand it, at least feel like you must know what you're talking about. It's one thing to be able know what buttons to push, but something else entirely to be able to stump your friends with the meaning of arcane terms like "Lindenmayer System" or "octrees". Everyone knows you're a geek but now you can prove it. --Mike CaputoRead More