Whether you are just starting in 3D or are new to Carrara Studio, The Carrara Studio 3 Handbook will get you up to speed quickly with the powerful modeling, texturing, and animation tools. Nearly 30 step-by-step tutorials and exercises guide you through modeling with subdivision surfaces, spline modeling, UV mapping, shader creation, character rigging, animation, and more.

Coverage begins with an overview of general 3D concepts, and quickly moves to customizing the improved Carrara Studio user interface for your own projects. From there you'll master the powerful modeling tools as you work through tutorials on character, technical, organic, and terrain modeling. Next, you'll learn to harness Carrara Studio shaders for texturing 3D models, including creating procedural shaders, using projection mapping, shading domains, and putting the new UV Editor to work. To learn the animation tools, you'll work through tutorials on creating a walk cycle using Inverse Kinematics, rigging a character with bones, and testing out the physics and particles tools. Finally, you'll explore the new, multi-hybrid render engine and gain practical experience with High Dynamic Range (HDRI) lighting, Global Illumination, and Caustics to create ultra-realistic lighting effects, as well as non-photorealistic rendering techniques. This is the one resource you need to master Carrara Studio 3.

On the CD

• Images and figures from the book in full color
• Carrara Studio files and support files for the tutorials in the book
• Mac and PC demos for Carrara Studio 3 and Amapi Designer 7
• Demos for Digital Carvers Guild plug-ins, UV Mapper, Ultimate Unwrap3D, Creature Creator, and Project Dogwaffle
• Dozens of Digimation and DAZ 3D models
• Silver Wings Aircraft 3D models
• Dosch Design HDRI probes
• Inspirational User Gallery

Mike de la Flor (Houston, TX) is a freelance medical illustrator, instructor, and writer. He is the author of the Digital biomedical Illustration Handbook (Charles River Media), and a contributing writer for 3D World Magazine and Computer Arts Magazine. He is also an adjunct instructor at Kingwood College where he teaches computer graphics. Mike has served as staff illustrator at the University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston, the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, and Baylor College of Medicine. He has been a Professional member of the Association of Medical Illustrators since 1992. For more information visit, www.delaflor.com.