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JWag
03-18-2008, 08:49 AM
Hi folks, like the title says, I am interested in purchasing a book or two that teaches the XSI software package. I am returning to the world of 3D modeling after a 5 year break, and the last software package (and only package) that I have used was Lightwave 3D version 7.5. I have heard so many good things about XSI and have tried out the trial version and will be purchasing a version soon. As I have been out of the realm of modeling for a while, I am interested in getting a book that will help me ease my way in and teach me the XSI interface. I have also seen the stickied threads and many tutorials online. While I do enjoy and appreciate these, I would like to have something tangible at my side that I can thumb through at my leisure and be able to read while not at the computer. I will also be using mental ray and i am wondering if there are any books that will cover both XSI and mental ray. As far as the actual artistic process, visualizing shapes in a 3D space, etc. I should be fine as i have done modeling in both a CG environment, and with traditional media. Again, I am simply looking for some documentation as to the technical aspects of the program. i.e. Teach me how to use XSI :)

My main goal is to do this as a hobby, and I am aiming to produce still rendered images, although animation is a possibility in the future, especially since I've hears XSI's animation properties are fantastic. I definitely want a book that will cover the process of rigging a character in XSI for posing / animation, even though I won't be doing much animation at the beginning.

So, what popular books are out there that you more experienced users can recommend to me?

DVDs would be welcome as well, however I don't want to end up spending a whole bunch of money on DVDs when I can buy books for cheaper, and you typically get more for your money.

If I am just wasting my time, and there are no worthwhile publications out there, than please, let me know so I don't waste my money :)

Sorry this post seems sort of long winded for a simple question, but I just wanted to give you guys an idea where I am coming from. Thank you all in advance, and happy modeling. :)
Oli4D
03-18-2008, 12:31 PM
Here is one: http://cgtoolkit.com/artofxsi.htm
Don't have it... but I guess it's quite good. Anyone knows?
Helli
03-18-2008, 01:03 PM
http://community.softimage.com/forumdisplay.php?f=57

A loooot of video tutorials covering quite everything (i know thats no book but as good as ;) )
wonderpup
03-18-2008, 01:59 PM
For XSI and Mental Ray there is the book by Boaz Livney published by sybex- it's very in depth and technical but a great overview of rendering in general as well as XSI specific stuff.
JWag
03-18-2008, 11:27 PM
Thanks so much guys, I will look into these :)
DragonslayerAz
03-19-2008, 12:16 AM
JWag,

As far as books go, I think that Experience XSI is a good source to begin poking about with XSI.

It's a bit old though. I think it was published sometime close to XSI 4.0's release.

Cheers!

- A.
Maph
03-19-2008, 08:43 AM
Here is one: http://cgtoolkit.com/artofxsi.htm
Don't have it... but I guess it's quite good. Anyone knows?

It's of not much use to the more experienced XSI user, but it's a great book for beginners. :)
Mechis
03-19-2008, 09:24 PM
It's of not much use to the more experienced XSI user, but it's a great book for beginners. :)

I thought the book was ok, but not great. It also had poor production values-- tiny pictures and hard to read print. I was also annoyed because I purchased it when they initially offered it, but they dropped their prices by a lot after 3 weeks and wouldn't give me the difference.
~Mechis
ambient-whisper
03-19-2008, 09:54 PM
DVDs would be welcome as well, however I don't want to end up spending a whole bunch of money on DVDs when I can buy books for cheaper, and you typically get more for your money.


i used to be of the opinion that digital tutors stuff was amateur because i judged it by the covers ( which were a bit simplistic for my taste ), but a friend showed me one of their videos ( hes got a few ) and they are excellent in the way they present their information. thorough, and to the point. i think they have something like 3 dvds concerning rigging and one or two for animation.

some of them are under 30 dollars last time i checked. some of the newer ones are over 40, but honestly their presentations/lectures are very good stuff. i would definitely recommend it.

other than that, check the edharriss website, and the new forum that softimage setup with lots of infomation for new users.

check it out :)
http://community.softimage.com/

here is the link to the softimage tutorials

http://community.softimage.com/forumdisplay.php?f=40
Doublecrash
03-21-2008, 03:02 AM
I feel I can strongly recommend you the digital tutors videos. They are very good, and they have lots by now: from rigging, to modeling, to texturing and rendering. Really worth the price, IMO, specially considering the lack of good and up-to-date XSI books available.

:)
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