reviewed by: Absense of Form

Version: Flash MX, Swift 3D

When I first came across the swift3d website, I went berserk as I saw the 3D animations that were being played through flash movies. I then popped back to my frequent visits to friendsofed.com and what did I see? Foundation swift 3D!? Awesome! I ordered my copy online and awaited patiently for its delivery. As the days passed and my mailbox remained empty, my expectations about the book grew bigger and bigger. By the time I got the book I expected to be a Swift3D Guru when I was done with my reading. So did it happen? During my waiting period, I visited the swift3d.com website and viewed their online tutorials. They helped me a bit to kind of get to know what was going on in the program but it just didn't seem to stick in my head. I admit, I'm more of a hands-on tutorials type of learner, so the online movies only gave me a baseline of understanding some buttons' functions but I was still unable to create the objects I had in my mind.

The day finally came when I got my book and it was hello swift 3D all over again.

The difference between the book compared to these free online tutorials is that the book does live up to being a foundation for Swift3D but the truth is, it's pretty much all you'll need, so calling it foundation really limits its true potential if you ask me. If Friends of ED was still alive and going, I doubt they'd come up with a Swift 3D Studio book. I could make this review short and say "This is all you'll need if you want to be proficient in using swift 3D." But let me explain more.

First of all, what this book teaches isn't only limited to CONCEPTS behind how things work, but it has multiple hands-on tutorials which definitely help. For example, you get to build a whole motorbike (I'm not talking about just make one big shell, I'm talking about actually buidling it up from small gadgets a real motorbike would have!) and when you're done, if you're like me, you'll just sit there with your jaw dropped and wonder how on earth the last four hours could have gone so fast. I was addicted to the book! The authors definitely understood that if you want someone to learn something, one method is building up the person's confidence. By chapter 4 (you can see it from the sample chapter this book offers), you'll create a city with different buildings. It was this chapter that really got me to believe that I could make ANYTHING. Why? Because it first showed me a complex-looking building followed by how it was made, and when you're done following its instructions, you'll realize that it's actually really not that hard! A good plus for any book that really wants you to learn.

Unlike many books I've come across, you don't need to sit at your computer all the time while your reading, because this book contains sufficient images to back up what they're talking about as well as which button they're explaining. That's one thing I definitely like in any book because it's VERY TIRING (for me at least) to look up at the screen, then look at the page, then look up again.

Not to mention that this is the only book I could find about swift 3D (so I have no other book to compare this one to) but personally, it has lived up to what I hoped it would deliver and today, after having spent over 200+ hours playing around in swift 3D, I can say I know the program inside out, and it would have never happened if I never built my foundation thanks to this book.

So the bottom line is, if you're eager to learn about swift 3D inside out without having to go through a period of trial and error, this book will definitely be a wise choice. But if you're ready to try stuff out for yourself, then the demo tutorials on the swift3d.com website will be sufficient to build you up.

This book deserves a full 5 out of 5 because it really doesn't have a flaw I can point a finger at.

Rating: (5/5).