Creating striking graphics with Maya and Photoshop

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Peter Bauer

Loaded with the latest Photoshop tips and techniques The secrets of digital image editing - explained in plain English! Photoshop CS3 is a powerhouse, and here's the fast and easy way to get up to speed on all the coolest features. This friendly guide helps you get images into Photoshop - and then turn them into dazzling works of art. You'll see how to work in the right file formats, master the Brushes palette, get creative with filters, convert color to grayscale, and more! Adjust brightness, improve color, and fix flaws Take advantage of the Raw file format Composite images with layers and blending modes Automate your tasks with scripts and Actions Apply the new Smart Filters to Smart Objects

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Nolan Hester

If you want to get great-looking photos fast but don't want to get bogged down with the details, then you need a Visual QuickProject Guide!You took some photos and they could use a little finessing. All you want to do is correct an image's lighting, fix a little red eye, or even out the tones in a photograph–without learning the ins and outs of Photoshop Elements. For just $12.99, this compact guide shows you how! Using big, bold full-color pictures and streamlined instructions, it covers just the need-to-know essentials that will have you perfecting your photos in a matter of minutes. You'll learn how to easily fix common problems such as flash-induced red eye, blown-out highlights and murky shadows, inaccurate skin tones, distracting background objects, and more. End-of-chapter tips point out other useful Photoshop Elements retouching tricks. You'll also learn key new features and how to share your newly polished photos with friends and family through email, the Web, via online print labs, and more! This book is for Windows users only.

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Luke Ahearn

Updated edition for new Photoshop release - bestselling game title by industry leader. Finally the eagerly-awaited next edition of Luke Ahearn's cornerstone game art book: 3D Game Textures is on its way. The book will be refreshed per the latest rev of Photoshop and the latest game industry trends and developments. 3D Game Textures allows next-gen game artists to learn to create everything from bricks to books in Photoshop with this step-by-step instructional guide. Because texture is 99% of what a gamer sees when playing, this topic deserves considerable coverage but has gotten little attention. Unlike anything on the market, this book concentrates soley on texturing, and provides an in-depth guide to game texturing with hundreds of high-quality examples. Game artists learn all they need to know on the topic, including basic artistic principles, tools and techniques, and specific step-by-step tutorials that explain how to create textures for myriad environments. NEW COVERAGE OF: the latest version of Photoshop; Adding multiple edge tiling; Adding Photoshop Bridge coverage; Updating metal tutorial; Adding coverage of Urban exteriors. PLUS ADDITIONAL CHAPTER: Advanced project: Large outdoor urban area - war torn city. Great amount of work on detailed textures (overlays and advanced blending in PS) that utilize many shaders. This environment will look roughly like Battlefield 2 or more recently Call of Duty 4. The scene will include effects as well - smoke and bullet holes. Grass, trees, curtains, signs, and more. The DVD includes: demo versions of relevant software; resource images; all images from the book.Note: CD-ROM/DVD and other supplementary materials are not included.

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Michael Ingrassia

Maya is one of the top 2 software tools available today for 3D game and film development - 600,000 registered users. This is a MUST-HAVE book for game artists interested in proficiency with Maya. Well-known Maya professional, Michael Ingrassia, takes readers through his unique style of modeling: "Image Based Modeling" where efficient, realistic models can be created very quickly. Ingrassia's techniques allow modelers to create exact replicas of their concept characters or objects. The techniques presented are very efficient and allow game modelers to quickly build out stand alone props to populate environments and game levels. Presented are tried and true techniques that the author has used successfully in game production for the past 10 years. Most, if not all 3D books, focus on basic "box" modeling techniques, which are the basis for proper 3D modeling but not the complete solution. In the author's experience, students who have learned through the Image Based Modeling brand, have quickly excelled into effective modelers. One of the hardest things for any modeler to do is match their model EXACTLY to the concept art or photos they are provided. The insider tips in this book walk artists through this process. Artists begin with basic modeling and advance to a creating a complete scene and set design/game level. Rather than including sporadic models with zero association from to one another, each model in the book becomes an integral part of an overall theme realistic in game development today. The accompanying DVD includes 8 exclusive video tutorials on advanced Maya techniques as bonus tracks for artists providing invaluable modeling, rigging and texturing samples. Also, an in-depth video on assembling a "Killer Demo Reel" showing simple but effective video editing techniques used by the author so that artists can learn how to get their work seen. The book not only teaches effective methodology, but provides the user with impressive content for producing effective demo reels and portfolios. Pros and cons of demo reel, website and artist representation are given, along with insights into the expectations of game studios today. The video tutorials show users the finished product, and then run through the process of step by step creation of that particular technique.Note: CD-ROM/DVD and other supplementary materials are not included.