Руководство по топологии от william vaughan

This hard copy book is a great resource to grab as a refresher anytime you’re ready to do some modeling.
Over the years, I’ve used almost every 3d program and I feel the author has been about software as software agnostic as possible. This book is all about core knowledge that can very easily be adaptable to any program out today or the future. It’s short but impactful as If poetry.

TL;DR — 9mm of quad mesh basics, don’t pay any more than $30 for this. Not a must-have. There are countless free tutorials out there to teach you all of this and more.

This is not a bad book. Perfect for middle school and high school students, I’d think, and it seems like a good first introduction to the idea of quad-based meshes. However, I don’t think there’s anything in it you couldn’t learn from free online tutorial videos. The program behavior and jargon (i.e. tool names) referenced in the exercises are very strongly tied to the author’s chosen software, MODO. This is claimed to still be «software-agnostic» under the excuse that most programs will contain the same features and options. However, you will have to spend a while searching for the corresponding names in your own program, and there will be peculiarities that might not quite translate (e.g. delete vs. dissolve behavior, neighboring vertices being automatically redistributed, which features are contained in tools and which ones are contained in commands). If you struggle at all with these kinds of computer program tutorials to begin with, I expect you will get lost or at least annoyed on account of this.

Also, there is only so much book to begin with. It is less than a centimeter thick. Almost exactly 9mm. It’s thinner than an adult pinky. And when entire pages are dedicated to the simplest fixes and several more to minor variations, this doesn’t equate to a lot of content. It’s more a guide for cleaning up mostly correct meshes with minor goofs than a book that teaches how to actually generate new meshes with well-formed geometry. The pages are often dominated by portfolio pieces that are primarily decorative. Close inspection of some may reveal examples of the geometry referenced by the exercises, but outside of the appendices the teaching value of these samples seems minimal and mostly an excuse for filling and decorating the page.

If this were sold for $18 per copy, I’d consider it a good buy, though not a must-have. Unfortunately, this suffers the curse of being chosen as a textbook, so the price is permanently inflated.

2 people found this helpful

Report

This book expertly discusses topology challenges every modeler needs to address and offers direct solutions based on the author’s depth and breadth of experience. This book helps the new modeler understand why some topology problems if left unresolved may cause more significant production problems later in the process. For the experienced artist, this book offers a new look and maybe a different approach to proper topology. Every time I listen to Will Vaughan speak or read something he’s written about working as a digital artist, I learn something new. This outstanding book continues my ongoing education.

One person found this helpful

Report

The first time I started reading this book, I felt like it wasn’t a good one, because I couldn’t understand much of it, or couldn’t achieve almost none of the exercises, so I stopped reading. I continue learning a little more about the 3D modeling software I was using, and when I felt more comfortable on using the User Interface to create basic models, and I had a better understanding of vertex, edges and faces then i started reading this book again, and I realized that in fact was a very good book to learn about Topology.

4 people found this helpful

Report

I’ve been a digital artist since the advent of Lightwave [8]; in 2010 I quit my day job to found a CGI/VFX studio (still using Lightwave). William’s teaching material has played a vital role in my growth as an artist and, with this book, he’s done it yet again. Platform agnostic which, for a ‘Waver, is more valuable these days than ever. Clear, focused on the stuff that working 3D artists really need to know, and imbued with William’s characteristic charm and enthusiasm for the material. I’d recommend both the digital and paper versions, because life happens when you’re not expecting it (to paraphrase Lennon) and you’ll want to have a copy of this gem handy no matter where you are. It’s all that, and more.

4 people found this helpful

Report

Written by my former teacher William Vaughan, this is another indispensable read for anyone wanting to improve their modeling skills. It’s software-agnostic too. The book reads just like William teaches. Full of practice exercises and motivational tips, you will return to this book time and time again.

As a self taught 3D artist I can tell you that not all learning material on 3D is equal. It can be challenging sifting through the ton of books and videos out there a lot of which are…well…not the best. By contrast, Mr. Vaughan’s book on topology is an amazing resource and has easily jumped to the top of my 3D book stack!

The book is filled with detailed step by step examples, easy to follow exercises and a no nonsense approach to solid topology.This should be your first stop when learning about modeling techniques and topology. These are the foundations of 3D work and this book explains it all.

21 people found this helpful

Report

A slight book with overly large illustrations and not enough information. If volume one and two were combined, it would still be a thin book, but the two together might be worth thirty bucks.
Too expensive for the info you get.

5 people found this helpful

Report