Getting Started in Computer Graphics [antikvár]

PROLOGUE And a mouse is a miracle enough to stagger sextillions of infidels Walt Whitman from "Song of Myself Since I began researching and preparing material for the first edition of this book in 1989, there have been changes in the computer graphics field. For one thing, personal computers have become more powerful. But remarkably, little has changed in terms of the basic tools or the "user interface" that most software makers adopted early in their development of rendering software. In other words, the onscreen icon for a pencil is still a pencil, a brush is still a brush, etc. Some of these tools may have become more powerful and versatile with the latest versions of the software, but they still look and act basically the same. That means all the rendering demonstrations I prepared originally for this book still work with the newest versions of software. And nothing has appreciably changed in how best to approach a graphic project using the computer, Continue to approach the computer likeanyothertraditional medium. You wouldn'tstarta water-color or an oil painting without preparing a simple sketch or thumbnail, and you shouldn't start work on the computer without one either. Whether you prepare a PostScript drawing, a painting or even a three-dimensional graphic, the best strategy is to start with a simple bitmap cartoon ofyour composition. It can be a line-art drawing prepared in a basic monochrome paint program or a rough drawn with ordinary pen and paper that's scanned for importation into your favorite rendering program. How has my life as an artist con- tinued to change since I wrote the first edition of this book? In many extraordinary ways. For one thing, I no longer feel like a voice in the wilderness trying to legitimize the computer as an artistic medium. Instead, it has become a jungle out here! I have many new clients who seekmycomputerexpertise. Where before I was pushing my clients to acceptthisnewmedium.nowthey are pushing me to be even more creative. The competition and the ever-improving quality such competition brings continues to astonish me. If I have any advantage at all over others pursuing this field, it is that I had a slight head start. I also continue to work with software and hardware companies, evaluating new products. The computer has allowed me to branch out into new areas. One of the more interesting assignments I've had since the first edition of this book was published was the preparation of computer graphics for one of Disney's film studios. I had forty-eight hours to complete six concept drawings in full color. A fax, three phone calls and an overnight delivery later, I beat the deadline. It was a challenge, but true to the life of a computer artist, I never had to leave the comfort of my home studio. Another area in which my computer has allowed me to branch out has been in textile design and silk-screen work. I discovered long ago that my computer's software gave me the kind of control over the color separating process that is key in preparing silk-screens. Finite control over line, fill, color