‘Bounce, Tumble and Splash!’ Available for Pre-order
Tony Mullen’s new Blender book, ‘Bounce, Tumble, and Splash!’
is now available for pre-ordering on Amazon.
It’s a bit of a distant early warning, I know, but I thought your readers would be interested to know that Bounce, Tumble and Splash! Simulating the Physical World with Blender 3D is now available for pre-order.
Don’t hold your breath waiting for it, though, as I’m only about halfway through writing it! The current date for publication is listed as February 5, but this will depend on a number of factors and could change. Let’s just say I will be very pleased if it is actually released on that date! Anyway, at least people can go check out what the cover is (tentatively) planned to look like.
I’m happy to report that the writing is coming along very well. It’s a real challenge to stay on top of the most recent features, but I’m excited about how the book is turning out. There is definitely a lot of information in there that has never seen print, so I think it will help a lot of people ratchet their Blender skills up to the next level. And of course, being in full color and featuring artwork from many top Blender artists will ensure that it looks great too.
I’ll let you know whenever there’s more news!
Tony
How is it possible to become a technical editor for this upcoming book? Is this something the publisher mandates or does author chose?
I would imagine (don’t quote me though) That the publisher would choose but i guess the author would have some say in the choice
Well, the decision is of course the publisher’s, but in this case the author has, uh, a lot of say, since Sybex doesn’t really know any Blender experts offhand:). Roland Hess, author and editor of Essential Blender is the technical editor on this book, as he was for Introducing Character Animation with Blender. He’s been doing a great job so far keeping things accurate and comprehensible, and giving great suggestions for what kinds of things to include and leave out. His contributions to ICAWB were really invaluable, and that’s proving to be true in this case too.
Tony, do you have plans to come to this years BlenderConference in Amsterdam and talk about your upcomming book?
Hey Digitist! Unfortunately it looks like I won’t be able to make it to Amsterdam for the Blender Conference this time around. I think that this year I will be too busy to justify the trip. Perhaps next year I’ll be able to find an excuse to come back to Amsterdam (and Groningen!)
Props Tony! I’m looking forward to this addition to the Tony Mullen arsenal.
Tony, you don’t have a blog about your writings to follow your writing progress?
It’d be great if you do!
And one more thing, I’ll wait for the book to be available in Blender e-shop to buy it from there.. I will not buy it from Amazon..
I’m happier to buy it in blender’s e-shop too. Amazon and me just don’t get along, despite it’s huge range of products.
I’d love to see more on this one and will defo be adding it to my happy little blender book collection. Just need the time to enjoy them tho!
Essential Blender is superb!
Thats great news. :)
Anyone knows if the Blender e-shop sends this to Brazil (or another country…)?
I want that book :D
Great!
I love physics, I love blender – what can be better than simulating physics in Blender? :D
Great book, I will surely buy this one. But I think this book should be really in pre-order in the Blender e-shop too! In fact, I won’t buy anything Blender related if I can’t buy it directly from the e-shop.
I’m sure the content is great but that ‘tentative’ cover design is awful. Blender deserves to be taken seriously but that cover makes it look cheap.
The typeface is trying too hard to be modern, techy and 3D’ish but is just tacky and childish. Use a font with more understated class.
Using multiple images of varying sizes gives the book a messy and unfocused appearence. One strong image that fills the whole cover would be better. One scene that shows all 3 elements of the title. For example a stack of rubber cubes that has begun to fall and some cubes have already hit and bounced out of the water flooding the floor that the stack is standing on.
Just my designer 2 cents worth :)
Thanks for the comments everybody. By all means, I think it’s a great idea to support Blender by buying what you can at the e-Shop. I can’t really comment at all on this book’s availability there because I don’t really know anything about Ton’s plans with that.
As for the cover, I posted a call for submissions months ago on BlenderArtists and I am definitely still interested in receiving high quality images from users that capture the feeling of the title, so Picky, here’s your chance to make a mark! The graphic department can only work with what I’ve given them, and I am not sure how much time I’ll have to experiment with the rubber cubes concept… Send your submissions to [email protected]!
I have received a lot of great art from Blender users. Unfortunately most of it hasn’t quite jibed enough with the title to make it onto the cover. It’s tricky, because these simulation features are still very underused, IMO, which is one of the reasons why I think there’s a need for this book.
Personally, have to say I dig the lettering though. It reminds me of educational films from the 70s.
Another one here for buying the book via the Blender e-shop! It’s fast, secure and reliable and I don’t know that about Amazon. :(
A question to the author: will you provide a sample chapter or something in PDF form?
Zxayant, I think that Amazon will probably have a “Look Inside” feature where you can look at pages from the book to get an idea of what the content is like. Alternately, if you’re in an English speaking country, you can always go to an actual flesh and blood bookstore, where you can look at the whole book.
Eventually, I think a pdf e-book will also be made available, but I’m just guessing. I don’t really have much involvement with that end of things.
Unfortunately I don’t have the Blender skills to do the cover I described. I guess I need a guide book.
Why would it be good for the cover design to be in any way reminiscent of educational films from the 70’s? The design should be professional and appropriate, not personal. I could dig the lettering too in a suitable context but it certainly doesn’t suggest advanced 3D in 2007.
Maybe I’m just being too picky. Most people aren’t discerning enough to notice anyway.
great news tony!
i enjoy your previous book and will look forward to add this one onto my cg shelf!
I absolutely agree with Picky about the book cover design. It was the first thought that occurred to me, that it can be shame to have such ugly cover. Unfortunately, I think I’m not able to make some really tasty demonstration of physical simulation in Blender. (However I’ll try it during the veekend. ;)) But if there will be interest, I can try to make some competition cover lay-out(s), when pictures become decided. I made plenty of book covers, because it was my job, before I start my 3d work. Tony, just say yes! ;) I love Blender!
A pre-thanks Tony, :)
Niels
Tony, I am really excited about your new book. Your last one was great! I just went to my room to retrieve it and like the cover. It also had multiple images, but their was one that was dominant and the three under it were small enough to not compete visually. I would imagine the images you are planning to use would work if the proportions were changed so that the two larger images were less equal in size. Try to choose one as the dominant image and make the others all significantly smaller. Personally I will be buying it for the insides, not the cover, because I know the quality of your writting. Those who do not know you may need to be attracted by a good cover design.
Anyway, Thanks for the first book and I can’t wait for this next one!
Great information I have Tweeted this, I will keep a eye on your other posts. Ohh what do you all think about the about oil spill and the brazil flood?