Reviewed by: David Cole

June 15, 2000

Introduction
Nearly everyone creating 3D Computer Art has at one time or another attempted a photorealistic piece. Whether the work was done in 3D Studio, Lightwave, Strata, or even Bryce the artist(s) has faced an enormous task how to make a computer generated image look like a photograph of something "real".

What makes an object or scene "believable"? What are the little things that an artist needs to do to keep his or her audience from screaming "FAKE!!"? What's getting overlooked when creating photorealistic art? How can you create more believable art?

The answer to this is surprisingly simple: get yourself a copy of Bill Fleming's "3D Photorealism Toolkit". Don't hesitate or wait to see if anything better is available, there's not. Go right now to the Bookstore and get this book. Not only will you thoroughly enjoy the writing, but also it will open your eyes to all the little things and not so little things, that need to go into a work to impress your colleagues, amaze your friends and family, and take your 3D art to new levels!

Writing Style
Fleming writes in an everyday language that is easy to understand by not only experienced 3D artists but also by newcomers to 3D. His style is friendly yet informative. Each paragraph builds and illuminates the topic(s) at hand. When he introduces a new term, Bevel or Specularity for example, he gives you real world definitions, explanations, and why it is important to 3D art.

The author avoids using the dry technical mumbo jumbo definitions that far too many software manuals proliferate and opts instead for a more down to earth, common sense, how does it relate/correspond to the real world approach. Using example artwork, Fleming deconstructs the art showing you, the reader, what makes the art believable and why it is so important not to overlook the little things, such as grime or material depth. Never heard of material depth?One more reason to get the book.

Organization
The book is divided into five parts with six appendices and an index. Part I, Reality is Chaos, introduces you to Fleming's "10 Principles of 3D Photorealism". Starting with Clutter and Chaos and concluding with Radiosity, Fleming delves into the mysteries and the how-to's for creating quality photorealistic art.

From start to finish, he challenges you to think about your art and coincidentally your surroundings in new ways: what's this made of, how does light reflect between two or more solid objects, why is the world around us such as chaotic and dirty place and how can we bring a little of that chaos and dirt into our art. Simple things such as water spots on a glass, a fine layer of dust on a TV screen, or the package of aspirin tucked underneath the computer monitor.

Details, details, details. When it comes to creating something passable, pay attention to the details. Fleming stresses this and shows you how to add believable details even to your fantasy art. He gives you examples of how to put Booleans to good use in your art to create details. With tutorials and a companion website to download files, you can follow along with the exercises and put techniques to use on your very first day.

He shows you not only how to make your models more believable, but why it is important to plan your textures before creating your models the difference between wrapping a texture around a cube and calling it a box of cereal and actually creating a model with cardboard folds, openings, and dents.

Fleming shows you with example after example how to create a manufactured look. From seams to welds, he gives you close-up screenshots, rendered views and explanations on how to create these manufactured effects yourself.

But Fleming doesn't stop with just creating the model, he continues with how to make it more real by using subtle, sometimes very subtle specular reflections that are built into your models. Once again, he shows you by example how it is done.

After extensive modeling techniques, the author moves into surfacing fundamentals. He explains image maps, diffusion maps, bump maps and how to correctly apply them to your models and how to prevent image map stretching and distortion. He shows you how to age your models and how to create dusty surfaces, dents, and scratches. How to create photorealistic water and glass and how to properly set up refraction. A full third of the book is devoted to texturing, both image maps and procedurals.

Part five is devoted to camera and lighting techniques. Fleming describes proper camera placement (an often overlooked aspect in many 3D art pieces) and introduces the concept of "never position the camera so everything in the scene is visible". Think about that for a minute, and then think about your art haven't you always tried to make everything visible? This concept leads into creating moods or emotions with camera angles and adding depth with camera zoom.

The book concludes with lighting techniques and radiosity. He explains the effects of color bleeding with example illustrations and download material and provides you with a light color chart and explains color temperatures of light (some fairly advanced concepts here).

Conclusion
This is one of those rare books that will definitely get you thinking and quite possibly staying up all night to work on your "new masterpiece".

The illuminating writing style of the author makes this book one of those that you will cherish for a very long time. There is no fluff here, from cover to cover this book is packed with information that will greatly improve your art.

Whether you are just starting out in 3D or you are a seasoned veteran, your art will benefit by the techniques that Bill Fleming shows you in his "3D Photorealism Toolkit".

Copyright 2000, David Cole, All Rights Reserved